Peace in Language Education: A Romanticized Ideal or an Urgently Needed Educational Paradigm

Abstract

This talk will present different interdisciplinary perspectives on educating for and about peace in multiple formal educational settings, where humanities and education sciences have been repeatedly marginalized, and within global and diverse cultural contexts where our humanity is continuously struggling. It will provide an overview of the key theories, pedagogies and practices which underscore the multiple roles that teachers play in fostering socially transformative learning at the time of important crossroads of our human history and the global erosion of our democratic and humanistic values. The presentation will highlight examples from local voices, initiatives and practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina, of how classrooms can be connected to communities, globally relevant topics, and language teacher development programs. The talk will invite “a critical exploration of peace pedagogy as an imagined ideal and fluid space between post-war educational politics, institutional and curricular constraints, and the lived experiences and identities of teachers and students in socially and historically situated communities” (Kasumagic-Kafedzic, L. & Clarke-Habibi, S., 2023), the lessons of which can be transferred across borders to address various culture-, education- and context-specific challenges in today’s societies. As efforts towards peacebuilding in language education in different corners of the world have been fragmented and marginalized but are continuously developing, this talk will contribute to those reflections which have attempted to highlight the relevance and urgency of the how and why of peace teaching despite a great number of complexities in language pedagogy and numerous challenges in the education systems and our humanity of today. The presentation will include specific examples of peacebuilding strategies, activities and didactic tools and materials from language classrooms, intercultural learning projects, peace education hubs, and language teacher education programs.

Reimagining Belonging in an Age of Migration

Abstract

In this presentation, Re-Imagining Migration’s Adam Strom will explore the shifting educational landscape in a world of migration. It is imperative that all children develop the habits, competencies, and dispositions that will enable them to thrive in communities marked by demographic diversification and change. In the United States, there are approximately 77 million k12 students, of these, 27% are first or second-generation residents, facing unique challenges alongside their 56.2 million peers. The American school system, the crucible of belonging and true integration, is where immigrant-origin youth, predominantly people of color, strive for success. Yet, systemic inequities persist, denying them equal opportunities and undermining the nation’s democratic fabric.

The global demographic shift is profound: by 2050, one in three children in the U.S. will have an immigrant parent. These children’s experiences vary widely, influenced by parental education, poverty, newcomer status, language barriers, racialization, and immigration policies. Both immigrant and non-immigrant students often attend under-resourced schools that struggle to support their diverse needs.

This generation’s future hinges on reimagining the role of intercultural competence the lives of schools. More than half of Fortune 100 companies assert that education in diverse settings is vital for economic prosperity. However, current educator training predominantly around issues of migration focuses on language acquisition, neglecting the holistic needs of immigrant students, their peers, and their changing communities.

As immigration propels U.S. population growth and economic vitality, with immigrant-origin workers contributing significantly to the economy and founding 44% of Fortune 500 companies, the stakes are high. Prejudices fueled by fear, and activated by politicians and networks of extremists, threaten to undermine societal cohesion and economic prospects. This presentation offers a vision where all students learn from each other, appreciate diversity, understand migration’s role, and are prepared to address inequities—a vision essential for a thriving society in an era of unprecedented demographic change.

In 2022 the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (http://cmes.arizona.edu) led a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad to Uzbekistan & Tajikistan: Persianate Cultures in Central Asia: Coexistence and Integration. This program took 12 educators abroad to learn from local scholars, educators, & students. After returning, they created lesson plans based on their overseas experiences.

Papers in this symposium:
Middle Eastern Outreach and Fulbright Hays Group Projects Abroad, by Abby Limmer (University of Arizona)

This talk introduces the Title VI National Resource Centers, especially the University of Arizona’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) and one of CMES’ programs, the Fulbright Hays Group Projects Abroad (FHGPA ). This will serve as an introduction to the remainder of the symposium session, which will focus on the 2022 FHGPA to Persianate Central Asia.

Persianate Cultures in Central Asia: Coexistence and Integration, by Julie Ellison (University of Arizona)

This paper outlines the FHGPA Central Asia trip and the modifications/ additions that occurred as a result of postponements and on the ground realities. FHGPA’s experiential learning model allowed educators to engage with locals and develop curriculum that reflects aspects of cultures not accessible from a distance.

