10:00-10:55: Main Room

11:00-11:25: Breakout Room 1 | Breakout Room 2

11:30-11:55

12:30-13:25

  • Breakout Room 1: Workshop: The ICLE SIG Activity Initiative

1:30-1:55

2:00-2:25

2:30-2:55

3:00-3:25

3:45-4:10

4:15-4:40



10:00-10:55 PLENARY: Main Room
A Model of Virtual Intercultural Training with Emic Cultural Concepts: Theory to Practice
David Dalsky, Ph.D.  (Kyoto University) 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, intercultural trainers and exchange-student facilitators have faced difficulties with program implementation and design. In this workshop, I will introduce elements and procedures of an example of a novel Virtual Intercultural Training paradigm. The following three elements will be introduced: 1) a visual model diagraming the paradigm, 2) an example syllabus, and 3) materials for implementing this paradigm, all of which can be found on the following webpage: https://interculturalwordsensei.org/team-discussion-materials/. Participants are encouraged to view the sample syllabus and discussion materials before the session (linked above). I will also introduce a database (https://interculturalwordsensei.org/) of intercultural training materials that may be useful for virtual intercultural exchanges among students and teachers. Participants who are multilingual or for whom English is a second/foreign language are especially encouraged to attend, as the paradigm centers on emic cultural concepts that are difficult to translate into English. 


11:00-11:25 Breakout Room 1
Japanese University Learners + the International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project = Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC)?
Eucharia Donnery (Soka University) 
English in Japan can be seen as a colonial discourse, which Ohnuki-Tierney describes as a kind of marebito, a god that can bring both good and bad (1984: 38). Across university classrooms in Japan today, attitudes to English are extremely complex: on the one hand, English is fashionable and an eye-catching tool of marketing; on the other, students may not perceive the value in developing English proficiency. This paper describes how the International Virtual Exchange (IVE) Project, with its explicit goals of community-building, collaboration and communication, helped Japanese university students develop in Byram’s savoir model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in the five main areas (Attitudes, Knowledge, Interpretation, Discovery and Interaction, Critical Cultural Awareness) through authentic and meaningful online exchange with non-native English speaking students outside Japan. Examples from the students' exchanges will be presented as evidence of students' growth over the course of the exchange.


11:00-11:25 Breakout Room 2
Providing learners with substitutional encounters: Creation of a database of immigrant interviews
David Ostman (Kumamoto Gakuen University)

Tasked with incorporating cultural components into EFL curricula, I have found myself frustrated by the fact that my learners typically enter university with little or no meaningful experiences with members of other cultures, often due to the relative homogeneity of their learning environments (Kumamoto; rural Kyushu). Absent real intercultural encounters, EFL cultural components have a tendency to become information-centered; however, to develop intercultural competence learners need to interact with cultural others to gain access to alternate worldviews. One solution lies in facilitating substitutional encounters through literary and digital narratives, where learners are afforded opportunities to take character perspectives to increase awareness and understanding of other cultures.  

This presentation outlines grant-funded research involving the creation of a database of immigrant interviews presently featuring 30 individuals who have moved to Kumamoto Prefecture. Representing 14 countries, interviewees were selected from a wide selection of occupations (agriculture, health services, manufacturing, restaurant/hospitality, education, etc.). Interviews provide information regarding: 1) immigrant cultural backgrounds, 2) motivations for immigrating to Kumamoto, 3) challenges involved in transitioning to Japanese society, and 4) future aspirations. Following these video encounters, learners research cultural backgrounds of interviewees; however, unlike curricula focused on gaining cultural knowledge of “others,” learners engage in perspective taking to consider how they would act/feel in alternate situations. Through empathic immersion into immigrant narratives, learners gain understanding of who immigrants are, where they came from, and why they choose to live and work in Japan. This presentation focuses on the creation of the database and its potential for use  with learners to develop intercultural understanding and awareness.


