WHAT RELEVANCE DOES INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION HAVE TO LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN THAILAND?

This paper argues for the importance of including salient aspects of intercultural communication (ICC) in the teaching of English as a foreign language, with particular reference to pedagogic contexts in Thailand. The paper begins by considering what is meant by intercultural communication and goes on to examine its relevance to language education. It continues by reflecting on the links between language, communication and culture, and then relates these to Thailand, with some examples to illustrate points made. The paper concludes by stressing that increased intercultural communicative competence (ICC competence) is likely to produce more proficient users of English as a foreign language.