Abstract
This edited book pays tribute to Michael Byram’s contribution to the field of language education. Michael Byram is one of the pioneers who have drawn educators’ attention to the cultural dimensions of language learning and the educational values of foreign language teaching. His model of intercultural communicative competence (ICC), his notion of intercultural citizenship, and his other educational concepts have had a transformative impact on language education since the 1980s. This book presents a contemporary critique, refinement, and development of his scholarship from a network of researchers.
This collection is composed of 17 chapters and organised into two parts. The first part (Chapters 1 to 7) introduces the evolving concepts stemming from Byram’s work in language education. These key concepts, covering the ICC model, language awareness, intercultural mediation, intercultural citizenship, intercultural dialogue, intercultural responsibility, and critical cultural awareness, are critically examined in their historical context, in the present epistemological landscape, and in terms of possible future directions. The second part (Chapters 8 to 17) showcases the application of Byram’s ICC model across different institutional contexts, including the application of intercultural programmes and innovative activities to promote students’ ICC in diverse pedagogical settings, then the integration of the ICC model into language teacher education and language assessment, and Byram’s devotion and contribution to the wellbeing of the ICC community.
This volume demonstrates the worldwide dissemination and far-reaching influence of Michael Byram’s thoughts and can function as excellent supplementary reading to his classic works. It could benefit readers such as language teachers and novice researchers, just like me. The critical examination of Byram’s work can help readers to develop an in-depth understanding of his concepts and gain valuable insights for future ICC research and practice. The concrete examples of the innovative applications of his theories in locally appropriate ways can stimulate pedagogical innovations in language teaching practice.