InterCom, October 2026
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Upcoming Events:
October 30: Lightning Talks, 12:00pm to 1:00pm EDT. Please sign up on myTESOL. Check the Editor’s Letter for more details.
November: Collaboration with the ITAIS
November 20 and 21: TESOL Virtual Conference
December: Coffee Hour “December Solstice” led by Barbara Lapornik
January: Webinar on Building Bridges and Mentoring in ELT
February: Lightning Talks
March: March: Coffee Hour
Letter from the Co-Chairs
Leslie Bohon, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA, USA
Melanie van den Hoven, Visiting Professor and SAFIR Affiliate Researcher at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, UAE
Letter from the Editor
Patricia Moon, English Language Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Language in Full: Teaching English Through Metaphors
Xheni Kapllani, English Teacher, Vicenza, Italy
Not all who wander through English are lost - rethinking learners’ so-called mistakes as metaphorical meaning-making structures in language learning. This article explores how figurative language can be used as a guiding tool in the process of second language acquisition.
Beyond Intercultural Competence: Introducing the RICN Model to TESOL Professionals
Vahid Ghorbani, Arak University, Iran
Intercultural communication today happens across classrooms, workplaces, digital platforms, institutions, and high-stakes professional settings. The Revised Intercultural Communication Needs (RICN) Model offers a needs-based way to understand these encounters by asking not only what communicators know, but which linguistic, affective/emotional, and cultural needs become most important in a particular context.
From Infographic to Interview to Performance: A Three-Part Culture Project
Bach Linh Trang, HCMC University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
What does it take to really understand a culture: a visual, a voice, or a dance? This lesson asks students to build all three — an infographic of a culture’s surface-to-deep layers, interviews comparing host and sojourner perspectives, and a live folk performance — ending with practical advice on avoiding culture shock.
From Templates to Voice: Helping Japanese EFL Students to Find Their Own Words
Yuka Yonemura, High School English Teacher, Kyoto, Japan
Why do so many Japanese EFL students write the same 'templaty' essay — even when given a chance to disagree? This article draws on classroom experience in Japan to unpack the sociocultural roots of this pattern, and shares one teacher's approach to helping students find their own voice again.