Intercultural Competence

The object of this paper is to clarify what " intercultural competence " actually entails for those learning to translate at university level, and will refer to a number of classroom activities that can successfully support the trainees during the learning. Competencies have been studied with regard to learning, and have recently been amplified through the 'Dublin Descriptors' as a result of university reform. Also, intercultural competencies have been studied widely in the world of work. Yet, though the same competencies are now deemed essential for translators there is little information on the sub-competencies involved. Here, it is suggested that in the university first cycle, the cognitive learning competencies could include first an understanding of self and other (cultural locatedness), then translation of culture-bound terms with a clear denotative reference, followed by connotative terms (linguaculture). At this level, students would also learn how to apply relatively fixed communication patterns, having learned about preferred cultural writing styles and orientations. It is argued that it is only at the second level that students are more ready for " self reflexive " thinking. At this level they can more easily understand that text meaning (and style) is negotiable according to context. Here, students also become more competent in the metacognitive learning styles, and are more able to mindshift, to change perceptual position and mediate. This will only be fully possible, however, when they are able to move away from the search for text-bound formal equivalence and learn to take risks (low uncertainty avoidance). It is asserted here that, to a large extent, this, and the other competencies discussed, can be taught as part of translator training.

While the role of culture in second and/or foreign language (L2/FL) learning and teaching has often been unquestioned, empirical research on culture learning and teaching in L2/FL education has been less common than opinion-oriented writings in relevant journals. This article offers a summary and synthesis of 52 empirical studies on L2/FL culture learning and teaching published during the 20-year period 1996-2015. In doing so, it first provides some background, then discusses the methods used for choosing, summarizing, and briefly analyzing these studies, and finally outlines a range of quantitative and qualitative findings. Culture learning and teaching research in L2/FL education during this period involved five main languages (English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish) in 19 different countries; adopted mainly qualitative research approaches; and addressed a diverse range of age and educational levels, although postsecondary research studies were most common. The survey here highlights a shift from a focus on ‘culture’ to the ‘intercultural,’ and reveals that culture learning and teaching research has moved beyond reporting teachers’ and students’ attitudes to a range of topics impacting L2/FL learning and teaching, including instructional approaches, teaching materials, assessment, and technology. It also points to connections between the studies outlined and offers possibilities and directions for future research in this important area.

The need to address culture in the language learning process has been emphasized as a means to promote both intercultural awareness and communicative language curricula. In countries such as Turkey, this has been an ongoing concern in the context of English as a foreign language (EFL) education. Thus, attempts have been made to enhance the cultural aspect of EFL learning in Turkey with the current English language curricula for elementary and high schools. To determine whether these curricula truly address culture in ways that support intercultural awareness, the researcher conducted a content analysis of the learning outcomes and objectives for each grade level, focusing on the curricula developed in 2013 and 2014 respectively for elementary and high school, as well as the program updates introduced in 2017 and 2018. The culture-related objectives and outcomes including products, practices, perspectives and persons relating to native Englishspeaking and international cultures were identified, and the total numbers of culture-oriented outcomes and objectives were recorded and analyzed. The findings indicate that culture-related outcomes and objectives were highly limited in number; and they mainly addressed superficial aspects of culture such as names of countries/languages, foods and traditional costumes. Abstract and complex topics such as pragmatics, beliefs, and worldviews were largely ignored. Moreover, while the updated programs of 2017 and 2018 were intended to improve on the 2013 and 2014 versions, little was accomplished in this regard. As such, the findings suggest that current EFL curricula are unlikely to support the development of intercultural awareness in language learners. Some recommendations for addressing this issue are offered.

Purpose -Research on expatriation and global leadership has been characterized by wide variations in defining what constitutes intercultural competence. Greater progress can be achieved if a comprehensive definition of the intercultural competence domain can be established, particularly with regard to the specific context of global leadership. This paper aims to focus on the issues. Design/methodology/approach -The authors conduct an extensive review of the global leadership and expatriation literatures, integrating and synthesizing prior theoretical and empirical efforts to develop a comprehensive domain definition for intercultural competence in the context of global leadership. Findings -The domain of intercultural competence in the context of global leadership comprised three dimensions -perception management, relationship management and self management. Each dimension is characterized by facets that further delineate aspects of intercultural competence.