Developing Communication through an Olfactory Journey through Uzbekistan, by Mickey Marsee (Chandler-Gilbert Community College)

This presentation explores the use of smell history to develop intercultural communications in a freshman composition course. The aim was to engage students in a sensory experience to increase descriptive skills, develop empathy, use critical thinking, and develop a sense of place.

Uzbek Koreans: Who Are the Koryo-Saram and Why Haven’t I Heard of them? by Rosa Clara Salazar (United High School)

In this lesson, students investigate the story of ethnic Koreans in Uzbekistan, the Koryo-Saram, their 1860s migration to Russia’s Far East and forced 1937 deportation. Students explore their lives today, how they grapple with discrimination and develop a sense of identity. Students conclude with an introspective reflection on their own identity.

At Keuka College, we operate our robust international and global initiatives primarily through our Global Affairs office and our one-of-a-kind Field Period® program. For our symposium, we provide a multi-tiered snapshot of our collaborative work—from program administration and curriculum building, to faculty instructional design and delivery, to the student experience. This bird’s eye view of our institution will serve as an introduction to the work we have done to meet the UN’s goals by proxy of our mission, a potential blueprint for other educational institutions, and ignite conversations about the enduring value of a small, liberal arts college’s community-level commitment to peace and inclusion. We offer a broad perspective of intercultural opportunity through curricular, co/extra-curricular institutional programs. These are faculty/staff and student centered, credit and non-credit bearing. Papers focus on experiential learning, international exchange, diversity, and students as partners in building community in educational spaces.

Papers in this symposium:

Experiential Learning: Making Meaning beyond the Classroom, by Ann Emo and Malia Spofford Xavier (Keuka College)

Experiential Learning, including study abroad and projects engaging with diverse populations in a variety of situations, offers students, faculty and partners the opportunity to explore values, knowledge and skills that build bridges in our global society. Using structured reflection tools we make meaning of the world around us empowering change.

Reading London: Intercultural Learning through Place, by Steven Kapica, Jennifer Alessi and Kathy Waye (Keuka College)

“Reading London” is an international Field Period designed to help Keuka College students consider the cultural and rhetorical construction of place. Using “Reading London” as evidence, this paper reflects on the efficacy of international travel as a means of helping students understand and navigate cultural difference.

More than a Mile: Using Short Films to Foster Intercultural Competency, by Steven Kapica, Eric Detar and Tim White (Keuka College)

Prompted by a generous donation and directive from an alum, Keuka College launched a Diversity Film Series, fostering intercultural competence on its small rural campus. By bringing short films and their makers to campus, the series opens space for students to engage a variety of cultural disparities and “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.”

Alternative Spring Break and our Six Words of Service, by Eric Detar and Tim White (Keuka College)

Alternative Spring Break, an interfaith experience of cultural immersion, community service/volunteerism, community building, and leadership development. It is a time of personal reflection, as students wrestle with challenges they face. Students explore their own and others’ worldviews reinforcing the value of service and social responsibility.

Navigating Cultural Competencies, One Student at a Time, by Jennifer Alessi (Keuka College), Kathy Waye (Keuka College), and Broyer Wang (Jimei University/Keuka College)

Creating multicultural awareness helps students with diverse backgrounds succeed, encouraging acceptance, peaceful existence, preparing students to thrive in an expanding diverse world. We share three perspectives: support to international students, supervising international student work and the Chinese student living at a rural college in the U.S.

This symposium details curricula designed to support students through three steps of learning to build future leaders who better understand themselves and the world around them, responsible for their role in fostering peace and cognizant of disparity. To build global citizens, we create spaces for minority student voices to be heard and minority cultures to be explored in traditional education abroad locations. We provide insight into curriculum designed over many years and share three applicable activities that can be implemented immediately in classrooms, guiding educators through a student-focused program of study.

Papers in this symposium:

Where am I coming from? by Jason Laine (The Pennsylvania State University)

For students to maximize learning in a foreign context, they need to first position themselves within contexts that they know (or think they know). Understanding positionality opens paths to cultural humility, intercultural partnerships and global citizenship. Activity: Developing discussion using open source materials: What’s Up With Culture?