11:30-11:55 Breakout Room 1
Integrating an International Student Interaction Program into an EFL Speaking Course
Tom Stringer (Kwansei Gakuin University Language Center)
Craig Mertens (Kwansei Gakuin University Language Center)
In this presentation we will explore some quasi-experimental, classroom-based research that focuses on the impact international exchange student classroom interactions had on EFL students in compulsory speaking classes. We initially hypothesised that such opportunities for authentic intercultural communication had the potential to improve students’ learning outcomes, motivation, and attitudes. First, we’ll describe how undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students at a university in Japan participated in an International Student Interaction (ISI) program for a single semester. In the spring semester, a control group (n = 39) had speaking classes. A quasi-experimental group (n = 47) followed the same curriculum in the fall; however, a small group of international students (n = 9) visited the quasi-experimental group’s classes twice and participated in classroom EFL tasks. We will then explain how pre- and posttest data were collected on participants’ motivation by using a survey, and on their learning outcomes by using non-standardized language tests, and how quasi-experimental group participants’ reactions were also observed. To our surprise, the quantitative results did not reveal significant differences in motivation or language test results, although the qualitative feedback received from participants was positive. Lastly, we will look at how and why these results may have diverged from our expectations, and how similar initiatives in the future could be improved.


11:30-11:55 Breakout Room 2
Experiential learning in an intercultural communication class: Linguistic landscape group projects
Todd J. Allen (Kansai University)
Linguistic landscapes (LL) refer to the display and use of language in public spaces (Hatoss, 2019). Researchers have suggested that LL projects (in the form of experiential learning) are beneficial in increasing a student’s intercultural competency. This study reports on students’ experiences conducting an LL group project for an undergraduate intercultural communication class. The project was designed for students to explore linguistic diversity in their local cultural milieu. Students described and analysed LL spaces in terms of their function and significance. Students identified various signs and places such as restaurants and claimed that these phenomena were valuable to the local community for various reasons (e.g., increasing diversity). Students created podcasts and wrote short reports to demonstrate their findings. Overall, this study demonstrates how LL projects provide students with first-hand IC experiences and allow them to apply their newly acquired intercultural skills in critical and practical ways through authentic fieldwork.


1:30-1:55 Breakout Room 1
Video Presentation ->
Ten challenges for self-access intercultural learning
Gareth Humphreys (Sojo University)
The presentation outlines an innovation for self-access intercultural learning. Designed at a university in Kyushu, the innovation involves ten online intercultural learning challenges designed on principles of intercultural citizenship and Global Englishes. The aims are to develop intercultural perspectives and international identifications, i.e., orientations towards and associations with international communities (at home and abroad), and to develop awareness of diversity in English use and among users. The ten independent challenges are presented on Moodle, and include: readings, reflective tasks, interviews, communication with teachers (online or in person), forum discussions, and short internet-based research tasks. In this presentation, there is first a brief outline of intercultural citizenship and Global Englishes before a demonstration of each challenge. Access is provided to participants to explore and freely download the challenges.


2:00-2:25 Breakout Room 1
Talking to the Elephant: How Shall we Address Prejudice?
Stephen M. Ryan (Sanyo Gakuen University)

Given that bias is an inevitable part of the human condition (Shaules, 2022) and even essential for human survival, how are we to deal with the issue of prejudice in the ICLE classroom?

This presentation draws on Kahneman’s (2011) metaphor of two minds in one brain, one fast-reacting, the other slower and more reflective. Haidt (2013) extends the metaphor and posits a lawyer riding on an elephant. The lawyer (slow-thinking mind) is skilled at explaining the elephant’s movements and direction but has no control over the elephant’s action. The elephant (fast-thinking mind) controls how we react to the world around us.

Traditional approaches to addressing prejudice focus on reasoning with the lawyer. We warn against prejudice and discrimination. We promote unbiased thinking. However, after laying out the theory behind the metaphor, the presenter will suggest that we should be talking to the elephant. He will outline ways of doing so.


