A study of assessing intercultural communicative competence among a group of EFL learners

Language learning involves the learning of not only the linguistic skills, but also the knowledge of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Recently, the emphasis on the development of ICC has brought about programs... [ view full abstract ]

Language learning involves the learning of not only the linguistic skills, but also the knowledge of intercultural communicative competence (ICC). Recently, the emphasis on the development of ICC has brought about programs aiming to raise students’ cultural awareness and ICC and, consequently, the assessment tools to evaluate the effectiveness of such programs. However, previous research in assessing ICC has mainly concerned the development of such competence among migrants or trainees in professional training courses of ICC alike. Assessment of ICC among students learning English in an EFL (English as a foreign language) setting has been scant. To fill such gap in the literature, this research considers two issues: (1) the development of an ICC survey appropriate for language learners in an EFL setting and (2) the effectiveness of a program aiming to raise language learners’ cultural awareness and the development of ICC. With these in mind, a group of English-major students taking a course with the aim of developing students’ ICC in Taiwan was recruited as participants.

The research took place in four steps. First, the ICC survey was designed based on Byram (1997). Byram’s model proposes that ICC includes knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which are further divided into five components. The model allows the researcher to see the specific components of ICC students have developed and those students are lacking. Second, a pilot study was conducted and amendments were made. Third, the ICC survey was distributed to the students at beginning and the end of the semester as pre-test and post-test. Finally, the survey was analysed using statistical software, SPSS. The results from the pre-test and the post-test indicate that there is significant improvement in the development of ICC. Students score highest in the attitude domain, followed by the knowledge and skill domains. Specifically, students indicate the course has raised interest and awareness about cultures of others and that of their own. Two components score lowest: students lack the confidence to resolve intercultural conflicts and students lack the knowledge of their own culture. This paper will present the results from the ICC survey and the implications of the research.