BOOK REVIEW
Gila A. Schauer. Intercultural Competence and Pragmatics. Palgrave Macmillan. 2024. i-xxiii; 154 pp., ISBN 978-3-031-44471-5 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-3-031-44472-2 (eBook).
Reviewed by João Bernardo Silva, Universidade Aberta, Portugal.
Dedicated to Zoltán Dörnyei, the world-renowned Nottingham Professor of Psycholinguistics who passed away in June 2022, Intercultural Competence and Pragmatics is the third monograph authored by Gila A. Schauer, PhD. A fitting tribute to the memory of her former supervisor, Schauer’s book represents a double achievement as it embodies the commendable advances made throughout the author’s career, as well as effectively ensures that a venerable lineage of intellectual and scientific inquiry associated with Dörnyei and affiliates is carried on into the future.
In its essence, the monograph comprises a report of a recent extensive empirical study through which the author sought to address a significant gap in the research literature pertaining to the link between intercultural competence (IC) and Pragmatics, namely: how real modern foreign language (MFL) teachers in higher education (HE) conceive of, and teach, IC. The book consists of 9 chapters: an introductory chapter (Chapter 1), a theoretical chapter (Chapter 2), a methodology chapter (Chapter 3), five results chapters (Chapters 4 to 8) and a concluding chapter (Chapter 9), all structured similarly. The introductory, theoretical, methodological and concluding chapters efficiently allow the reader to situate the study as a whole in its disciplinary context, while each results chapter is designed to address and develop a specific aspect of IC that was intentionally targeted by the author in her empirical study. All chapters are efficiently organised, with the author opening always by stating her aims and proceeding to introduce the precise concept or aspect of IC to be focused on, before proceeding to analyse her data in an objective and methodical manner, and finally recapping whether, how, and to what extent her data analyses allowed her to meet her intended goals in a final chapter summary. The cogent adherence to a coherent expositional order effected through a clear and concise prose makes for an overall pleasant reading experience and effectively ensures that no reader is excluded a priori, regardless of academic level or background. In fact, the structure and style of the book allow the reader to peruse it from beginning to end or just as well to read chapters out of order or selectively according to their own individual needs and interests thanks to highly efficient writing and signposting.
Overall, Schauer’s monograph succeeds in what it sets out to do, expertly offering a comprehensive and rigorous empirical study of a topic hitherto underexplored: HE MFL teachers’ views of IC. Researchers interested in the field and topic of this monograph will undoubtedly benefit from engaging with its contents. The book makes a timely and robust contribution to our understanding of how MFL teachers regard IC while simultaneously offering a nuanced and valuable exploration of how best to approach this type of study thanks to constant, overt and honest reflections on its own limitations and how these may be overcome in future research. In so doing, Schauer’s captivating and empowering monograph sets the gold standard for future empirical studies of overlaps between IC, Pragmatics and MFL Pedagogy and also honours the legacy of the great scholar to whose memory it is dedicated.
References
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Schauer, G. A. (2022). Intercultural competence and pragmatics in the L2 classroom: Views of in-service EFL teachers in primary, secondary and adult education. In T. McConachy & A. J. Liddicoat (Eds.), Teaching and Learning Second Language Pragmatics for Intercultural Understanding (pp. 173-191). New York: Routledge.
How to cite this book review: Silva, J. B. (2025). Book review: Intercultural competence and pragmatics, by Gila A. Schauer. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 18(2), 215–219. https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2025.18.2.11
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