1. Create a safe space

Begin by explaining the purpose of the experience.

This is not a debate, an interview, or a therapy session. It is an opportunity to learn from one another through personal storytelling.

Invite participants to help establish group agreements. Common guidelines include:

• Maintain confidentiality.

• Speak from your own experience.

• Listen without interrupting.

• Avoid judging or preparing your response while others speak.

• Respect everyone's speaking time.

• Assume positive intentions.

• Be authentic.

When participants co-create these agreements, they are more likely to uphold them throughout the experience.

2. Keep groups small

Story Circles work best with small groups of approximately four to six participants.

Each group should have a facilitator—or at least one participant responsible for keeping time and ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to speak.

3. Choose meaningful prompts

The prompts should invite personal experiences rather than opinions.

A simple first round helps participants become comfortable sharing.

For example:

Tell us about an object you brought with you today—or something you're wearing—that tells us something about yourself or your background.

Later rounds can explore intercultural experiences more deeply.

Some excellent prompts include:

• What is one of the most positive interactions you have had with someone who is different from you?

• Describe a memorable cultural misunderstanding you experienced.

• When did you first become aware that someone was different from you?

• Describe a time when a stereotype you believed turned out to be false.

• Tell us about a challenging intercultural interaction and what you learned from it.

The goal is not to produce dramatic stories. Everyday experiences often lead to the richest conversations.

4. Practice listening for understanding

This may be the most important part of the methodology.

While one person speaks, everyone else simply listens.

No interruptions.

No questions.

No advice.

No comparisons.

Participants are encouraged to notice not only what they hear, but also how they interpret what they hear. This helps develop awareness of our own assumptions and cultural lenses.

5. Keep equal speaking time

Equal time communicates equal value.

Whether participants have one minute or three minutes to share, everyone receives the same amount of uninterrupted time.

This simple structure ensures that every voice matters.

6. Include a Flashback Round

One of my favorite parts of the methodology is the Flashback.

After one of the storytelling rounds, each participant briefly shares the most memorable part of another participant's story—in about fifteen seconds or less.

This activity beautifully demonstrates whether we have truly been listening for understanding.

Participants often feel deeply seen and heard during this moment.

7. Finish with reflection

The learning happens not only during the stories but also after them.

Invite participants to reflect together.

Questions might include:

• What surprised you?

• What did you learn about yourself?

• What helped you listen differently?

• Did any assumptions you held change?

• What did you notice about similarities and differences within the group?

Encourage participants to speak about their own learning rather than repeating someone else's story. This also helps maintain confidentiality.

Story Circles in the English Language Classroom

Although Story Circles were not designed exclusively for language education, they align beautifully with communicative language teaching.

Students practice authentic speaking and listening while engaging with meaningful content rather than artificial dialogues.

Teachers can adapt Story Circles for:

• conversation classes

• intercultural communication courses

• teacher education programs

• multicultural classrooms

• professional development workshops

• orientation programs for international students

The linguistic focus becomes inseparable from the human interaction.

Students are not simply practicing English.

They are using English to understand people.

More than an activity

Story Circles are often described as an activity, but I think they are better understood as an experience.

They remind us that intercultural competence is not acquired through lectures about diversity. It develops through meaningful encounters, thoughtful reflection, and genuine listening.

Every classroom already contains stories.

Story Circles simply create the conditions for those stories to be heard.

And sometimes, understanding begins not with speaking more—but with listening differently.

Contrasting communication styles

Our first observation was that the interview was a wonderful illustration of intercultural communication in action. There was a stark contrast between the communication styles of Rachel Martin and Wagner Moura, and yet the conversation was engaging, stimulating and meaningful. 

Martin’s interview style was quick paced and punctuated with lively gestures, whereas Moura was laid back, responded at a much slower pace, and often took a moment to reflect before speaking. The actor referenced his Bahian upbringing in the interview, and we noted that these traits may well be influenced by his North-Eastern roots. 

One feature of Martin’s interview style was her tendency to ask binary questions. These questions were notable mostly because of how they contrasted to Moura’s response. Rather than answer directly, he would offer his own colorful interpretation by introducing alternative perspectives or framing his responses through narrative. For example, when Martin asked if doing theatre night after night gets “harder” or “easier”, “does it help or hinder your effort?”, Moura responded, “it gets… amazing…”. He then goes on to talk about the beauty and uniqueness of acting on stage, without ever really addressing Martin’s black or white suggestions of helping or hindering or getting “harder” or “easier”. 

NPR’s wild cards

We talked at length about the wild card questions and their role in the interview. According to NPR, the purpose of the wild cards is to promote deeper conversation and skip the small talk. One of our group members suggested that the cards created a sense of structure and control in an otherwise unpredictable communicative interaction. In some contexts, like in the United States or the United Kingdom, such prompts might be useful tools for initiating or deepening conversation, and in interview contexts, they would be seen as a “fun” tool for shaking up the interview format. 

In Brazil, however, we felt that the wild cards might have the opposite effect and limit spontaneity or the potential for more organic exchanges. Certainly, in this interview, we felt that Moura didn’t need conversation prompts to stimulate deep and meaningful conversation, rather, they seemed to inhibit his flow. 

When reflecting on our own experiences, we thought that Brazilian communication was more fluid and relational and we shared several personal accounts where we had seen this to be true, such as at birthdays or work events. In Brazil, it seems, conversations tend to develop naturally, without reliance on structured prompts, and speakers are generally comfortable with pauses, digressions, and storytelling.

