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Patriann Smith
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Natalia Balyasnikova
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Hello ICIS Friends!
We are happy to welcome you to the new academic year with this
newsletter. The theme for the November issue reflects our interest
section’s (IS’s) theme for the year 2016–2017: Cultural Synergy. The
idea ofsynergy in intercultural communication points to the importance
of cooperation and the mutual effort of everyone in reaching
understanding, and we hope that the collection of articles this month
really speaks to this theme.
As usual, we are happy to share some updates with you: Maxi-Ann
Campell, the chair of our section, writes about the upcoming leadership
election, and Jeremy Slagoski, our community manager, gives us an
extensive report about the state of the IS’s membership and ways to
connect on social media.
The research article section opens with a piece from ICIS
Chair-Elect Ramin Yazdanpanah. Drawing on his own experience, Ramin
elaborates on six useful tips on how to encourage cultural synergy in
the classroom and shares a list of useful resources for future reading.
Another article, based on an applied research project, comes from
Victoria Surtees, a doctoral candidate at the University of British
Columbia. Victoria writes on her experience of using mobile phones to
survey language learners about where, with whom, and how they used
English in their daily lives. We hope that Victoria’s experiences would
encourage more colleagues to try alternative ways of engaging with
language learners to gain insight into their complex language issues and
cultural experiences.
We are thankful to the renowned international educator Dr.
Darla Deardorff, who agreed to give us an interview for this issue. Dr.
Deardorff is the executive director of the Association of International
Education Administrators (AIEA), an international professional
organization based at Duke University, where she is a research scholar
in the Program of Education. We talked to Dr. Deardorff about her career
and her views on the role of intercultural communication in the
changing world and challenges it puts before language educators. In this
interview, Dr. Deardorff also comments on the theme of our newsletter
and gives useful advice to the colleagues who want to continue growing
as intercultural educators.
Another wonderful addition to our newsletters is the Book
Review section. Mohsen Moghaddam from Simon Fraser University reviews Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education
by García and Wei. Book reviews are a great way to publish academically
and to help colleagues stay up-to-date with current developments in the
field. This is why we are excited to feature Mohsen’s work and hope it
will encourage more submissions!
We hope that these articles will not only enrich your practice,
but also inspire you to share your ideas with our readership. What
better way to celebrate all the accomplishments of our
members!
Cheers!
Patriann and Natalia
ICIS Coeditors 2016–2017
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Fun Facts about Patriann and Natalia
Patriann enjoys
hiking and feels rejuvenated when she hikes a great trail! Despite a
busy spring 2016 semester, she has hiked three trails so far at the
Caprock Canyon State Park in Quitaque, Texas, the Bandelier National
Monument in New Mexico, and the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon,
Texas. Twitter:@Patriann_Smith
Natalia has
always lived in large cities with a developed public transport system,
which is why despite working for multiple car dealerships, she still
does not know how to drive. Twitter: @_balyasnikova | 
