Intercultural Communication Interest Section Mission Statement

The mission of the Intercultural Communication Interest Section is to promote intercultural awareness and a respect for all cultures and co-cultures among teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

To this end, the Intercultural Communication Interest Section (ICIS), will provide a clearly defined forum to bring together educators and scholars whose interests lie in the area of intercultural communication, particularly in the context of English language classes.

The purpose of ICIS, the Intercultural Communication Interest Section, is as follows: To promote intercultural understanding in particular environments such as education and business; to support research in intercultural communication; to recommend specific methodology(s) for teaching intercultural communication; and to promote cross-cultural classes/courses in curricula.

To accomplish this purpose, the ICIS (Intercultural Communication Interest Section) shall:

A. Promote interest in the study of intercultural communication;

B. Encourage research and the development of ESOL materials in intercultural communication;

C. Advocate course work in intercultural communication and cross-cultural understanding in teacher training programs, including graduate level courses in TESOL and related fields;

D. Advocate the offering of a class/course in intercultural communication and cross- cultural understanding at secondary and college levels of education;

E. Encourage TESOL members to prepare and deliver presentations on issues pertaining to intercultural communication at national, regional, and local professional conferences;

F. Establish and maintain an ICIS: Intercultural Communication Interest Section newsletter;

G. Establish a training consultancy to disseminate information regarding intercultural communication to TESOL members and the larger community.