Without wanting to overgeneralize, our group recalled interactions in the United Kingdom that were more structured and goal oriented. We noted that using prompts and conversation cues are more common, which may reflect a desire to control the conversation and avoid awkward pauses.

Polarization and social media
Our discussion also addressed a broader global trend: the diminishing presence of nuance in public discourse. We all agreed that social media and pervasive internet usage has impacted our ability to allow for uncertainty or ambivalence resulting in the polarization of views and beliefs. 

This shift has implications for critical thinking. We wondered if we were losing the ability to reflect, be curious, and exist in a space where we don’t know all the answers. We are sometimes too quick to search online or to be influenced by algorithm-driven content. Moura’s presence in the interview indicated a genuine sense of contentment in wonderment, living in the moment and not having all the answers. 

Culture, communication and confidence
A final theme we explored was the role of cultural context in shaping confidence and self-expression. From our own experiences, Brazilian environments were described as generally more expressive and encouraging, particularly during childhood, with strong community support from teachers, peers, and family members.

In contrast, experiences from the United Kingdom were associated with more reserved communication styles, where encouragement may be less explicit. These cultural tendencies can influence how individuals perceive themselves and their willingness to express opinions. 

Conclusion
Our discussion on Wagner Moura’s interview underscores that interculturality involves not only understanding others but also reflecting on our own cultural assumptions. Intercultural communication is much more than a simple exchange of information across cultural differences. While differences between American and Brazilian cultural and communication norms were evident, Moura managed to retain his reflective personal style, and both speakers engaged in an insightful conversation which brimmed with curiosity and openness. By examining these differences, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of how our own cultural norms influence how we think, speak and act in intercultural situations. 

References:

https://www.latimes.com/delos/story/2026-01-22/wagner-moura-first-brazilian-lead-actor-oscar-nominations-2026

 https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510379/wild-card-with-rachel-martin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUV-smUZt50

Our discussion

We had an interesting and lively discussion, weaving our own intercultural stories into our reflections on the text. We shared how our teacher training, experiences living abroad and work have molded our approach to teaching interculturality in the language classroom. 

What became clear throughout our discussion was that developing intercultural competence requires more than merely completing a ‘culture’ exercise at the end of the unit, rather, it must be central to learning a foreign language. As Byram (1997) said, “teaching for linguistic competence cannot be separated from teaching for intercultural competence” (p.22).

The knowledge gap

The study showed that while pre-service teachers had positive attitudes towards interculturality, their knowledge of cultural models, publications and research in IC was weak.

In our group discussion, some of us recognized this in our own training. Certification courses focused heavily on grammar, vocabulary, and methodology, with little discussion of how to address the complexities of intercultural communication. 

We have also found this to be true of the coursebooks we use to teach languages. Many global coursebooks present polished, Westernized snapshots of culture that lead to superficial cultural knowledge.

So how do we develop critical cultural awareness in our classrooms?

One of our group members shared how dialogue and collective action helped her staff think critically about what students will really benefit from learning during class time. Rather than sticking religiously to the coursebook, teachers had the freedom to select the most useful topics and tasks. Thereby creating more space to focus on topics and skills that really matter to students. 

Another strategy was to use project-based learning to shift focus away from grammar and vocabulary exercises towards developing critical thinking skills in intercultural contexts.

Finally, one teacher mentioned that bringing real-life stories of intercultural successes and failures into the classroom can be an effective tool for discussing cultural nuances. 

Interculturality in local contexts

In Deardorff’s definition of IC (2020), she states that IC skills are necessary both “within a society” and “across borders”. 

Our discussion turned inward as we thought about how regional differences affect how we interact with people here in Brazil. One example was of how people in Vitória can greet each other with an “Ei,” whereas in São Paulo, that would sound impolite or overly informal. We concluded that we need to bring these anecdotes into the language classroom to highlight that intercultural differences do not just affect communication between Brazilians and foreigners, but with people who live in the same country. 

The cost of native-speakerism and “vira-lata syndrome”

In a moment of reflection on how speakers of other languages feel when talking to native speakers, we recalled having a sense of inferiority, nervousness, or being more prone to making mistakes - something that many language learners can relate to. We discussed what this looks like on a personal level (as in imposter syndrome) and on a national level (as with “vira-lata syndrome”). Vira-lata syndrome was a term coined in Brazil in the 1950s; it relates to the sense of inferiority that Brazilians feel when compared to foreigners. By promoting authentic communication and avoiding stereotypes, we help students overcome inferiority and engage with other speakers on an equal footing. 

As Hernandez-Lopez, Núñez-Mercado and Borquez-Morales wrote:

“if the ultimate goal is to transform language learners into intercultural speakers who are aware of their own and other cultures and can engage with people from different cultures and backgrounds “in a relationship of equality” (Öztürk & Ekşi, 2022, p.493), the focus should extend beyond teaching linguistic features such as grammar, lexis, phonetics, and phonology to also address the intercultural domain (Sevimel-Sahin, 2020). 

Some participants also commented that our SIG was a place of connection and support where we can learn together and combat the outdated notion that you need to be a native speaker to communicate effectively within or across borders.

Conclusion

Our discussion concluded with the understanding that intercultural competence must be central to teacher education and classroom practice, rather than secondary to linguistic competence. 

Developing these skills is a continuous and reflective process, but it can be done! We left the discussion with a clear sense of the importance of intercultural competence as well as strategies that we can think about applying with our own students.