The 'intercultural' teacher - a new response to the teaching career

Starting from the salient needs, pressures and trends underpinning 'the global village' world around us, the paper revisits the concept of the foreign language teacher's profile from a renewed perspective - the 'intercultural' practitioner. Are today's teachers - in terms of professional competence and personality - expected to be different from what they used to be a few years ago? If they are, why and how is this remodelling of profile taking place? Seeking answers to these questions, the discussion in this paper will focus on the main requirements imposed on the teaching profession by the culturally-diverse and globalized world around us. All of us, as active members of the local teaching community, need to be aware of what professional challenges lie ahead of us. To this effect, the author is trying to pinpoint the components of the 'intercultural' teacher's profile not only intuitively but also based on the research coming from the field of foreign language education. According to the view expressed in the article, the formation of the modern 'intercultural' foreign language practitioner requires a 'culture' change in the profession which invites teachers to step outside the traditional frameworks of thought, behaviour and practice towards further professional and personal growth in keeping with the times. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.