Where am I going? by Eleonora Sartoni (The Pennsylvania State University)

Students don’t often learn about the minority cultures in their target destinations. They must look at culture from a historic and modern lens to understand the diverse spaces they are entering and how to situate themselves in these spaces. Activity: Students work on an interactive map with colonial histories and reflect with guided discussion.

What do I do when I get there? by Lauren Halberstadt (The Pennsylvania State University)

Traveling with diverse students, we must intentionally design opportunities to interact with minority cultures in the new location to foster a dynamic sense of the community and help our students interpret emerging aspects of their own identities. Activity: Leading an intercultural activity abroad and strategically unpacking student observations.

This symposium discusses the impact of VE on K-12 institutions around the world. Our approach is guided by critical VE, i.e., VE through the equality, diversity, and inclusion lens and with a focus on social justice and peace-making. We will present and discuss large data on the VE programs involving younger learners in six geopolitical regions.

Papers in this symposium:

Survey of VE Research on Young Learners: Current Trends and Challenges. Regional focus: South and Latin America, by Mirjam Hauck (The Open University, UK) and Liudmila Klimanova (University of Arizona)

With a considerable amount of existing research on VE in higher education institutions, the impact of VE on young learners in the K-12 sector has received far less attention. This presentation will introduce the audience to the key trends of VE research on young learners and discuss specific challenges associated with this kind of scholarship.

The ABCs of Young People and Virtual Exchange (VE): Global Research on K-12 Programs and Outcomes. Regional focus: MENA, South and Central Africa, by Samantha Abi Saab (Modern University for Business and Science, Lebanon) and Kwesi Ewoodzie (Culture Beyond Borders, USA-Ghana)

This presentation will report on the global, multi-site study of VE programming for young students. Drawing on collaborative action research and narrative analysis, the presenter will discuss the findings in relation to content and format of VE-based instruction in K-12 section worldwide. Implications will be made regarding the importance of future research on young learners in VE.

A Comprehensive Report on Case Studies of VE Implementation in Europe, Central Asia, East Asia, by Loye Ashton (Class2Class, USA), Liudmila Klimanova (University of Arizona), and James Elwood (Meiji University, Japan)

The last presentation of this symposium will take the audience on an imaginary tour around the world and introduce them to VE K-12 educators in 22 countries and their stories. Relying on the case study approach, a selection of vignettes from the global data will be presented and unique conditions and needs of educators in six geopolitical regions of the world will be discussed.

This symposium showcases cross-cultural collaborative exchanges to foster empathy and diverse mindset of K-16 learners in the United States and Japan. Discover how the process of inquiry, reflection and transformation helps broaden learners’ perspectives as global citizens. It shares practical insights applicable for educators in their curriculum.

Papers in this symposium:

Cultivating Cross-Cultural Competence through Diverse Virtual Exchanges, by Noriko Okubo (Knox English Network, NPO) and Tomoko Graham (retired from Harvard University, 2022)

This presentation discusses outcomes and findings obtained through intercultural exchanges for K-16 English learners in Japan and Japanese learners in the United States. The Global Talk program annually hosts approximately 30 exchanges. Fostering participants’ cross-cultural communication skills is examined based on their reflection and awareness.

Beyond Textbook-Learning: Global Talk for Beginning Japanese Learners, by Naemi McPherson (Brown University)

This presentation explores how a virtual exchange experience enhances the learning journey of beginning-level Japanese learners, fostering intercultural communication skills and mutual understanding. It discusses how it can complement traditional textbook-based learning, empowering students in early language learning through experiential learning.

Bridging Cultures: High School Japanese Language Learning and Exchanges, by Elena Yoo (Hawaii Baptist Academy)

This presentation delves into the experiences of American (Hawaii state) participants who engaged in a unique combination of online and in-person interactions, fostering cross-cultural understanding and language development & highlights the impact on language learning outcomes, communication skills and their social and emotional learning factors.

Intercultural Competence Gained through the Comparison of Social Systems, by Yoshihiro Nakajima (Osaka Metropolitan University)

It is crucial for students to cultivate problem identification and resolution skills. This presentation introduces an online collaboration between Japanese and Filipino economics classes, and examines the outcome. How students can transcend the confines of societal norms and start thinking from global perspectives will be discussed.

