Intercultural Communication Concepts and Implications for Teachers

This article explains the concept of intercultural communication (Ie), discusses the need to treat intercultural communication classes as a specialty in foreign language education, and examines some of the conceptual frameworks that are useful for teaching Ie in Japan. The author focuses on the premise that intercultural training is ultimately transformative and that cognitive training alone is not enough to help students reach the goal of intercultural competence. In addition, this paper examines teacher competencies necessary for Ie training in Japan and presents examples of experiential activities that can be implemented in the Ie classroom.