An interesting example of what we might call ‘cultural difference’ is the man coming into the café where I am sitting in Canterbury who orders an espresso at the counter, stirs in the sugar with particular panache and then drinks the coffee there and then without sitting down, and leaves. …
I recently went to a conference in Venice. Walking through the narrow streets for the business of getting to and from the conference site drew my attention again to walking rhythms. Where they were major routes for tourists I found I was bumping into people, they were stopping in front …
This is the last section, page 179, from the new edition of my book, Understanding intercultural communication: negotiating a grammar of culture. It should be coming out in the New Year. Safa is a character from one of my reconstructed ethnographic narratives; and I think that what she has been …
The space in the morning is such an important thing to have. It used to be the case that I could just get up and write for half an hour, and that set me up for the day. These days it seems more complex. And for a while I’ve understood …
I have said publicly that I’m not prepared to review any journal submissions that use the native-non-native speaker labels without critical discussion of them. This set me thinking when and when not it would be appropriate to use the labels in research – and to come up with the following. …
This blog responds to queries after my recent presentation at the BALEAP seminar at Nottingham Trent University. Why do we need to stop using the native-non-native speaker labels? Are they really neo-racist; and what does ‘neo-racist’ mean? Are there no occasion when these labels can be used? One reason for …
I have been lucky enough to get a contract for a second edition of my last book, Understanding intercultural communication, with a remit to completely re-frame the text to make it more readable. It will be a more traditional, prose-based, academic text. However, I am also intent on a reference-free …
‘In my mind’s eye’ is a common expression that I heard my parents’ generation use, which means, I think, imagining visual images or ‘seeing’ ideas and arguments. I experienced an excellent example of this recently at a seminar for doctoral research supervisors. Most of the event was quite remarkably paperless …
Following the theme that something can be made of everything. My co-author and I have just finished revising another article. As is often the case when trying to break new ground, one of the reviews is negative. “What is the point of this paper? It doesn’t seem to make any …
A few days ago Mehri and I visited an estate agent because we are trying to sell our apartment. The person we had an appointment to meet was late, so we were invited to sit and wait for about twenty minutes. During this time there was so much to look …