This paper describes a course that brings together language learners of Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, and Armenian with the explicit intention of exploring commonalities and currents of cross-cultural contact between cultures that intersect with Islam, Christianity, and Judaism in multifarious ways.

Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) is an Indonesian university program that combines academic education with community service, fostering student growth, civic responsibility, and intercultural competence. This research examines KKN’s transformative impact on Global Citizenship, Community Impact, Cross-Cultural Experiences, and Student Learning in Indonesia.

This presentation describes how multilingual and transnational individuals teaching English in Japan discuss and co-construct their sense of transnational and multilingual self in a professional learning community, particularly in how their sense-making processes influence their practices as mediators between differences in their teaching contexts.

Our presentation explores the value of faculty-led study abroad as part of teacher preparation programs. Our findings illustrate how 40 teachers’ study abroad experiences led them to the practices of Global Citizenship Education including curricular globalization, increased advocacy for marginalized students, and the adoption of a global mindset.

This presents an exploratory, autoethnographic case study, highlighting the role that self-discovery has in a world languages teacher turned intercultural researcher’s personal intercultural learning. Through carefully-designed study abroad programs, world languages teachers can develop their own interculturality and develop their pedagogical stance and approach at the same time.

This exploratory case study aimed to ascertain whether it is possible and ethical to measure a students’ intercultural competence from the perspective of their peers in a COIL collaboration. Results revealed that, overall, students rated their peers as interculturally competent, however outlier data provides insight into the need for ‘safer spaces’ in virtual exchange.

This paper traces the critical construct of hope expressed by Afghan participants interviewed first after an online intercultural service learning project focused on English language tutoring; and second, by Afghan participants able to leave Afghanistan after the fall to the Taliban, and those who have been left behind and remain in hiding.

Starting a cultural unit in a language classroom with essential questions and guiding questions can open doorways to cultural sharing and mutual understanding. These kinds of initial inquiries in the classroom invert the power dynamics between teachers and students and are a powerful curricular tool that can create respect and peace among cultures.

In this study, we examined the Common European Framework of Reference for languages: learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR) Companion Volume to discover what competences learners should acquire to live harmoniously in a democratic multicultural society. The study aims to raise awareness among education stakeholders about the importance of preparing learners for life as equals in culturally diverse communities.

This study conducts interviews with ten international graduate students in the United States to investigate their acculturative stressors, explore factors influencing their acculturative stress, and examine coping strategies they utilized to mitigate acculturative stressors.

This study explores the development of L2 learners’ intercultural competence during their post-secondary studies. A total of 79 students completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). The results explore the distribution and development of students’ intercultural competence, emphasizing the necessity for targeted interventions for students’ intercultural development. 

Since the 2000s, educational policies in Russia have had detrimental effects on its indigenous languages. The Tuvan language, which was considered relatively stable, is no longer acquired by the younger generation. The study argues for the reinstitution of Tuvan-medium education in kindergartens and schools in Tuva to promote additive bilingualism.

Immigrants are often excluded from civic action, but nonetheless assert agency in diverse spaces. This session shares an ethnographic study on how transnational Latinx youth and adults develop civic literacies through horizontal and intergenerational education and organizing at a community-based organization for immigrant and worker rights.

In this communication, we propose and document ways to intentionally cultivate critical intercultural citizenship and pedagogy in language teachers, and analyze the processes through which teachers’ critical pedagogies develop.

This presentation will illustrate how community-based learning can be an effective modality for developing global citizenship among students by fostering a sense of intercultural responsibility, providing a platform for social capital generation, and offering an opportunity to contribute to positive peace.

The presentation will focus on the results of a literature review which explored intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes English language teacher candidates demonstrate in the context of initial teacher education.

A classroom-based experience aimed to raise awareness of English varieties in a teacher education program in Colombia. The results revealed participants’ disposition to challenge the traditional dependence on the native speaker model, and a tendency to position themselves as ‘glocal’ English users with an increased awareness of other cultures.

In the centre of reflection stands the notion of cross-border competence seen as part of the intercultural competence and a chance for building a community within teaching and learning neighbouring languages in the border regions. The definition, the results of self-conducted studies as well as recommendations in this regard will be presented.

This presentation explores the perspectives of graduate students in TESOL paired with adult learners of English in Afghanistan for synchronous online tutoring. Data, in the form of written reflections, offer evidence of peacebuilding (Minett et al., 2022) in the form of changes in teachers’ perspectives of themselves, the “other,” and the world.

