ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides counterproductive self-centered assumption of different cultures as different stages of the same culture as well as the equally counterproductive static dichotomy of “self” and “the other.” It shows how intercultural communication between a foreigner and a native speaker is, just like interpersonal communication, by nature cooperative, coordinated and emergent. The book explores native speaker effects, that is, real-life effects produced by the ideologies of the “native speaker”, which manifest in the asymmetrical power relations between Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners and native speakers of Chinese. In examining the diversified pedagogical manifestations of the Third Space, it offers conceptual reflections and empirical studies in direct reference to the CFL pedagogical model, program design and instructional practices, with a focus on the advanced levels.
