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LEADERSHIP UPDATES
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Roxanna Senyshyn, Abington College, Pennsylvania State University, Abington, Pennsylvania, USA
Dear ICIS Community,
I am looking forward to TESOL Convention 2020 in Denver,
Colorado, USA. There will be more than 65 presentations focusing
specifically on culture and intercultural communication issues within
TESOL. It is the largest number of sessions dedicated to intercultural
issues in the past 5 years!
In this newsletter, I am highlighting the invited panels that
are organized by the Intercultural Communication Interest Section
(ICIS), including collaborative InterSection sessions with other
interest sections (ISs) of TESOL. We will be presenting on topics such
as immigrant and refugee advocacy and peace language, integration of
intercultural learning and competency development into teaching English
for specific purposes, and the exploration and repositioning of
intercultural rhetoric to frame research and practice of second language
writing. Finally, the ICIS academic session will focus on conceptual
models and evidence-based practices that support development of cultural
awareness and intercultural competence in a variety of contexts and
academic levels. Following are more details about these sessions; mark
your planners.
Teaching Peace Language for Turbulent Times: Empowering Immigrants and Refugees
Collaborative InterSection panel with the Refugee
Concerns, Social Responsibility, and Intercultural Communication
ISs
1 April, 1 pm–2:45 pm, Room 113 Colorado Convention Center
Hate-filled language weakens trust, builds barriers, and
interferes with classroom communication. Drawing from refugee and
immigrant experiences in Palestine, Syria, and the United States,
panelists describe how MA TESOL students and educators can integrate
cognitive and socioemotional dimensions of peace language into human
rights and advocacy work and curriculum development.
Presenters: Kristin Kibler, Josephine Prado, Shelley Wong, Hanade Mahmoud
Communicating Across Disciplines: Specific
Language Instruction in Intercultural Contexts
InterSection panel
organized by the English for Specific Purposes IS in collaboration with
the Intercultural Communication IS
2 April, 1 pm–2:45 pm, Room 110 Colorado Convention Center
In an ever globalizing world, communication across academic
disciplines and contexts is inherently strategic. Effective
communication arguably demands not only linguistic proficiency in
specialized genres but also other competencies, including intercultural
competence. This session foregrounds how English for specific purposes
(ESP) programs can address the communication needs of learners in
today’s globalized world.
Presenters: Ismaeil Fazel (moderator),
Elizabeth Wagenheim, Tariq Elyas, Iftikhar Haider, Zohreh
Eslami
Exploring “Good Writing” and Complexities of Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
InterSection panel organized by the Intercultural
Communication IS in collaboration with the Second Language Writing
IS
2 April, 3 pm–4:45 pm, Room 401 Colorado Convention Center
This session revisits intercultural rhetoric, including
positioning it as a link between L2 writing and the translingual
approach. Focusing on complexities in how L2 writers negotiate
linguistic and cultural differences, panelists discuss and explore
writing research and practice in a variety of contexts and academic
levels (from secondary to postgraduate).
Presenters: Roxanna Senyshyn (moderator),
Ulla Connor, Estela Ene, Kyle McIntosh, Nancy Ann Overman, Andrea Lypka,
Kazuyuki Kawano
“Good” Interculturality: Bridging Theory, Research, and Practice
Academic session organized by the Intercultural Communication IS
3 April, 3 pm–4:45 pm, Room 102 Colorado Convention Center
What is interculturality and what do we do with it? Complex
glocal reality and recent research prompt rethinking approaches to
understanding dynamics and factors in intercultural communication and
language education. This session presents relevant conceptual models and
evidence-based practices that span different program contexts in L2
(and teacher) education.
Presenters: Roxanna Senyshyn, Natalia Balyasnikova, Lynne Diaz-Rico, Barbara Lapornik
I look forward to seeing you in Denver!
Roxanna Senyshyn, PhD, is the chair of the ICIS
(2019–2020). She is assistant professor of applied linguistics and
communication arts and sciences at Abington College Pennsylvania State
University, where she teaches TESOL education and intercultural
communication courses. Her research interests include three strands:
transformative intercultural learning in teacher education,
intercultural (communication) competence development for academic and
professional purposes, and second language writing pedagogy and
assessment.
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