This paper outlines the possible impact of Bakhtinian theory concept in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Bakhtin views on the culturally and politically embedded nature of language and addressivity and answerability are ideal for discussion of cross-cultural communication. His cultural and political context are inseparable from an utterance, content, style, and arrangement, and his discussion of "social and historical heteroglossia" replicates the building blocks of discourse, surrounded by layers of culture and author's voice. The Bakhtinian view of audience allows time to analyze current pedagogies and conceptions in a new light, such as through the use of dialogue journals and intercultural exchange of texts. The Bakhtinian audience process is illustrated by journals produced in a university class of Egyptian English learners. The journals differed from regular student journals in that the audience of the journal was not the teacher, but fellow students in other countries, such as during the Persian Gulf War, during which students primarily Arab and African wrote to American students. The Bakhtinian view sees all communication as cross-cultural; applicability in the ESL situation is even more appropriate. (Contains 28 references.) (NAV)