This presentation concerns the ways in which German language learners can improve their Intercultural Communicative Competence, especially while talking with native speakers about peacebuilding. It presents a module that prepared intermediate learners of German for successful interactions with native speakers along with a transcript and reflection.

This presentation will share a virtual exchange project that connects students in the U.S. and China to discuss cultural topics and explore ways to enhance intercultural empathy as global citizens. Examples and suggestions will be offered for the audience to consider when creating respectful and inclusive cultural learning activities.

This study addresses the growing interest in incorporating cultural learning into U.S. military training to enhance the ability of military personnel to respond effectively to international security challenges. Understanding the factors influencing intercultural sensitivity can help training programs to prepare military personnel for international engagements.

How can teacher educators successfully engage preservice teachers in intercultural learning and the development of intercultural competence? This presentation aims to answer this question by discussing a study that investigated the intercultural development of preservice teachers enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) Foudations course.

Study abroad offers potential to depart from colonizing activity and towards partnerships inspiring engagement for all stakeholders. We outline essential components and curricular structures of international programming to build interculturality and global mindsets drawing from our own research and hands-on experience leading such programs.

The paper will outline an international research project based on the analysis of journal entries written by a multinational cohort of German, Polish, Asian and US-American Master students during a time span of 15 months.

This presentation illustrates the usefulness of World 101, a multi-module online material by the Council on Foreign Relations, for teacher training and teaching ESL. In an online course on methods of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the participants used World 101 materials to design globally-minded lesson plans.

This study presents the implementation of an intercultural based project and demonstrates how through the project the learner demonstrated greater intercultural awareness and improved cross-cultural communication skills.

The Centre for Teaching and Learning has expanded its programming to include robust professional development for educators. This session describes the program called Developing Intercultural Competence in Higher Education. The session will benefit university units that are tasked with supporting faculty professional development.

This presentation follows Eric, a Chinese-speaking Muslim student, in a virtual exchange (VE) that connected university students in two ESL courses in Canada and Jordan. Using the construct of ‘investment’ (Darvin & Norton, 2015), I highlight both Eric’s struggles and practices to navigate his possible identity as Muslim Chinese in the VE.

Korean language course with Purdue Korean Community School had a profound impact, fostering community engagement, cultural understanding, and language proficiency. This service-learning course demonstrates transformative power of experiential learning and potential for impactful partnerships in language education.

This presentation reports a case study of incorporating a set of cross-cultural intervention modules into a semester-long course at a U.S. university. Students showed gains in intercultural competencies related to their own behavioral flexibility and interaction relaxation when interacting with group members.

In this paper, we discuss the potential and limitations of the use of Virtual Reality (VR) for intercultural communication education, based on the empirical study. The primary goal of this research was to explore the effectiveness of VR in developing students’ empathy and intercultural competence.

This presentation reports on the successful initiative to implement a certificate in intercultural competence for undergraduates. Attendees will learn of concrete steps taken at the institutional and departmental level to offer a certificate that gives students credit for developing skills through study abroad, internships and language learning.

This paper describes a case study about the design, execution, teaching, and learning outcomes of an upper-intermediate course in Spanish with focus on health-related topics, and the development of intercultural communicative competence in the target language, in the context of the ACTFL standards and their adaptation to this LSP class.

Covid19 projected an increasing light onto the question of whether students need to travel abroad in order to become more culturally competent. The researchers designed a study abroad at home course with the goal of fostering intercultural competence via simulations and an international student buddy program within the backdrop of alpine studies.

How does a course on bilingualism affect a) conceptualizations of bilingualism; b) participants’ relationship to bilingualism for personal identity? Case studies of two students indicate that, in problematizing preconceived notions of bilingualism, participants find a greater sense of inner peace about their own bilingual practices & identities.

This presentation shares how Korean language teachers can incorporate Psick Show as a resource to help learners navigate Korean’s complex honorific system. The show’s comedic role-playing in English and Korean can be instructive in understanding Korean cultural particularities such as gift-giving and interacting with younger friends and siblings.

