This study examines the interactions of educators and instructional designers during a four-week open online professional development course about using social media in education. Discourse analysis was used to elucidate points where national and organizational cultural differences arose, noting whether and how learners expressed and bridged…

Applied linguists have been exploring approaches to second language acquisition and competence that move beyond a prioritization of cognition and grammar that was derived from the foundational structuralist legacy in linguistics. Recently, for example, they have collaborated in putting together an integrated alternative model (Douglas Fir Group,…

This paper addresses evidence that developing a sense of belonging for students from different ethnic groups impacts on their engagement. It notes previous findings that in universities habits of coexistence may present barriers to the development of relationships and the sense of student belonging. The paper proposes that cosmopolitan engagement…

Framed from positioning theory and dynamic systems theory, the paper reports on a naturalistic study involving four Chinese participants and their American peers in an intercultural asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) activity. Based on the moment-by-moment analysis and triangulation of forum posts, reflective essays, and…

This paper discusses and provides two case studies on a postsecondary, accessible, global project among students in Russia, China, and the United States. The project design was to engage diverse students in an international conversation to explore their place in the world and envision their future as individuals, innovators, workers, and/or…

With China's economic growth over the past 30 years, a large number of Chinese enterprises are facing the challenge of developing their businesses internationally. Thus, it has become necessary to improve the effectiveness of transnational and intercultural business communication for these enterprises. In this article, through narrating the first…

This project examined both quantitative and qualitative data about how American domestic undergraduates perceived Chinese international students' (CISs) reticence and face concerns. A quasi-experimental design about American students' ratings of a fictional CIS described in scenarios demonstrated that the reticent CIS was rated as more typical,…

The paper explores the current state of affairs in the language service providers' attitude and practice regarding the digital tools potential for language and culture mediation with refugees. The issue is considered from the angle of interpreters' awareness of and competency in using up-to-date electronic tools to support refugees' language…

Sociocognitive theory views learning, including second language acquisition, as the progressive "alignment" of individuals vis-à-vis their ecosocial environments. In this article we first update sociocognitive theory in light of recent evolutionary/ecological research on learning/teaching: (a) Humans are evolutionarily "adapted to…

This constructivist grounded theory study explored the development of preservice teachers' intercultural competencies. The participants were thirty-two preservice teachers who were participating in a first-year field experience with diverse populations of students. They were asked to examine their understanding of difference, and, in doing so,…

The subject of this paper is embedded in the context of the issues of cultural and religious studies on the grounds of the contemporary glottodidactics, since it contains the characteristics of the selected textbooks for learning Arabic as a foreign language in the aspect of the content of the cultural thematic corpus. Three various textbooks,…

This study investigated how adult second language (L2) speakers of French with near-native proficiency realize verbal negation, a well-known sociolinguistic variable in contemporary spoken French. Data included 10 spontaneous informal conversations between near-native speakers of French and native speakers (NSs) closely acquainted with them.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to suggest ways in which business educators can interact successfully with reflective learning journals (RLJs). Specifically, the research was interested in how students used RLJs and how educators assessed these RLJs. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 31 RLJs, submitted as part of an international…

This paper investigates the dynamics of willingness to communicate (WTC) in written communication between a native and non-native speaker of English. Although research into WTC has identified topic as an interacting variable affecting L2 learners' WTC during task performances (MacIntyre & Legatto, 2011) and classroom interactions (Cao, 2013),…

Given the recent growth of Somali-speaking families in American schools, it is important for educators to understand how Somali families and community members experience school processes to integrate feedback and develop an appreciation for their differing perspectives. The dual perspective of Somali liaisons, with fluency in school processes and…