The purpose of this article is to examine the personal, academic, and professional experiences of five Japanese university students who did short-term academic internships in three southeast Asian nations. Since students in Japan often associate international opportunities with inner-circle English-speaking countries (e.g. the United States of America or the United Kingdom), this article highlights the perceived benefits of choosing Southeast Asia as an educational destination. In limited published studies, researchers have revealed that Japanese students may gravitate towards Southeast Asia for multilingual language learning opportunities, lower perceived discrimination, and reduced financial costs. This article provides additional insight into the discerned advantages and disadvantages. Data for this qualitative exploratory study include weekly written reflections from students who were in southeast Asian countries from late 2018 to early 2019, followed by a focus group and individual questionnaires in the months following the participants’ return to Japan.  Based on thematic analysis of self-reporting, results suggest that the participants found value in their experiences due to the (a) proximity and costs involved, (b) comfort with using a non-native variety of English, and (c) development of intercultural competences and soft skills.  More specifically, participants felt that their experiences were less financially burdensome on parents, compared to similar experiences in inner-circle destinations. Also, participants reported feeling comfortable using English as a lingua franca, despite communicating in lower-context environments. This, in turn, contributed to the development of their adaptation, negotiation, and communicative skills. If higher education stakeholders and recruiters can better promote the educational experiences of Japanese university students in Southeast Asia, such as those featured in this article, then it is possible that access and participation may increase in the future.

This article provides an analysis of the concept of "competences, based on an Anglophone bibliography. It supports the argument that "competences" do not constiture merely an operational concept, but rather and foremost a normative one. Given that  competences are treated as a basic component of the contemporary policy of the European Union, we have analysed the relative bibliography indicating that the competences, being the cornerstone of employability, are also treated as the primary constituent of the new ideal type of  individual adapted to the needs of the new global economy. This design seems to replace the traditional process of socialization. In reality, it is the implementation of a new societal project. A project where the role of the University in promoting competences seems central.

Although a number of studies have investigated study abroad or telecollaboration separately, none to date has included both methods with the aim of differentiating their impacts on the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Using mixed methods, the current study compared foreign language learners’ perceived ICC development under three different conditions over 6 weeks: 1) a study-abroad program (n = 52) in Korea, China, Japan, France, and Spain designed for American undergraduates; 2) telecollaboration (n = 54) between Korean students of English and American students of Korean; and 3) on-campus language study (n = 44) among Korean students of English and American students of Chinese who were learning languages at their home institutions. Data from 150 students were collected from preand post-study questionnaires measuring cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of ICC; reflective writing; exit essays; and interviews. The results indicated that the study ab...

Abstract: Each year, increasing numbers of international students enroll in Chinese universities, yet no literature is available on their intercultural communication competences (ICC) and acculturation status. The study aimed at investigating these two key concepts at Central China Normal University. Two dimensions of intercultural communication competence (affect and behavior) and two dimensions of acculturation (attitude towards maintenance of one’s culture and attitude towards contact with other cultures) were employed to measure and analyze the two research constructs. A representative sample of 302 international students shows that Asian international students are less motivated to adapt than other students from other continents. In addition, time and education level do not seem to be sufficient factors in facilitating adaptation. Furthermore, the most preferred acculturation strategy is found to be integration. Finally, attitude towards contact positively correlates with affec...

The aim of this study is to analyze possibilities and limitations of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) approach to foster international collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) so as to boost their internationalization process. With that aim, a documental meta-analysis of twenty-three case studies carried out in 2012 by the Global Center of the State University of New York (SUNY) were reviewed and discussed in terms of the potential of COIL to foster the development of global learning, social capital, and international academic collaboration between international HEIs. Results of the analysis suggest that COIL is an approach that can promote online academic mobility and international collaboration as well as enhance intercultural competence when combined with the Intercomprehension Approach (IA)  to enable the use of different foreign languages.

El presente artículo presenta el balance de la experiencia desarrollada en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería de Caminos, Canales y Puertos. Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, respecto al desarrollo de una asignatura en la que se planteaba el desarrollo de competencias interculturales desde una perspectiva transdisciplinar. Las competencias interculturales son necesarias para multitud de profesionales como los ingenieros e ingenieras que desempeñan su trabajo en proyecto multinacionales y trabajan en relación a profesionales de diverso origen cultural. En el trabajo se describen tanto las condiciones institucionales y organizativas que facilitaron el éxito de la experiencia, las características del grupo discente, los efectos de la experiencia, y la metodología didáctica aplicada. Un balance altamente positivo tanto para el alumnado como para el profesorado que la impartió.