2:00-2:25 Breakout Room 2
The Trail of the Genji: Promoting Cross-Cultural Understanding for Vietnamese and Chinese Students of English in Japan and Building a Classroom Community Through an Excursion Project to Kamakura - The Exploration of a New Realm of Learning from Mapping to Execution
Matthew Wiegand (JALT CALL SIG, MA Candidate Waseda University Applied Linguistics)

L2 students of English from China and Vietnam traveled to Kamakura and experienced Japanese culture in an excursion that strengthened their ICC within class and the community while, through collaboration (Noor Aileen 2015) and extensive reading (Renandya 2016), improving their English. Excursions motivate students, promoting cultural understanding (Dessy 2014, Hoang 2020). Post execution surveys reveal the trip helped most students develop their ICC while a few didn't feel so. Students remarked on similarities between ancient intrigues from their countries, how reading history benefitted them navigating the venerable city and demonstrated insight (Comm. In Real World, 2013) commenting that reading alone is not enough to improve ICC. Understanding sacred symbols can provide windows into a culture’s ethos (Geertz 1973) and students demonstrated cultural competence by participating in rituals and festivals, even correcting the instructor’s behavior at a shrine. In these ways students’ communicative knowledge increased their communicative competence (Spitzberg 1997). After, students stated a desire to learn about and have more cross-cultural experiences, qualities essential for strong ICC (Arasaratnam, 2005 pp. 157).

Arasaratnam, Lily & Doerfel, Marya (2005) Intercultural communication competence: Identifying key components from multicultural perspectives, in International Journal of Intercultural Relations Vl 29, (pp.137-163) doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2004.04.001

Communication in the Real World (2013) 8.4 Intercultural Communication Competence online edition published under a creative common license by University of Minnesota Press, accessible at: https://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/8-4-intercultural-communication-competence/

Dessy Utami. (2014). Teaching English articles by using field trip technique to the eighth grade students, E-Journal of English Language Teaching Society (ELTS). Vol.2 No.4 2014

Geertz, Clifford (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books Inc, (pp 126-131)

Hoang Duc Doan (2020) A Study on the Application of Field Trips in English Teaching in Vietnam: Effectiveness and Solutions. In The Asian Conference on Education & International Development 2020 Official Conference Proceedings https://papers.iafor.org/wp-content/uploads/papers/aceid2020/ACEID2020_56893.pdf (accessed 6/5/22)

NoorAileen, Ibrahim, Mohamad, S,Thuraiya M., Nur Ain Ismail, P. Dhayapari a/p Perumal, Azurawati Zaidi, Siti Maryam Ali Yasin (2015) <i>The Importance of Implementing Collaborative Learning in the English as a Second Language (ESL) Classroom in Malaysia</i>. Procedia Economics and Finance, Elsevier

Renandya, W. A., &amp; Jacobs, G. M. (2016). Extensive reading and listening in the L2 classroom. In W. A. Renandya, &amp; Handoyo, P. (Eds.), English language teaching today (pp. 97-110).

Spitzberg, Brian H. (1997) A Model of Intercultural Communication Competence. In Intercultural Communication: A Reader Samovar L, &amp; Porter, R.(Eds.), (pp 375-387) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284260601_A_model_of_intercultural_communication_competence


2:30-2:55 Breakout Room 1
How to Bring Intercultural Communication Basics into Your Language Classes
Stephen Richmond (Bukkyo University)
Bruno Vannieu (Alma Publishing)

Fostering some kind of intercultural awareness should be one of the goals of foreign language courses, at least from the intermediate level. Unfortunately, in reality it’s rarely the case. Why is that? Maybe because most teaching materials dealing with intercultural issues are overly abstract. These require a lot of commitment and rather advanced language skills on the part of the learner.

In this presentation, we will show some practical ways in which intercultural issues can be brought to the center of an EFL class. We do this not through abstract concepts but rather through topics of everyday life, such as the way we sleep and rest, the places we socialize, and how we interact with strangers. We will suggest an approach  in which students first reflect on their own cultural habits, before looking at those from foreign cultures.


