CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Intercultural Competence: Traditions and Transitions
Fifth International Conference
on the
Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence
January 21-24, 2016
Tucson, Arizona
Writing in 1997, Michael Byram describes intercultural communication as something that is
historically continuous, albeit not constant, and as something that shifted importantly at the turn
of the last century. In a world that is increasingly interconnected—virtually through digital
technologies as well as physically through global migrations—, communicating across cultures
and languages is an inevitability for many people. And yet, large-scale travel and tourism are
hardly new to the Twenty-First Century and the extent to which intercultural communication is a
qualitatively new human phenomenon bears examination. At the same time, intercultural
competence, as a theorizable, teachable, and assessable skill or set of skills, has been developed
by scholars and practitioners in a variety of fields over the past few decades and now carries its
own conceptual traditions—as reflected in the presentations over the past four conferences on
the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence in Tucson, Arizona.
Straddling tradition and transition, this Fifth International Conference organized by the Center
for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) will take stock of the
histories that this field carries with it as well as the future directions it might take. This four-day
event brings together scholars and educators in order to foster a conversation about what
intercultural competence might mean to scholars and educators now, and what theoretical
models, best practices, and approaches are best suited to fostering this sensibility in various
learners.
CERCLL invites proposals for individual papers, symposia, posters, and workshops (half-day/fullday) with preference given to topics related to the conference theme of Intercultural
Competence: Traditions and Transitions.
Priority will be given to proposals addressing one of the strands below:






Assessment
Curriculum design and instruction
Theory and approaches
Technology and digital mediation
Study abroad and immersive environments
Teacher training and professional development
1
CFP - 2016 Intercultural Competence Conference
Types of Contributions
In-person Presentations
Proposals for in-person presentations at the conference may be submitted as one of four types:
1) Paper Presentation; 2) Symposium; 3) Poster; 4) Workshop. Each of these is explained in more
detail below.
1. Paper Presentations (25 minute presentation plus 5 minutes discussion) are best suited for
reports on completed research or scholarly work on a topic related to one of the conference
strands. Presenters should not read their papers, but rather present the main points of their
work in an engaging manner. Paper sessions will be organized into sessions of four papers by
strand. Papers may be presented in English, French, German or Spanish.
2. Symposia (2 hours) provide a venue for a group of authors (3-5) to propose a set of papers
based on a shared theme or topic related to one of the conference strands. The papers may
present complementary aspects or contrasting perspectives. Total presentation time is
limited to one hour and thirty minutes. Thirty minutes are allocated at the end to give
presenters and symposium participants an opportunity to engage in extended dialogue.
3. Poster Sessions (55 minutes) are ideal for presenting preliminary results of work in progress
or work that lends itself to visual displays and representations. The maximum area per poster
is 4 feet high by 8 feet wide. In these sessions, presenters engage in informal discussion with
conference attendees during the assigned period.
4. Workshop Presentations (half day [3 hours] or full day [6 hours]) are best suited for
teaching or demonstrating particular procedures or techniques. These sessions should be
structured so that some explanatory or introductory information is provided with ample time
for audience interaction, participation, and involvement.
Virtual Presentations
This format is intended for authors who are unable to attend the conference in person. The
guidelines above for in-person paper presentations apply to virtual presentations as well. Upon
notification that their abstract for a virtual presentation has been accepted, author(s) will have
until December 14, 2015, to submit their presentation to CERCLL (instructions for how to do so
will be mailed with their proposal acceptance).
Virtual presentations will not be simultaneous, however presentations will be available via the
conference website so that all the conference attendees will have access to them during and
after the conference. The preferred format for virtual presentations is a video file with audio
annotation, no more than 25 minutes long. If there is no audio, it should take a reader no more
than 25 minutes to go through the presentation. The video should not be film of the author
speaking, but rather a slideshow presentation, perhaps created using PPT and QuickTime Pro. For
examples of presentations created in this format, please see the posters submitted for CERCLL’s
2014 Digital Literacies symposium (see the posters linked at http://cerclldiglit.wordpress.com/).
Multimedia and creative modes of presentation are encouraged.
At the time of their submission, authors may chose to have their proposal(s) considered for both
in-person and virtual presentation; they will be asked to commit to one or the other when
notified of their acceptance status.
2
CFP - 2016 Intercultural Competence Conference
Proposal Submission Guidelines
Restrictions: No more than two proposals per person may be submitted. A presenter can only be
a primary presenter on one proposal. Submitting more than two proposals will eliminate all
proposals from consideration. Submissions with similar titles and content will also be eliminated
from consideration.
Proposal must include the following:
Paper (in-person and virtual), symposium, poster