RESUMO: Esse artigo aborda, de forma introdutória e conceitual, a problemática de formação e desenvolvimento da relação entre língua e cultura na perspectiva da interculturalidade, e toma como ponto de partida o conteúdo sociocultural, com relevo no aspecto da alteridade. O campo de análise se dá a partir do enfoque da mobilização do aprendiz no processo de descobrimento de si mesmo e do outro pelos desafios que devem ser enfrentados, e traz como um dos elementos, a literatura. Nessa perspectiva, o objetivo é analisar a importância da abordagem intercultural no ensino de Francês Língua Estrangeira-FLE, no que se refere à aprendizagem de uma língua alvo, a partir dos referenciais de origem: a língua e a cultura. Sua implicação reside em dois pontos: na existência da diversidade cultural, tendo em vista a globalização, e na meta de sua compreensão por seus aprendizes, de um agir reflexivo e de uma comunicação intercultural; no desenvolvimento da alteridade, o que permite a eficácia na relação entre os aprendizes no âmbito desta empreitada. Para tanto, fundamenta-se na abordagem da teoria comunicativa, o que permite analisar os estudos interculturais-aporte dos conceitos, bem como dimensionar a noção sobre o componente cultural no ensino-aprendizagem. Palavras-chave: Língua. Cultura. Interculturalidade. Alteridade. Abstract: This article aims to approach in an introductory and conceptual way, the problem of the formation and development of the relationship between language and culture in an intercultural perspective, and takes as its starting point the sociocultural content, focusing on aspects of otherness. The field analysis starts from the approach of mobilizing the learner to discover himself and the other one by the challenges that must be faced, the literature. In this perspective, the objective is to analyze the importance of the intercultural approach in the teaching of French as a Foreign Language-FLE, regarding learning the target language from the source reference: language and culture. His involvement lies in two points: the existence of cultural diversity, with a view of globalization, and understanding by his apprentices, two elements: an active thinking and intercultural communication; in the development of otherness, which enables efficiency in the relationship among apprentices for this company. For this, the approach is based on the theory of communication, which allows analyzing the cross-cultural studies-the contribution of concepts, as that size the cultural component in the teaching-learning process.

Intercultural competence (Cross-culture competence) has become the focus of foreign language education. Awareness of the target culture is now one of the most discussed issues in the literature of the foreign language education. Raising language learners’ intercultural competence has become, now more than ever, an indispensable objective of the EFL education in Saudi Arabia. To investigate this issue, this paper aims at exploring some Saudi EFL learners’ views and attitudes toward learning about the target culture’s practices using both quantitative and qualitative data. Overall, the results showed that Saudi EFL learners were willing to learn about the target culture. Based on the data analysis, this paper concludes with proposing a model for developing language learners’ intercultural competence. The literature of EFL intercultural competence is huge and complex, and it is beyond the scope of this paper to cover all the related issues.

This paper shares the finding of a comparative analysis of the ESL/ELD curriculum Grades 9 -12 (OME, 2007a) (ESL/ELD) and the FSL curriculum Grades 9 -12 (OME, 2014) (FSL) focused on the Ontario Ministry of Education’s (OME) global citizenship goal for second language (L2) learners. Global citizenship has become a curricular goal in many educational systems around the world, including in Canada – Ontario. Learning for global citizenship in tandem with L2 has become advantageous in the 21st century because learning a new language, in addition to promoting career growth, also fosters understanding and acceptance of otherness in the global society. Therefore, it is important to understand how the OME integrates global citizenship principles in the education of English and French L2 learners. Results suggest the ESL/ELD curriculum does not promote global citizenship but aims to prepare students for the job market; however, in competitive disadvantage compared with their English speaker peers.  Additionally, the FSL curriculum’s goal to prepare students for global citizenship, through intercultural understanding, is superficial and inefficient. Findings have shown the OME needs to review the ESL/ELD and FSL curricula to promote global citizenship education and prepare learners to become caring and connected citizens of the world.

Objectives This class will prepare UDE English teacher education students for their mandatory stay abroad. Selected theoretical and practical aspects from various areas of Anglophone studies will be employed to help students develop their intercultural competences and awareness as well as their critical diversity literacy. Furthermore, the class is meant to train skills that are needed to critically reflect upon intercultural experiences so that students can maximize the benefit of their intercultural encounters both during their stay abroad and beyond. Please make sure to take this class BEFORE you plan your stay abroad-it is not necessary to already have exact plans for the stay abroad/project in order to join this class, and it is not exclusively a preparation for a stay abroad, you will be applying the above mentioned aspects right here as well.