2:30-2:55 Breakout Room 2
Voices on language teacher stereotypes: Critical cultural competence building as a pedagogical strategy
Soyhan Egitim (Toyo University)

The assumption that English must be taught by native speakers is still prevalent within the Japanese context, where the North American varieties of the language are considered the gold standard of written and spoken English. Particularly, the stereotype can create an additional hurdle for non-native English teachers despite their educational credentials and experience in the increasingly competitive higher education job market. Despite their privileged position, the stereotypical roles are ascribed to Caucasian FETs, such as being fun and entertaining could create unnecessary emotional strain for Caucasian teachers who try to establish a professional career independent from the fun persona attached to them. In addition, female FETs may face an uphill battle while pursuing a full-time career due to the societal expectations resulting from the deep-rooted gender roles, such as wives and mothers. The pressure could mount to the point that some female FETs may end up resigning from their tenured posts to either take a career break or seek part-time work. One of the implications of this trend is that female FETs are outnumbered by their male peers. Hence, more students are exposed to male FETs than female FETs, which may further reinforce the already existing gender stereotypes in school settings.

The present study explores Japanese university EFL teachers’ lived experiences with foreign English teacher (FET) stereotypes in Japanese educational settings and proposes critical cultural competence (CCC) building activities as a pedagogical strategy through FETs' personal experiences. The research questions the study attempted to answer include:

1. How are FET stereotypes perceived by Japanese university EFL teachers?

2. What do Japanese university EFL teachers perceive as effective CCC-building activities to help students develop cultural flexibility and think FET stereotypes? 

The study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explicate the participants’ lived experiences and how they made sense of those experiences in and outside of the language classroom. The data was obtained through open-ended interviews with Japanese university FETs (N=8) from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The participants’ responses indicated that FETs can be subject to phenotypical, gender, and personality stereotypes in Japanese educational settings. The in-group’s view of the out-groups through their collective lens, past educational experiences, and the mass media’s reinforcement of outgroup stereotypes appeared to be the major factors. The findings also suggested that CCC-building activities in language classrooms can be an effective pedagogical strategy to encourage students to self-reflect, confront their biases, and develop cultural flexibility which would allow them to think beyond the existing stereotypes.


3:00-3:25 Breakout Room 1
Traveling overseas with students in 2022
Andy Johnson (Future University Hakodate)
Adam Smith (Future University Hakodate)
Namgyu Kang (Future University Hakodate)
One of the most transformative intercultural experiences a student can have is to travel abroad. During 2020 - 2021, most travel abroad experiences were put on hold due to the pandemic but they are now cautiously starting to resume. In order for students to have the kind of authentic intercultural experiences that cannot be done online, the hurdles of traveling in the age of the coronavirus need to be understood by instructors. This presentation focuses on an attempt to take students to Thailand in August 2022 for the International Summer Design Workshop. After a brief introduction to this workshop, this presentation will describe the process of gaining approval from the universities involved, precautions taken while abroad, and the opinions of various stakeholders. It is hoped that sharing such experiences will make it easier for instructors to make informed decisions regarding having students' travel abroad. This project is supported by a Japanese government Kaken grant (21K12564).


3:00-3:25 Breakout Room 2
Effective Blended Learning Essentials for ELT
Vicky Bagheri (Virtual Educators)

With the emergence of the flipped classroom, the use of digital technology has made fundamental changes to teaching and learning. Terms like 'flipped classroom' and 'blended learning are becoming more familiar. Conducting learners to be actively involved in knowledge acquisition and construction as they participate in and evaluate their learning is vital to us teachers. In order to achieve such a goal, providing sufficient time and space for students to explore and experiment, practice and analyse and develop comprehensive knowledge on a given topic is essential.

But how do employ blended learning approaches effectively in the learning online / face-to-face classroom? How can we help students develop critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills? How effective is blended learning? And in what ways is it effective?

This session will focus on blended learning, the most appropriate learning technologies, alongside our usual teaching method. This session will help teachers design blended learning activities, use digital technology more effectively in their classes, and provide more accessible, flexible learning environments for their students. And understand how to embed technology in their classrooms better.