Proponents of global service-learning (SL) suggest its necessity for student global citizenship. Pre-occupational therapy students were required to complete SL, locally or during a language and cultural immersion in Guatemala. We compared perspectives, along with the development of cultural competency as it connects to global citizenship.

A study at Hostos Community College finds that incorporating Spanish content in English classrooms for adult immigrant learners can challenge negative stereotypes. Pedagogical interventions foster cultural and linguistic pride, mitigating pervasive stereotypes and emphasizing the importance of inclusive language policies.

The presentation explores a college-level curriculum for IC, advocating the expansion of interpretation and dialogue skills. It cautions against excessive criticality, which may lead to rigid oversimplification, and instead encourages exploring the aesthetic, imaginative, dialogic, and emotional aspects of cultural texts in intercultural education.

Focused on digital peacebuilding, this qualitative study analyzes Pakistani influencers on Instagram through their writings. Through coding and analysis, implicit and multifunctional peacebuilding initiatives were found in the data.

This paper draws on the experiences and learning of a cohort of undergraduate students in a community-engaged language education program. This group of students, majorly from immigrant backgrounds, demonstrated an intuitive asset-based approach to immigrant community members, reinforced by their continued engagements and self-reflections.

Chinese, Kenyan, Libyan, Mexican, Nigerian, and United States faculty engaged in a critical global citizenship virtual exchange to more deeply understand how we learn and teach languages/cultures; model virtual exchange practices; and deepen students’ intercultural competence. We work to “bend toward justice,” putting peace education into action.

This study explores a comparative cultural assignment in a COIL exchange between students in Colombia and the U.S. The aim was to move past similarities and address differences in cultural values. Content analysis of student projects suggests the experience fostered empathy, tolerance, community, and mutual respect by recognizing differences.

This presentation addresses this research gap by reporting the classroom applications of Transformative Language Learning in Teaching (TLLT) in an English-medium content course on language usage in Japanese society at a private university in the US.

This work focuses on the concepts of individual and collective memory and intercultural dialogue. It describes a workshop tasks – the exploration of painful memories in the novel Noor – accomplished by English educators. The underpinning idea is using language productively to handle painful past events and elaborate on a multimodal response to them.

This study developed original instructional materials teaching intercultural conflict mediation strategies. The materials’ effectiveness (students’ intercultural development) was evaluated based on students’ use of conflict mediation strategies in a simulation task and their responses to a standardized survey assessing intercultural competence.

Decolonizing education is currently en vogue, but how realistic is it and what does it exactly entail? This presentation will explore the opportunities and limits of language education decolonization, and provide a rationale for it in relation to the nurturing of common humanity, tolerance and appreciation among next generation global citizens.

We will explore approaches to cultivating praxis for justice, balancing theory and reflection for action, for intercultural and language scholars, practitioners, educators, and students. We discuss the dialogic pedagogical practice of “paying attention to the tension to set intention” to move from “what is” and “what has been” to “what could be”.

Developing and evaluating student intercultural competence in upper Russian classes is an important aspect of teaching that aims to build a more peaceful future. Utilizing target language assignments and standardized intercultural development assessment aids in the examination of student sensitivity to cross-cultural similarities and differences.

This presentation describes a decolonial approach to teaching interculturality in the intermediate German as FLE classroom. It illustrates a teaching design which takes students’ multilayered and/or intersectional cultural identities as a foundational aspect in intercultural teaching and learning.

This paper presents findings from a Learning Cycle on Democracy and Citizenship in Norwegian teacher education, based on observations, student work, and interviews. The 5-step learning cycle encourages individual and collaborative digitally supported work to make links between research and practice in Global Citizenship and Intercultural learning.

Troy University aims to reinforce its status as Alabama’s “International Institution” with a multi-faceted Intercultural Competency initiative designed to promote cultural awareness among employees working in traditional and online settings, and facilitate interactions between employees and students from different cultural backgrounds.

This presentation will outline two conceptual findings about intercultural competence. First, a systematic approach to visual art plays a crucial role in developing intercultural competence elements (Skills, Attitudes and Knowledge). Second, this approach can be implemented into all course curricula.

We demonstrate how, in lieu of approaches that embrace the language – no language dichotomy, nexus analysis (NA) may be a useful conceptual framework in examining intercultural competence. Data from interviews with 14 culturally and linguistically diverse pre-service teachers from a Canadian university illustrates how to apply NA.