Islamophobic sentiments in the Western world have gained scientific attention, particularly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. However, the effects of religious stigma on Muslim minorities’ identity formation have rarely been studied. Using structural equation modeling, this cross-sectional study examined direct and indirect effects of different forms of religious stigma on the national affiliation of 210 Norwegian-Pakistani and 216 German-Turkish Muslims. Furthermore, the study examined the mediator role of religious identity. Our results suggest that being a Muslim in Norway is more reconcilable with affiliating with the nation than being a Muslim in Germany. However, across the samples, the results indicated that various forms of religious stigma affected Muslims’ national identity and engagement in the public and private sphere in distinct ways. These effects were both positive and negative, differed between the two samples, and in Germany, were mediated by the participants’ religious identity. The findings indicated that the ways in which religious stigma influences Muslims’ national affiliation is context and culture bound.

Interkulturelles Lernen ergibt sich nicht allein aus der multinationalen Zusammensetzung einer Schulklasse. Es bedarf eines Bewusstseins uber unterschiedliche Wahrnehmungsmuster, die oft subtiler sind, als es einfache nationale Klassifizierungen vermuten lassen. Fur diese Wahrnehmungsmuster, die sowohl aus kultureller Pragung als auch aus gemeinsamen Sozialisationserfahrungen (zum Beispiel in der Schule) entstehen, gilt es bewusst zu sensibilisieren. Dieser Beitrag zeigt auf, wie der Deutschunterricht mit interkultureller Sprachdidaktik Heterogenitat als positiven Faktor fur das sprachliche Lerngeschehen nutzen kann und den Erwerb interkultureller Kompetenzen ermoglicht. Die Szenariendidaktik, die dafur Wege eroffnet, steht im Mittelpunkt dieses Beitrages. Aus den hier skizzierten Parametern und Aufgaben ergeben sich nicht nur neue, motivierende Lernwege fur die Schuler, sondern auch neue, spannende Anforderungen an die Lehrer im Hinblick auf ihre Rolle und ihr Lehrverstandnis. Abst...

Recently the political philosophy of agonism has been applied by urban theorists to model inter-cultural urban encounters in so-called 'micro-publics', such as the workplace or the classroom. The paper examines to what extent agonism offers a viable model for dealing with urban diversity in these mundane, social encounters. I will argue that, applied to these lower-level social contexts, agonism takes the vulnerability of citizens with regard to their ethnic, cultural or religious attachments insufficiently into account. The resulting injuries will most likely be counter-productive to the goal of living with diversity. By way of a contrast, I will offer two less demanding, more practicable types of intercultural civility.

This paper explores the literature on intercultural competence(IC) to act as a path for educational and intercultural scientists. Its aim is to review three main models commonly used in this area of research, namely the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) by Bennet (1986-1993), the Intercultural Communicative Competence model (ICC) by Byram (1997), and lastly a new born of the field, the model of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) by Earley and Ang (2003). The paper also looks at the different tools used to evaluate IC using different instruments and evaluation methods proposed by these models. The similarities between the models are highlighted and the different ways they could be further explored in the field of education are discussed and explored. Keyword: Intercultural Competence, Cultural Intelligence, EFL

This paper describes the theoretical model developed to support the online intercultural learning environment of the "Incontro" project. This project was designed to develop intercultural competences of Italian and American students in an integrated learning environment ( i.e. face-to-face and online). This paper also analyzes the qualitative data collected during the project to show how such a model allowed to enhance multilingual interaction, multimodal learning,  and to develop participants' multiple identities.

This paper reviews existing evidence on how the intercultural competence of young people can be promoted by schools. It begins by examining the concept of intercultural competence, and the values, attitudes, skills, knowledge, and understanding that together comprise this competence. The various actions that can be taken by schools to promote the intercultural competence of young people are then reviewed. These actions include: encouraging intercultural friendships; organizing periods of study abroad; arranging for students to have Internet-based intercultural contact; setting up school-community links and partnerships; encouraging and supporting students’ critical reflection on their intercultural experiences and on their own cultural affiliations; using pedagogical approaches such as cooperative learning and project-based learning; using pedagogical activities that enhance the development of some of the specific components of intercultural competence (such as role plays and simulations, the analysis of texts, films, and plays, and ethnographic tasks); using a culturally inclusive curriculum; and adopting a whole school approach to valuing diversity and human rights. It is argued that, while there is evidence for the effectiveness of all these various actions, further evaluation studies using more robust methods are still required. Additional research is also required to identify the circumstances under which each form of action is most effective and the subgroups of young people who benefit the most from each action.