3:45-4:10 Breakout Room 1
A portfolio based on the concept of cultural heritage
Cecilia Silva (Tohoku University)

This work focuses on the concept of cultural heritage, and describes a project accomplished by students of Spanish as a foreign language (CEFR levels A1/A2). The first part refers to the theoretical framework and the methodology. We are using a combination of two models, one of them is the Cultural heritage Cycle (Thurley, 2005) which consists of four actions, understanding, value, caring and enjoyment, and seeks to explain how human beings incorporate culture in their lives. The other model is Five Dimensions of Culture (Moran, 2001:24), which contains five elements: Products, Practices, Communities, Perspectives, Persons, and helps the students to organize the contents of their topics. Together with the application of these models we are exploring the concepts of cultural heritage and identity. In the second part we describe activities and students’ accomplishments (N=23) using structures of levels A1 and A2 to describe elements of their cultural heritage.

References: 

[1] Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture. Perspectives in Practice. Boston, MA: Heinle. 

[2] Thurley, S. (2005). What is cultural heritage? Available in https://www.jcccnc.org/


3:45-4:10 Breakout Room 2
Students’ ELL attitudes: Engagement, Resistance, Mixed
Maria Gabriela Schmidt (Nihon University)
Robinson Fritz (Nagasaki University)
Sumiko Miyafusa (Toyo Gakuen University)
Joseph Shaules (Keio University)
This presentation introduces an instrument to measure attitudes of students toward English language learning in Japan and will suggest approaches on how to get and use the data. The instrument is called the Linguaculture Motivation Profiler (LMP) distinguishing between three states: engagement, resistance and mixed states. The survey includes 45 questions helping to capture the students’ inner feelings toward English learning not in a binary way, having motivation or not having motivation, but in a more differentiated way. For example, students think English might be important for their professional career but they are not really interested. The data of the survey can be used for various purposes: in the classroom as a teaser or get a picture of your class(es) to become aware of the underlying attitudes and considering corresponding pedagogical approaches related to intercultural learning. The LMP is available for free with support which is related to two Kaken research projects.


4:15-4:40 Breakout Room 1
Recognizing Intercultural Positionality
Michael C. Boyce (Hamamatsu University School of Medicine)
As intercultural practitioners and researchers, we tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about and explaining various ‘other’ cultures. How much of our own biases and experientially formed identities are we introducing into our classrooms, research, and personal lives? To what degree this biased infusion of ideas is good or bad in the learning environment is not the topic of this presentation and is better left to someone else to address. This talk will simply focus on surfacing these biases and influences that we all hold and endeavor to create a framework with which to actively recognize these attributes that make up our positionalities. Both language learners and language teachers are functioning in intercultural environments in which a lack of understanding of our positionality can inhibit our potential for learning and growth. Inversely, the more we recognize our positionality or reflexivity, the more we increase our potential. The proposed framework clarifies that positionality is less what we think we are and more what we intentionally recognize that we aren’t.


4:15-4:40 Breakout Room 2
Critical reflection in developing intercultural competence
Thanh Thi Mai Do (University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi)
Developing intercultural competence embraces many approaches and stages which require a lifelong process and individual-centeredness (Deardorff, D., 2020). In enhancing intercultural attitudes, storytelling and critical reflection have been used as a method in teaching and learning Intercultural communication. Storytelling and sharing act as a non-threatening, holistic and easily adaptive in different settings (Deardorff, D., 2020). In the students’ stories, they share their experiences, compare, and analyse the cultural differences, reflect the self and other awareness. Critical reflection is seen as a transformation in students’ growth of understanding self and relations to the world (Kuiper, A., 2017), construction of ‘self’ and ‘others’ (McAllister, L. et al, 2016), sharing experiences and taking actions based on one’s experiences (Deardorff, D., 2013). It helps raise learners’ awareness of cultural ‘selfness’ and ‘otherness’ and shift their attitudes to more ethnorelative ones. With a smartphone or a laptop, students can record their stories via different forms such as presentations, story diagrams on Padlet, short videos on Pecha Kucha/ Canva, comic drawing and poster designing to show their changes of attitudes towards an event, a person, or a cultural/ social assumption. The process of exploring new cultures and new people would be parts of their shared reflection to let them realize how much they have changed. The results show the students’ changes of attitudes towards cultural differences and their openness to adapt in an intercultural environment.