This chapter explores the relationships between grammar and intercultural communicative competence. It discusses what we mean by ‘grammar,’ the nature of L2 grammatical development, and key concepts in teaching L2 grammar. This discussion is followed by a re-evaluation of the native-speaker ideal, morphosyntactic language variation, the local situatedness of grammar, and deploying grammar for creating social meaning. The chapter concludes with practical suggestions for teaching L2/Lx grammar with an intercultural communication orientation, as well as sample language teaching tasks and activities.

The term paralinguistics (from ‘alongside language’ in ancient Greek) describes sounds that carry meaning, but that are not part of the language system. Such sounds convey information to other speakers, but they are not always clear, leaving one with a sense of ‘it wasn’t what they said, but how they said it.’ To interpret the speaker’s tone, participants often rely on the context of the interaction. This chapter explores research on paralinguistic features in four categories: voice quality, prosody, conversational management, and accent. The discussion includes how affect is expressed in electronic communication. Afterwards, these concepts are connected to an intercultural communication-oriented pedagogy, with sample language teaching activities.

In order to become more effective communicators, we need to understand how participants, their cultural and intercultural selves, values, motivations, language knowledge, and language use, among other factors, shape interactions. We can improve our understanding by analyzing interactions both in the L1 and L2. Systematic data analysis reveals how different layers of culture – the supranational, national, regional, cultural group-based, local, and individual factors – contribute to the interaction (Bonvillain, 2020; Oetzel, 2009; Saville-Troike, 2003). It also allows us to see which aspects of culture are most salient – relevant and impactful – in a particular situation. To help readers – and their learners – develop the necessary skills, this chapter presents three models for analyzing communication as a culturally situated process: the ethnography of communication, interactional sociolinguistics, and multimodal analysis. Instructors can implement these analytic approaches in the classroom, using various sources of authentic data, to help students learn to understand communication in culturally and situationally appropriate ways.

This chapter examines cultural transitions, people on the move across the globe who embody a wide range of complex experiences. They include people whose journeys are brief and those who must find permanent new homes, those who are welcomed by the host communities, and those who encounter serious challenges. In other words, people take diverse cultural paths; yet, in spite of their diversity, these journeys also share common characteristics: the need to recognize, and possibly adapt to, new situations, people, beliefs, practices, and ways of communicating. This chapter examines the process of cultural transitions, the change from one’s old self to an intercultural one. It also reviews various models of cultural adaptation, including how individuals move through culture shock to adjust and adapt to new cultural contexts. It also provides suggestions for managing the adaptation process, including measures people can take before, during, and after departure.

Pragmatics refers to the way we understand and use language in social situations. For example, language choices we make express social roles and distance, power status, age, gender, and identity. These language choices have an effect on our interlocutors as we communicate. They can also lead to pragmatic mishaps, which are actually responsible for the majority of L2/Lx miscommunication (Bardovi-Harlig & Dörnyei, 1998). In order to set the stage for an interculturally oriented curriculum that emphasizes pragmatics, this chapter reviews research on L2 pragmatics, what it is, and how to teach it in the L2/Lx classroom. Speech acts, conventional expressions, Gricean maxims, politeness and impoliteness, as well as humor are included in the discussion. The chapter concludes with practical suggestions for teaching L2/Lx pragmatics with an intercultural communication orientation and sample language teaching activities.

Cultural knowledge is a fundamental part of participating in intercultural communication. Our knowledge of the world – such as history, current issues, belief systems, and values – helps us navigate both the surface-level meaning of language and its cultural significance. Cultural knowledge allows us to participate in practices in social/cultural groups (e.g., knowing how to participate in the educational system or attending prayers). Without adequate or appropriate knowledge of the context, the message of our interlocutors remains incomplete, even if we comprehend the lexicon, grammar, or pragmatics accurately. This chapter explores different ways to organize knowledge that we need to learn for successful intercultural communication and how we develop this knowledge (i.e., sources of knowledge). At the end of the chapter, key concepts pertaining to cultural knowledge are connected to an intercultural communication-oriented pedagogy, with sample language-teaching activities.

Language teaching changed significantly over the past century, shifting from the grammar translation method to the communicative approach and beyond. These changes reflected our evolving understanding of how languages are learned, influenced by behavioral, cognitive, sociocutural, and sociocognitive theories. Following this review, the chapter discusses in detail the role of communicative competence and intercultural communicative competence in language pedagogy, presenting research by Byram (1997), Kramsch (2009), Liddicoat and Scarino (2013), and Hua (2014). These discussions outline key components of intercultural communicative competence – such as knowledge, skills, attitudes, and linguistic knowledge - that lay the foundation for the pedagogical chapters in this volume.

Our appearance, gestures, body language, and other types of nonverbal communication convey tremendous amounts of information about who we are, our status, attitudes, and even our goals in an interaction. Nonverbal communication is perceived quickly and mostly subconsciously, drawing on culturally patterned expectations. Since there are few commonalities across cultures in nonverbal cues, there are ample opportunities for miscommunication, such as when and how we touch others, how we relate to time, or what clothes we wear. This chapter explores various types of nonverbal communication, such as facial expressions, gaze, gestures and bodily movements, posture, contact, spatial behavior, clothes and appearance, and nonverbal aspects of speech. At the end of the chapter, these concepts are connected to an intercultural communication-oriented pedagogy, with sample language teaching activities.

Miscommunication and conflict are an inevitable part of human interactions. Managing them can be challenging even when participants share cultural and linguistic knowledge, but using a second or foreign language may lead us to communicate less appropriately and effectively across cultural and linguistic boundaries (Ting-Toomey, 2012). Our limited language skills may make us misunderstand someone’s utterances or prevent us from being able to express what we wish to. We may miss the implications of linguistic and cultural practices or employ disparate communication styles. There may also be external reasons for conflict, that make interaction problematic. The causes, contexts, and resolutions for conflict are numerous, so miscommunication is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ It is a common feature of intercultural existence, and learning to manage it is part of intercultural communicative competence. To foster this competence, this chapter examines communication accommodation for managing miscommunication, causes of conflict, and possible paths towards resolving it. The discussion closes with an examination of what it means to become a more effective intercultural communicator.