Language interpreting serves communicative purposes. Who does it serve, how and why? At the other end of interpreting service provision, contractors, public regulators and end users have a key role in the development of interpreting as a profession. Looking at the big picture and locating interpreting within it brings our attention to networks of actors, other than the interpreters themselves, with diverse – and divergent – interests. To study such actors, this chapter turns the interpreting activity inside out: it places the focus not so much on the activity itself but rather on the locus of interpreting in the social fabric.
Competing conceptions and behaviours around language and communicative needs are explored through three case studies. The first case study is one of a simple configuration of actors around the circumstances in which conference interpreting first became professionalised at the time when AIIC was born. The second case focuses on sign language interpreting and the way the need for it is conceptualised. The third and final case shows higher complexity both in terms of the variety of actors involved in the analysis and in terms of the existence of divergent interests. It explores the situation of court interpreting in the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland. 
Two analytical tools are provided to approach the study of external players in the development of the interpreting profession. Firstly, a typology of players reflecting the logic of service provision helps identify categories for analysis. Secondly, after the presentation of the case studies, a diagram maps out factors of variation in the configuration of players.
The more complex the configuration of players the more relevant it is to gain a sophisticated understanding of the map of players. ‘Ideational factors’ such as different players’ representations of the need for interpreting or their vested interests are worth particular attention.

Perché e come si parla di educazione interculturale nella didattica delle lingue? Il volume offre una risposta a questa domanda, presentando le nozioni di base e i principali modelli teorici dell’educazione linguistica interculturale, il settore della glottodidattica che si occupa delle finalità educative dell’apprendimento e dell’insegnamento delle lingue. Come è proprio degli ambiti di studio ‘giovani’, questa area di indagine ha attraversato e attraversa tuttora turbolenze di tipo teorico e metodologico. Il libro storicizza il vivace dibattito internazionale al riguardo e offre un’agile panoramica dei fattori e delle posizioni che lo animano.
Il volume si articola in tre parti. La Parte I presenta le origini dell’educazione linguistica interculturale e ne discute le nozioni di base. La Parte II passa in rassegna alcuni modelli teorici che hanno descritto e cercato di spiegare come si realizzano apprendimento e insegnamento interculturali. Infine, nella parte finale (Parte III), il volume si concentra su uno dei possibili sviluppi dell’educazione linguistica interculturale, vale a dire sul ruolo della dimensione identitaria nell’apprendimento e nell’insegnamento delle lingue in prospettiva interculturale.

Based on language as a parameter; see <ethnologue.org> for the latest figure. 30 Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs (2009). 31 This was pointed out by the Worldwatch Institute, Washington, already in the 1990s (Biehahn 1993). Since language is a criterion, it should be noted that UNESCO reports 2500 endangered languages (Moseley 2010; Huaman 2011).

The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations represent a universal response to current global challenges that include climate change, poverty, political instability and the massive displacement of people worldwide. The central role of education in achieving sustainable development has been internationally acknowledged and successfully promoted: Global enrolment rates are now 90 percent for primary education and over 70 percent for secondary education. Building on these achievements, this paper focuses the role of tertiary education in contributing to sustainable development. This study reviewed recent theoretical and empirical research relating to the field. Conclusions from theoretical studies confirm that building on human capital is crucial for achieving the sustainable development goals. The majority of empirical studies also confirm a positive correlation between tertiary education and sustainable development. This study highlighted, however, that the full benefits of tertiary education to society may have been underestimated and that there are significant research gaps in the field. Furthermore, current challenges including funding, equity and market relevancy in tertiary education need to be addressed. Given the pressing global issues and the mounting evidence of positive impacts, this paper calls for more research and attention to be devoted to tertiary education in the sustainable development debate.

