Intercultural Communicative Competence Levels of Indonesian EFL Students: A Preliminary Study in a Higher Education Contex

The lack of intercultural communication skills will likely cause disharmony, misunderstanding, and even conflict in communication. To be successful in communication with native speakers depends on language skills, customs, and cultural knowledge. In the age of global communication, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching goals should be reoriented to cultivate intercultural communication competence (ICC). EFL learners should have this intercultural competence and be sensitive in order to avoid disharmony, misunderstandings, and even conflicts in communication. The main objective of this preliminary study is to reveal the levels of intercultural communicative competence among EFL students at a state university in Indonesia. A survey questionnaire was performed employing a quantitative analysis in this study. Eighty-nine students filled out the ICC questionnaire, which consisted of 20 questions. Findings indicated that most of the students had a low ICC level because they are lack of experience and knowledge in interacting and socializing with people from various cultural backgrounds. In terms of gender differences, the results showed that male students had higher levels of ICC than that female students. This research implied that intercultural topics should be included in the university’s curriculum.

Intercultural Communicative Competence: L2 Learners’ Participation on Debating Class

Taboos in conversations will take place between speaker and hearer as the cultural awareness of the target language culture is not taken into account in the teaching and learning processes of English triggered this research to be conducted. This research deals with an analysis of intercultural communicative competence of L2 learners by means of applying Constructivists Model in which the preliminary description of how competent they are on L2 culture can be described. This research is qualitative research where eight students were arranged in debating class involved as the subject. Two debaters from Executive English Debate Community were engaged in this research as the team to construct the activities for the students. By providing anobservation checklist and questionnaire, the finding shows that the students actively exchange their ideas, they feel part of learning, they are able to develop problem-solving through peer collaboration, and they are able to develop new skills and knowledge from the other members of groups. It can be noted that the motions provided during the research, in which the L2 culture is considered, have helped the L2 learners to enhance their intercultural communicative competence seen from their active participation.

A Case Study of Intercultural Sensitivity of Junior School Students in an International School

The process of internationalization requires people to have higher intercultural communicative competence, which refers to a person's ability to successfully communicate in different cultural environments. It consists of cognition, emotion, and behavior. The study of intercultural sensitivity actually focuses on the emotional factor in intercultural communication competence. Based on the concept of intercultural sensitivity and English teaching practice, this article intends to contribute a little to the intercultural communication teaching and relevant study by analyzing the current level of intercultural sensitivity of junior high school students and interviewing English teachers about the implementation of intercultural teaching strategies.  

Raising Students’ Cultural Awareness and Developing Their Intercultural Communicative Competence: The Case of the Greek State Primary School EFL Textbooks

The present study focuses on the critical evaluation of the cultural content incorporated in the 5th and 6th grade English textbooks, which are taught in the Greek state primary school. Given that we are living in the era of increasing globalization, it is deemed essential that aspects of diverse cultures should be reflected in the English textbooks, thus enabling contemporary EFL learners to master the ability to use the English language efficiently in their intercultural interactions regardless of their socio-cultural background. The research findings succinctly reveal that the vast majority of state EFL teachers in Greece are fervent proponents of an intercultural approach in their teaching practices. However, they are not reliant on the prescribed textbooks under scrutiny for promoting the intercultural dimension in their educational methodology, since their cultural input is assessed as deficient and inadequate for dynamic intercultural instruction.

Teaching Culture through Language

One socio-cultural aspect of the Korean language that foreign learners may encounter early is the extensive use of kinship terms in communicative situations. Korean kinship terms are carriers of important cultural information, thus misunderstandings or even breakdowns in communication are likely to happen if one lacks exposure to the cultural conceptualizations of these terms. Following the paradigm shift towards emphasizing intercultural communicative competence development in foreign language classrooms, the present study explores why teaching kinship terms in a Korean language classroom is important. The study presents an overview of the kinship terminological system and its relation to the cultural concepts and value system of Koreans, examines the current teaching situation of kinship terms primarily through language textbooks, and considers specific aspects that may affect the teaching of these terms. The study finds that insufficient attention is given to kinship terms, even though they are one of the most frequently used terms of address and reference. It is proposed that greater emphasis should be given to teaching kinship terms; furthermore, it is suggested that teachers should actively guide students to acquire the essential cultural knowledge about kinship terms.

Developing intercultural communicative competence in the ClerKing telecollaborative project

Living in the 21st century means living in an era that is increasingly globalising where cross-cultural communication is essential; thus, students should be given opportunities to cultivate their Intercultural Communicative Competences (ICC). This paper reports on Phase 3 of ClerKing, a Franco-Jamaican telecollaborative project, which involved Applied Foreign Languages (AFL) students of English from Clermont Auvergne University (UCA), France, and students of French from the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica. WhatsApp and videoconferencing were used to facilitate the interactions. Using the exploratory approach, we seek to identify different parameters of ICC, relying on Byram’s (1997) and Deardorff’s (2006) models. Preliminary findings show that students demonstrated and developed ICC such as openness and curiosity, culture-specific knowledge, an understanding of worldviews, sociolinguistic awareness, flexibility and adaptability, and negotiation of meaning. However, time difference, personal and academic schedules, connectivity issues, and misjudged/misinterpreted communication can lead to intercultural conflict.

Helping aerospace engineering students develop their intercultural communicative competence

This paper presents a six-week telecollaborative project carried out between B2 (Common European Framework of Reference for languages – CEFR) level learners of English from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Spain, and B1 (CEFR) level students of Spanish as a foreign language from the University of Bath (UK). The aim of the project was to help Spanish-speaking students develop their Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). Students carried out asynchronous discussions focusing on two cultural topics in groups of four through the social network MeWe and participated in synchronous Zoom sessions in pairs. To conclude the project, students completed a collaborative task with their overseas partners. Qualitative data was gathered through the analysis of the transcripts of the Zoom sessions, the students’ posts on MeWe, as well as a final project questionnaire. Results revealed that the students who engaged the most in the synchronous sessions and felt curiosity about their partners’ culture were also the same ones who contributed the most to the cultural discussions on MeWe. At the end of the course all participants felt they had learnt something about their partners’ culture.