Introduction

Learning a new language offers a unique opportunity to discover other cultures as well as one’s own. This discovery process is essential for developing 21st-century intercultural communication skills.

Purpose of the Book

To help prepare language teachers for their role as guides during this process, this book uses interdisciplinary research from social sciences and applied linguistics on intercultural communication for designing teaching activities that are readily implemented in the language classroom.

Content and Approach

Diverse language examples are used throughout the book to illustrate theoretical concepts, making them accessible to language teachers at all skill levels. The chapters introduce various perspectives on culture, intercultural communicative competence, analyzing authentic language data, teaching foreign/second languages with an intercultural communication orientation, the intercultural journey, the language-culture-identity connection, as well as resolving miscommunication and cultural conflict.

Audience and Benefits

While the immediate audience of this book is language teachers, the ultimate beneficiaries are language learners interested in undertaking the intercultural journey.