Title: The title cannot be more than 10 words in length. Be sure that your title matches
the content of your presentation.
Abstract: The abstract must not exceed 400 words. The online system will not allow you
to continue your submission if the abstract exceeds 400 words, including any citations.
Summary: The summary must not exceed 50 words. It needs to be in final, publishable
format and error-free, and should not include citations. It must clearly align with the
content of your abstract. The online system will not allow you to continue your
submission if the abstract exceeds 50 words.
Short professional biography. Must not exceed 50 words.
Contact information for all presenters, even though information regarding the proposal
will only be sent (via email) to the first (primary) presenter listed. The primary presenter
will be responsible for contacting all co-presenters with details about the conference
presentations.
Workshop






Title: The title of the proposed session cannot be more than 10 words in length. Be sure
that your title matches the content of your presentation.
Workshop length: 3 or 6 hours
Abstract: Abstract must not exceed 400 words. It will include: a brief description of what
the workshop will entail; target audience, projected participant outcomes, a detailed
schedule of activities; and citations (if appropriate).
Summary: The summary must not exceed 50 words. It needs to be in final, publishable
format and error-free, and should not include citations. The online system will not allow
you to continue your submission if the abstract exceeds 50 words.
Short professional biography. Must not exceed 50 words.
Contact information for all presenters, even though information regarding the proposal
will only be sent to the first (primary) presenter listed via email. The primary presenter
will be responsible for contacting all co-presenters with details about the conference
presentations.
Proposal Review
Paper, symposium and poster session proposals will be evaluated by a team of reviewers using
the following criteria.
3
CFP - 2016 Intercultural Competence Conference





Scholarly or educational significance
Does this paper's topic address an important issue directly related to the main theme of
the conference? Does it offer the promise of new knowledge or best practice? Is it likely
to lead to engaged discussion?
Theoretical orientation
For research-based papers: Is there a clear theoretical framework? Are the hypotheses or
research questions significant? Do(es) the author(s) refer appropriately to previous
research, theory, or practice?
For theory-based papers (those which propose a new framework or reinterpret earlier
studies): Does the discussion appear to be substantive? Thought-provoking? Insightful?
For practice papers: Are the practices innovative and are they grounded in existing
theory?
Quality of research (if applicable)
Is the research design appropriate and adequately outlined? Will the findings be of
interest to foreign/second language teachers?
Quality of practice (if applicable)
Is the practice described innovative? Is it of potential interest to other foreign/second
language teachers? Does the abstract describe clearly what is involved?
Quality of presentation
Is the abstract focused? Clearly organized? Well-written? For symposium proposal: Will
multiple, complementary or contrasting perspectives be presented to attendees?
Workshop proposals will be evaluated by a team of reviewers using the following criteria.




Content relevancy
Does the proposal convey new developments and/or innovative instructional techniques?
Is the proposed workshop appropriate for the intended audience? Tied to the main
theme of the conference? Rigorous in its content?
Learning objectives
Are learning objectives explicit? Practical? Impactful?
Learning environment
Are the delivery methods (what the presenter will do, what the participants will do)
appropriate? Is the format/time suitable for the proposed content? Are there
opportunities in the schedule for interaction or discussion? Is the described learning
environment engaging?
Presenter expertise
Does the presenter have experience in designing and/or presenting similar workshops?
Demonstrate knowledge of how to engage participants in a meaningful way?
Online Submission
All proposals must be submitted using our online form, which will be available in early January at
the CERCLL website cercll.arizona.edu. Proposals will be accepted beginning January 12th, 2015.
4
CFP - 2016 Intercultural Competence Conference
Proposal deadline: 11:59 pm (Pacific Standard Time) on May 25th, 2015. Confirmation of
receipt will be sent via email. Presenters will be notified by email of the conference committee’s
decision by August 31, 2015. Presenters will need to confirm attendance by September 28, 2015.
Questions? Please contact CERCLL at [email protected], (520)626-8071
This conference is organized by the
Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL)
co-organized by the
Second Language Acquisition and Teaching (SLAT) Program
co-sponsored by the
Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Confucius Institute at
the University of Arizona, College of Humanities, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at
the University of Arizona;
and the
Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (CALPER) at Pennsylvania State
University; and Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) at the
University of Texas at Austin.
5