In this essay I examine the racial achievement gap in American education in terms of an impaired psychosocial developmental process. I argue that the well-documented academic underperformance of certain minority groups may stem from the unfavorable resolution of a key developmental crisis in constituent members’ early scholastic experience. I go on to suggest that individual educators can play an important role in eliminating the achievement gap by changing the way they teach in their own classrooms. In part, they may do so by adopting a "transcultural" pedagogy or teaching style, according to which both teachers and their minority students develop (at minimum) transcultural proficiencies and (at maximum) transcultural identities, as a promising way to achieve two important ends. First, the fostering of an academically-industrious self-concept in members of historically underachieving minority groups and hence, second, the closing of the achievement gap "from the bottom up"—one classroom at a time.

The political and spatial reorganization brought about by the progressive consolidation of the Spanish Estado de las Autonomías (State of Autonomies) is in line with a model of 'multiple ethnoterritorial concurrence'. This model relates sociopolitical sub-state ethnic mobilization to the competitive interplay among Spanish regions and nationalities pursuing political and economic power, as well as the achievement of the legitimation for their institutional development. Ten 'axioms' 'premises', 'principles', and 'rules' are identified as being mainly responsible for setting the conceptual boundaries of the type of plural competition and solidarity put into play in decentralized Spain.

The conflict in families disputing child custody cases across international borders continues to grow worldwide resulting in an epidemic of parental abduction. Governments and international bodies continue to work toward creating effective solutions through cross border family mediation programs. Ensuring a voluntary process that does not culturally alienate or marginalize participants is a challenge that often creates ethical dilemmas that may go unnoticed, minimized or ignored. When an individual is marginalized or disenfranchised during any alternative dispute resolution process as a result of cultural dilemmas, inequitability is created. Cultural bias and ignorance limits or prevents creative exploration of problem solving strategies, forcing parties into predesigned agreements. In 2012, the Hague Bureau on Private International Law released the first publication on mediation standards and guide for cross border family mediation as an extension of international family law. Building on these efforts, this paper provides a look at how culture shapes identity and influences problem solving in a multicultural context through a review of the literature and actual case examples.

Christians teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) address cultural issues to improve students' intercultural communication. In reflecting on my experience delivering a teacher training course, this article describes strategies for incorporating seven virtues in an Intercultural Communication for Teachers class. It first outlines foundational background and then offers examples of ways students in the course may go deeper with Christian virtues in their reflection and in their ESL/EFL teaching. It also introduces Scriptures and relevant resources that may be useful to professors involved in teacher training and to teachers who wish to incorporate virtues into ESL/EFL classes.

Parents' assessment of children's development in the first and the second language is an essential part of their family language policy (FLP) and an important component of parent–child communication. This paper presents a pilot study focused on Russian-speaking immigrant parents' assessment of their children's language knowledge in Russian as a first language and Hebrew as the second language in the context of their FLP. The research questions were as follows: How is parents' assessment of their children's bilingual language development linked to their choice of bilingual versus monolingual preschool education? To what degree are parents' reports of their children's language knowledge similar or different to their children's actual language knowledge? Which domains of language knowledge do parents relate to or ignore when assessing their children's language development? The sample consisted of 27 children (14 from bilingual and 13 from monolingual kindergartens), and their parents. Two sets of measurements were used, one to obtain parents' reports on child's knowledge of Russian and Hebrew and the other to assess children. The finding points out parents' insensitiveness to the length of the children's utterances and their tendency to rationalise FLP by overestimating their children's general language knowledge.

The development of critical cultural competency is commonly regarded as an essential capability in graduates of teacher education programs, and indeed for all university graduates as they commence their professional lives.  This critical cultural competency is important not only for future teachers’ capacity to work internationally, but also to enable teachers to engage the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of the learners in their classrooms.  Moreover, the ability to teach critically will play a role in the development of their students’ awareness of social justice and global citizenship. The definition of Critical Teaching is contested, and has included the ability to interpret, analyse and evaluate ideas and arguments (Fisher, 2011), or more comprehensively, to develop probing dispositions, cognitive and meta-cognitive skills and certain habits of mind (Costa & Kallick, 2009). In the context of this study, the notion of teaching critically will principally emerge from the reflective examination of cultural assumptions, values and practice, and the recognition of perspective.

