Author: Sasha Kuchuk
CERCLL’s biennial International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence is an excellent opportunity not only to catch up with the recent developments in the field and to learn from experts and peers, but also to present one’s own research. The recently concluded ICC 2012 focused on “Intercultural Competence and Foreign/Second Language Immersive Environments,” and brought together about 270 academic and language professionals from around the globe. Over four days, the conference featured one keynote and five plenary presentations, more than 80 paper presentations, and 7 pre- and post-conference workshops. Attendees generally commented on the welcoming atmosphere of the conference, and presenters have noted that this atmosphere extended to the way their talks were received by the audience.
“It was a privilege and empowering opportunity to present at CERCLL’s Intercultural Competence Conference with my colleagues…Openness, enthusiasm, dedication to research, and a maintained view of the “big picture” – into which our teaching and research and individual (as well as collective) acts of cross-cultural communication fit – defined this international conference experience…The CERCLL staff have been warm, welcoming and consistently communicative as they sought to meet my needs as a conference attendee and presenter. I cannot recommend CERCLL’s Intercultural Competence Conference highly enough to my colleagues.”
—Rebecca Hale, University of Cincinnati
The diversity of attendees and presenters that characterizes ICC makes these conferences a great venue for novice presenters, who are able to reach experts in their own field as well as across disciplinary boundaries:
“This was my first time presenting my research, and I could not have asked for a better conference at which to present. Even though being streamed and presenting right after Dr. Jane Jackson (whom I cite many times in my dissertation) was nerve-wracking, the excellent organization of the conference as well as the quality of the previous talks made for a successful first experience.”
—Anne Dargent-Wallace, University of Wisconsin-Madison
“This conference offered an excellent venue to present one’s own research result as well as to learn from others…[I]t was my first experience in presenting my thesis’ data in front of an expert audience, even though many of the attendees were not experts, but just generally interested in the topic. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a mainly American audience, since my research is based on a European model and theory, but it was greatly appreciated and accepted.”
—Beate Mueller, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
For many presenters, speaking at ICC 2012 sparked ideas for future work and provided opportunities to build relationships that could foster future collaboration:
“[T]he fact that my work prompted a large number of questions and interesting comments will be a great stimulus for further practice.”
—Marta Guarda, University of Padova, Italy
“As a presenter at the ICC conference I was able to make important connections with other researchers in the field. This conference provided me with a platform to meet researchers who are interested in my area of research, and with whom I may be able to engage in future research projects.”
—Adolfo Carrillo Cabello, Iowa State University