(Mis)Understandings in Multicultural Communication: Implications for Second Language Classrooms and Professional Settings(Second Language Learning and Teaching)

This book explores how multicultural speakers interact in monolingual, bilingual, and telecollaborative contexts in order to establish evidence-based recommendations for best practices in second/foreign language classrooms and professional settings. The book features leading experts sharing valuable insights and cutting-edge research analyses of talk in interaction. It consists of six parts. Part 1 describes its main purpose, goals, focus, intended audience, and structure. Part 2 investigates how culturally and linguistically diverse speakers position themselves to achieve shared understandings, manage communication challenges, and negotiate cultural differences and misunderstandings during intercultural discussions in monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual classroom and workplace settings. Part 3 analyzes how pronunciation, identity construction, and intercultural awareness converge in diverse educational and sociolinguistic contexts and contribute to an increased appreciation of other cultures and worldviews. Part 4 offers a multidimensional understanding of how meaning is reframed across cultural and linguistic boundaries through textual communication practices, including the use of metaphors, queer translation, and literary discourse analysis. Part 5 evaluates best practices for teaching and assessing in person and online intercultural learning through study abroad programs, digitally mediated cultural exchanges, and telecollaborative projects. Part 6 brings together the accumulated evidence to suggest four main multicultural communication practices and propose 100 research questions for further inquiry. Due to its focus on theory, research, and practice, this book appeals to a mixed audience of applied linguists, researchers, translators, teachers, and other professionals with varying expertise in intercultural and multicultural communication skills development and a wide range of scholarly and teaching interests and perspectives.

About the Author :
Veronica G. Sardegna is the Director of the ESL and Pathways Programs at La Roche University and an Adjunct Faculty at Duquesne University, PA, U.S. She is also an ESL Specialist for the U.S. Department of State English Language Programs and a member of Cuestiones del Lenguaje international research group, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina. She has researched and published extensively on topics related to English pronunciation, academic writing, instructional technology, and intercultural learning. She co-edited Theoretical and practical developments in English speech assessment, research, and training: Studies in honour of Ewa Waniek-Klimczak (2022, Springer) and English pronunciation teaching: Theory, practice and research findings (2023, Multilingual Matters). Mariana Lazzaro-Salazar works at the Research Centre for Advanced Studies of Maule at the Universidad Católica del Maule (UCM), Chile. She is an associate researcher at the Language in the Workplace Project (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand), a member of the UCM Editorial Advisory Committee, director of the journal UCMaule, member of the Academic Committee of the Doctoral Program in Education, cluster leader for Research and Impact Initiative on Communication in Healthcare (HKU-RIICH) at the University of Hong Kong, PhD advisor at the University of Leuven, and member of Cuestiones del Lenguaje international research group. Pedro L. Luchini is full professor and research director of the Cuestiones del Lenguaje international research group, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina. He participated in a Fulbright Exchange Program at College of DuPage, Illinois, US (1997-1998), and a Faculty Enrichment Program at Concordia University, Canada (2007). He received a doctoral research award in 2009. His research interests include L2 English pronunciation, intelligibility, multimodal assessment, and applied linguistics, with a focus on teacher education and intercultural communication.