ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that a consistent metacognitive approach to intercultural learning in teacher education requires a coherent course design, i.e., consistency between how the concept of intercultural competence is understood, how knowledge about intercultural communication is presented to the students, and assessment. The first section of the chapter discusses how metacognition can be enhanced by focusing both on the internal outcome (metacognition) as well as the external outcome (appropriate communication) of intercultural learning, which is also visualized in a model of intercultural competence. The next section addresses what seems to be a gap between intercultural communication as a field of study and language studies, a gap that there are good reasons to bridge. In the third section, examples are given of some teaching approaches for the development of metacognitive intercultural competence, such as using critical incidents and role play activities designed to prevent stereotyping. This section also outlines how a seemingly traditional culture-specific approach to target cultures can be used for metacognitive learning. Finally, a metacognitive approach to the assessment of intercultural competence is discussed.
