Volume 1, Issue 3 December 2018, pp. 100-109 
Regular Articles
Critical intercultural communication education: cultural analysis and pedagogical applications
Sofia A. Koutlaki 
1, Zohreh R. Eslami 2
1 Independent Researcher, Qatar 
2 Texas A&M University - College Station, USA / Texas A&M University - Qatar, Qatar
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v1n3.110
Abstract
With continuous advances in communication, technology, and increased mobility, intercultural communication competence has become an essential element to address in foreign and second language education (Kramsch, 2013, Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). This paper proposes a pedagogical approach to intercultural language education that utilizes the students' L1 (i.e., Persian) to facilitate cultural awareness and successful intercultural communication. A cultural analysis model is used to show how L1 cultural values contribute to politeness and speech act realization patterns and how that knowledge can be used when making sense of the pragmatics of other languages. Specifically, we place emphasis on learners' critical awareness and appreciation of their own cultural values and language in order to be able to develop heightened sensitivity to the potential influence of cultural assumptions on communication. Our approach aligns well with the current shift towards critical pedagogy which encourages learners to be critically reflective (Kumaravadivelu, 2008) with awareness and appreciation of their own local cultural values and critical awareness of other cultures. After discussing how cultural conceptualisations of face and politeness influence the use of pragmatics and speech act realization patterns in Persian, we suggest a number of pedagogical activities to raise students' meta-pragmatic awareness and capacity for reflecting on relationships between language use and culture.
Copyright
© Sofia A. Koutlaki, Zohreh R. Eslami
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Sofia A. Koutlaki, Zohreh R. Eslami. (2018). Critical intercultural communication education: cultural analysis and pedagogical applications. Intercultural Communication Education, 1(3), 100-109. https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v1n3.110
Related Articles:
Incorporating hypnotic suggestion into teacher education programs
Farshad Ghasemi
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), pp. 83-103.
What makes students speak Japanese in immersion programs?
Kumiko Katayama, Kayoko Hashimoto
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), pp. 104-120.
Voicing the academy
Davina Allison
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), pp. 102-117.
Theory of Mind development and narrative writing: A longitudinal study
Birgitta E. Svensson
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), pp. 118-134.
Incidental vocabulary learning through watching movies
Robert John Ashcroft, Joseph Garner, Oliver Hadingham
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), pp. 135-147.
Note from the editor
Troy McConachy
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), pp. 101-101.
The Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture:
Ideological refractions, othering and obedient politics
Ashley Simpson, Fred Dervin
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), pp. 102-119.
"I don't want to be stereotypical, but..."
Norwegian EFL learners' awareness of and willingness to challenge visual stereotypes
Cecilie Waallann Brown
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), pp. 120-141.
(Re)imagining a course in language and intercultural communication for the 21st century
Adriana Raquel Diaz, Paul J. Moore
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), pp. 83-99.
Advancing intercultural learning in world language education: Recent developments in pre-service teacher education in the U.S.
Paula Garrett-Rucks
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), pp. 110-122.
