580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
Key research themes
1. How can language education foster intercultural competence and contribute to effective intercultural communication?
This research area investigates the integration of culture and language education to develop intercultural competence (IC) and intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Language learning is positioned not only as linguistic skill acquisition but as an avenue for cultural understanding, empathy, and the ability to negotiate diverse cultural identities. Emphasizing multilingualism and teaching culture alongside language enables learners to interact meaningfully in 'third places'—spaces of intercultural dialogue and understanding—thus fostering active multicultural participation beyond tolerance. This theme is critical for designing language curricula that prepare learners for global citizenship and harmonious intercultural engagement.
Key finding: This work introduces the concept of the 'third place' as an unbounded intercultural space where individuals from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds can successfully communicate. It argues that monolingual... Read more
Key finding: This study demonstrates that integrating diverse literary texts and local cultural contexts into English language teaching increases learners' intercultural communicative competence (ICC) by providing social interaction... Read more
Key finding: This experimental study presents the Third Space Literature Circle (TSLC) model designed to improve reading comprehension of underprivileged Syrian refugee and Lebanese learners by fostering intercultural communication within... Read more
Key finding: This paper provides empirical evidence that using literary texts as cultural texts enhances students’ linguosociocultural competence by dramatizing value systems and cultural tensions embedded within target communities. It... Read more
Key finding: Focusing on young learners, this paper argues that developing intercultural literacy through foreign language teaching is vital and must be integrated with cultural knowledge and intercultural awareness. It identifies... Read more
2. What are the challenges and opportunities for intercultural competence development in diverse and understudied sociocultural educational contexts?
This research theme focuses on examining how intercultural competence (IC) models and educational practices apply within contexts distinct from mainstream western, multicultural, or high-diversity societies. It explores the tensions that arise in low-diversity, non-western, or traditional educational systems, where intercultural teaching must adapt to fewer direct intercultural encounters and differing socio-political dynamics. Addressing these challenges calls for context-sensitive curricula, ethical models of IC assessment, and grassroots educational interventions that recognize political realities and curriculum constraints while promoting meaningful intercultural understanding.
Key finding: Through deductive-inductive content analysis of Palestinian high school students in a low-diversity, non-western traditional education system, this study identified 14 IC components largely consistent with established models... Read more
Key finding: In Lebanon's multi-confessional context, universities face significant challenges fostering intercultural dialogue due to entrenched sectarian political structures impacting academic culture and student identities. The study... Read more
Key finding: This evaluation of an extracurricular interfaith and intercultural dialogue program at an Australian university illustrates how such informal curricula spaces reduce social isolation, validate cultural identities, and foster... Read more
Key finding: Examining Greek contexts of adult education, this paper illustrates how migration-led cultural diversification challenges existing educational infrastructures. Effective intercultural practices involve recognizing minority... Read more
Key finding: This practical pre-departure orientation guide emphasizes preparing study abroad students for intercultural encounters by fostering cultural intelligence through participatory, reflective activities that promote... Read more
3. How can intercultural education be effectively integrated into curricula and extracurricular practices to promote intercultural literacy and global citizenship?
This theme addresses curricular frameworks, pedagogical strategies, and educational policies that operationalize intercultural education to foster students’ lifelong intercultural literacy, global citizenship, and critical engagement with cultural diversity. It entails designing integrative curricula that connect cultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes with authentic learning experiences—including visual literacy, collaborative projects, and liberal arts education—thus enhancing critical thinking, empathy, and social cohesion. The focus is on actionable educational structures that bridge theory and practice across diverse schooling contexts.
Key finding: This work conceptualizes intercultural education as a multidimensional curriculum integrating cultural knowledge, civil rights, human equality, and peace. It outlines practical measures such as inclusive curricular design,... Read more
Key finding: Through a case study of a collaborative intercultural education project in Portuguese primary schools, this article evidences that partnerships between schools and community actors create valuable opportunities for... Read more
Key finding: This article empirically demonstrates that engaging adult learners with the Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters through Visual Media (AIEVM) enhances both visual literacy and intercultural literacy by fostering... Read more
Key finding: This paper articulates how the Standards for Classical Language Learning support an integrative liberal arts approach that embeds intercultural literacy within language education. It advocates for curriculum design connecting... Read more
Key finding: Conducting a meta-synthesis of literature relating to cultural intelligence and global literacy, this article affirms that intercultural competence development entails multiple intelligences including cognitive, emotional,... Read more