This paper is an inquiry into “aha” moments I encountered while exploring my Métis ancestry and place relationship. It seeks to alleviate trauma through expressive narrative, and reveal ways for educators to teach Métis learners, which was accomplished by the revelation of the wâhkôhtowin worldview that emerged from my autobiographical exploration of my ancestry on Turtle Island (North America). Wâhkôhtowin is a Cree word for “all my relations”, and is the one I will use. This exploration is a form of “praxis”, an Indigenous story approach that I hope leads to action and educational change (Freire, 1970). To do this, I, an adult Métis from Northern Alberta, explored recent Métis scholarship, and autobiographies of adult Métis from Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. I then told my own story while recognizing themes that give rise to a Métis worldview. The results showed that teaching and learning for the Métis must comprise a sense of belonging for “all my relations” as well as a self-determining (otipemisiwak), respectful (ekichinantak) learning environment for wâhkôhtowin. I conclude with some implications for education and further study.

 (M.  Barbosa). 4 A  siesta  is  the  time  to  rest  or  nap  in  the  afternoon  following  lunch.  This  word  is  maintained  in  Spanish  because  it  holds  a  distinct  meaning  from  any translation  into  English  and  because  it  is  commonly  used  and  understood  by  English  speakers. 7 Subthemes  with  the  same  name  as  their  theme  resulted  from  comments  by  students  indicating  general  knowledge  of  the  theme.  For  example,  if students  mentioned  knowing  about  the  political  system  in  Spain  but  did  not  provide  detailed  information,  the  comment  was  counted  within  the  subtheme of  Values  and  Politics  within  the  theme  Values  and  Politics.

This study was conducted with Japanese participants of cultural exchange programs in Asia in order to explore the effects on intercultural communication competence of the participants. The effects of this program were assessed using the Cross-Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI; , open-ended pre-and postquestionnaires, and a group interview. The increase in the participants' CCAI scores suggested that the intercultural communicative competence of the Japanese participants improved. Qualitative analysis of the pre-and post-questionnaires and the group interview explain reasons in detail for any change. Findings from this study imply the necessity of intentional pedagogy such as meaningful interactions and ample opportunities for self-reflection.

In response to the challenge of global education, St. Paul University Philippines launched its internationalization program prompted by the tagline: Making a Difference Globally.  This study aimed to come up with a framework to develop intercultural competence for global education. The results show a framework that illustrates the interplay of the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of intercultural competence. Accordingly, the cognitive element comprises of the knowledge, awareness, understanding, study, learning, pre-judgment and bias.  The affective element includes the attitudes, values, sentiments, curiosity, openness, care, concern and difficulty. The behavioral aspect encompasses the skills, observable conduct and gestures, countenance and interactions. There are also internal and external outcomes which consist of reflections, insights, and outputs. The development of intercultural competence is facilitated by international experience, global learning and international partnerships and linkages. Internationalization programs and strategies to develop intercultural competence for global education were likewise suggested.

Intercultural research in the area of communication was initiated in the early 20th century. Over the last few decades, researchers have built a solid theoretical basis in this field. Nowadays, intercultural analyses include a rich collection of texts on cross-cultural differences, the specificity of the phenomenon in the area of verbal and non-verbal communication and also the role of the media. There is no doubt that in an era of dynamic transformations of media use by people all over the world, the sub-discipline of intercultural communication is facing another challenge-that of including social media and network communication processes into new empirical theories and research. The article answers the question of the status of communication research in the field of the intercultural contexts of the new media. Additionally, the directions of future development of these studies and conclusions are discussed.

Voluntourism has been a hot topic in the development sector for the last years, after a boom in people trying out " hands-on " experiences in "third world" countries. In this submission, more than adding a critical voice against voluntourism in Experiential Learning programs, I want to share my experience in the field. In this paper,  I describe the educational resources that were created to forego unequal structures to give away instead, the implementation of responsible volunteer programs.

Enhancing the development of intercultural communicative competence in business and study environments explores the development of intercultural communicative competence in English language teacher training and management. The author asks how establishing effective and appropriate behaviour within intercultural communication can promote effective communication in teacher training programmes and in management training. To answer this question, the article explores how the concept of intercultural sensitivity is integrated into intercultural communicative competence in training programmes and how it can facilitate the development of overall sensitivity. In doing so, it identifies some of the enabling and hindering features that shape the development of intercultural communicative competences in English language and culture in training courses in management or university.

The increasing multicultural reality of Catalan society and of course, also in classrooms, has promoted a social debate about intercultural education. Diverse approaches and perspectives exist, but anyway, the multicultural reality makes us rethink about topics like the perception of the cultural differences and intercultural relations that are established.