Brings language use and identity together in a critical reading of recent modern language and intercultural communication literatures. Alternative readings legitimize the dual idea of languages and linguists as agents that mark and are marked. Suggests that for identify to be agentic in character, power has to be acknowledged, struggled with, and…

Investigates how Japanese and American students initiate topical talk as they get acquainted with each other during their initial encounter at a student-organized conversation table. Looks at the observable and reportable ways in which the participants demonstrate the relevance, or the irrelevance, of interculturality in the development of the…

Argues that the conflicts and contradictions of community outreach (such as service learning) call for an intercultural inquiry that not only seeks more diverse rival readings, but constructs multivoiced negotiated meanings in practice. Presents a case study in which students use the practice of intercultural inquiry to go beyond a contact zone…

Considers school choice and employment policies. Suggests that American educators can learn a great deal from other Western nations, which have long made educational freedom a cornerstone of their policies. Concludes that the experience of other Western democracies suggests that a publicly funded school can appropriately ensure the coherence of…

In gatekeeping interviews, candidates must rely on narrative strategies to demonstrate their suitability for a position. This includes the ability to project in their accounts "an institutional self." Compares native and nonnative English-speaking candidates and considers how culturally based differences in communicative background affect the…

Due to increased international business, companies must reckon with the second language factor. Not only should employees learn other languages, but their own communication skills in English should be improved in order to be understood by speakers of English-as-a-Second-Language. (SK)

Recounts the history of interest in developing Esperanto as a lingua franca for international law and diplomacy, beginning with Zamenhof's development of Esperanto and proceeding through the development of a lexicon for the language and through its application to legal issues. Prospects for the future of Esperanto are discussed. (DJD)

Reports the results of four studies examining how Afro-Americans perceive interethnic communication with Whites. Uses an interpretive, cultural perspective in questionnaires and interviews as well as quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify seven issues of communication satisfaction and five conversational improvement strategies,…

Uses William R. Brown's theory of interventional rhetoric to describe a strategy of "participation"--a communicative strategy by which one community of Ohio Mexican Americans employs discourse to reinterpret social roles and expectations. Notes that this strategy attempts to maintain cultural identity while reducing intercultural…

Proposes ethical principles for Arctic research suggested by the Barrow Alcohol Study. Suggests that lack of understanding of the Native community, the mistaken assumption that informed consent had been obtained, and the influence of (and political struggles among) non-Native institutions and agencies contributed to the problems. (DHP)

Data from Australian consultants working in the South Pacific, their Pacific clients, and a group of Asian clients and consultants found differences in the qualities thought necessary for effective consultants. Cultural sensitivity was most important; technical expertise and interpersonal and teaching skills ranked next. Home country success was…

Calls for rekindled interest in the comparative study of significant issues in religion as they relate to education in various parts of the world. Outlines the questions examined in this issues' articles, and lists areas of religion-education linkage in which research is needed. Presents four principles of communication that promote genuine…

Argues that books from minor language communities/cultures are selected not only according to merit but also according to whether the literature in question conforms with the myths about these smaller nations in the dominant culture. Illustrates this point by examining translations of Norwegian children's literature into English, noting in…

Argues that students in classrooms operate in an artificial situation when the teacher is the target audience. Describes a teaching experiment in which students assessed and avidly discussed the success of translations involving cultural features adapted to local audiences. (SR)

The teaching of culture in second-language instruction is discussed from the perspective that cultural instruction should focus less on specific cultural traits or differences and more generally on the ability to exchange ideas about cultural experience. (MSE)