Incorporating authentic materials from francophone countries in our First-year French classes at UW-Madison & UW-Milwaukee helps to build intercultural competence in our learners with the aim of promoting peacebuilding. Explore how adopting these Outside-France French Materials using multiliteracies and communicative approaches can foster Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

US undergraduates reportedly lack critical communication skills, but remediation is often costly and ineffective. We report on a sustainable program focused on students’ iterative practice of intercultural communication. Tested in a 2021 mixed-method study with engineering students in two course modalities, the program offers a promising template.

Presentation of a module on French language variations taught in university language class, and inspired by concepts of Standard Language ideology, raciolinguistics and ‘appropriateness’. The various activities (surveys, readings, round table discussion) challenge language stigmatization, foster intercultural learning and empower global citizens.

This presentation focuses on the challenges practitioners and administrators in Higher Education (HE) face incorporating intercultural competence in spaces where diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism are seen as more prominent. The intention is to debunk some existing ideas and provide examples of how these two areas can be integrated in the curriculum.

Taking as a point of departure the double meaning of the French “hôte” as both host and guest, this paper posits hospitality as a worldview, a mindset, and an intellectual posture geared toward social action to structure LC2 education. We’ll examine examples of pedagogical interventions to create spaces of hospitality in and outside the classroom.

This study presents the outcomes of a “critical virtual exchange” project which aimed at connecting teachers who were working with Ukrainian students displaced by the war. The study sheds light on the potential of virtual exchange in addressing critical pedagogical goals in crisis-affected contexts and ways to establish virtual support communities.

This study examines experiences in a global summer program in South Korea with participants from around the world. A DEIB/CLA framework is used to explore the development of global and intercultural competences in language teacher education. Session participants will walk away with multiple perspectives and practical implementation strategies.

This study explores a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) where student teachers from different countries collaborate on topics of foreign language education. Using qualitative methods it provides insights into students’ experiences, focusing on intercultural development and global citizenship. Implications for future blended mobility programs will be derived.

This presentation addresses the following questions: (1) What is the role of an interdisciplinary, intercultural team in developing AR applications for learning and teacher training? (2) What is the role of these technologies in enacting linguistically and culturally rich experiences to immerse students in engaging learning experiences?

Cultivating the self-awareness of global students is foundational in their journeys to becoming global citizens.  The findings of this empirical qualitative research on the experiences of 26 global students provide insight into how faculty and staff can faciliatate this learning through high impact programs such as leadership programs.

This presentation demonstrates the development of a Collaborative Online International Learning project between an L2 Japanese language class in the US and an L2 English language class in Japan. It focuses on promoting cultural and language exchange through three-stage synchronous/asynchronous interactions on the topic of “sustainability in Japan.”

The Centre for Intercultural Learning will explore how it is supporting the application of its publication,  A Profile of the Interculturally Effective Person, in an increasingly complex world, including linking intercultural effectiveness with efforts to foster an inclusive workplace, and its relevance in all contexts, both local and global.

The Global Citizenship and Multilingual Competences toolkit is a product of a European Commision-funded project with partners across Europe. It provides free online resources for secondary teachers of all subjects about how to integrate global citizenship goals and plurilingual pedagogies into their practices in a sustainable way.

In cultures that avoid direct messaging, understanding allusions becomes especially important for the foreign language learner. This presentation offers ways to understand a complicated confluence of language, literature and history, and lays out a course to build background knowledge and to use language effectively in such avoidance cultures.

This study investigated the effectiveness of a small-scale intervention that complemented regular Russian language instruction with lessons based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The presentation will discuss learner perceptions of these lessons and their gains in sustainability literacy.

This study explores how an informal online community develops, evolves, and thrives among multilingual and global participants.  Members’ experiences, behaviors, and decisions were analyzed. Implications address learning motivations. Examples of topical prompts, perspective-taking, learners’ preferences, and participation patterns will be shared.

This study focuses on Chinese language teachers’ professional identities in American K-12 schools during the COVID-19 pandemic era, when the surging anti-Chinese racism coincided with the deteriorating Sino-US relationship. Our findings illuminate the racial, political, and epistemic tensions that these teachers had to negotiate.

Through exploratory practice, instructors of ELL and world language methods courses and pre-service educators dialogically negotiate and critically explore the meanings, entanglements, tensions and possibilities around the notion and pedagogies of solidarity for re-imagining social justice praxis.

This research explores teaching/learning strategies and perceptions of international graduate students and faculty in US schools of education. Adopting mixed methods, it delves into their experiences and highlights the importance of in-depth communication for academic support.

This research project investigates the experiences of Japanese university students who participate in virtual exchange programs and aims to expand our understanding of how intercultural competence is manifested and developed in online contexts.

This presentation attempts to provide the definitions of intercultural competence and present the new conceptual model of intercultural competence by integrating the insights from previously understudied three groups of key stakeholders, language learners, language teachers, and people who work in the public arena.

American college Japanese language courses cooperate with a Japanese university in a four-tiered structure deepening students’ intercultural understanding: Virtual Language Tables, Collaborative Online International Learning, short- and long-term exchanges. It fosters global citizenship in line with World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages.

This session explores teachers’ designing Virtual Field Experiences (VFEs) and shifts in global digital literacies through a Professional Learning Series. Findings show VFEs: 1) connect digital literacies and intercultural awareness; 2) expand views of the global and digital world, 3) demonstrate co-design that intersect with students’ interests.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in a large number of refugees seeking shelter in countries around the world. This poster presents a curriculum and approach to curriculum development that is designed to foster resilience, intercultural competence and sensitively address uncomfortable and challenging topics related to war and trauma.

This work focuses on strategies for teaching for global competence and anti-racist education, specifically using children’s and adolescent literature and global thinking routines to foster inquiry, engage learners in perspective-taking of others’ viewpoints, invite respectful dialog, and spark thinking around advocating for a more just world.

Exploring a documentary film in a language and culture course integrated with SDGs is a great tool for the learners, enhancing their global citizenship as well as helping them develop linguistic and intercultural competence. The session discusses the sample curriculum development of the global humanities approach to the UN SDGs (1,2,3,4 and 5.)

Language educators can empower global language learners to reduce bias, stereotypes and discrimination by teaching peacebuilding competencies such as intercultural empathy and cognitive flexibility. This presentation will offer second language educators two positive interventions that promote perspective taking, critical thinking and common humanity.

In the era of sudden traumatic events, such as recent war in Ukraine and the new conflict in Gaza, we experience an even greater need for contemplative infusion of mindfulness, compassion and understanding into our educational settings. This poster discusses the work of a volunteer, Andriy Matiashchuk (a FIFA certified coach and a former Ukrainian Olympic Committee affiliate) of the Ukrainian League of helpers with 6 different cohorts of students at CU Boulder studying Russian language or cultural history. In our report we present summaries of student interactions and feedback; examples of artwork that communicates response to trauma; images of class interactions with Andriy where embodied cognition exercises were implemented, either in paralleling language structures or embodying a personal choice in a “mindset” of a Ukrainian person. It has been our students’ experience that such interactions offered remarkable respite to them and an avenue to process fear and grief associated with these traumatic events. Language interactions specifically offered considerable openings through immersing students in a new language and cross-language experience with deep cultural commentary that was relayed live by a witness of the events.

This poster presents a study of an equity audit which attempts to improve outcomes and experiences of non-white rural P-12 learners by increasing the equity literacy of faculty and pre-service teachers in a rural university teacher education program.

This study reports on an intercultural peacebuilding education course that focuses on the historical connections between Hiroshima and Hawaii, involving Japanese Americans. The course aims to foster mutual respect, establish enduring bonds between Japanese students and local communities, and promote meaningful and respectful interactions.

This presentation aims to demonstrate an advanced-level Chinese language thematic unit focusing on the “Harmony-oriented” mindset in Chinese culture. Understanding this core value in Chinese society can help language learners develop fundamental intercultural skills when communicating with Chinese native speakers.

This poster will share pedagogical practices and activities from two distinct courses to explore how we teach about Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and its relationship to peace-building processes. GBV must be addressed fully as part of any broader peace-building initiative, yet is often overlooked, and is a challenging topic for students to discuss.

El Cafecito is a culturally immersive activity series at the University of Chicago that engages participants with target language enclaves to promote intercultural exchange by elevating the voices and perspectives of guests from target enclaves within the Latinx community.