A Review of Research on Intercultural Communicative Competence in the Field of EFL Education in Korea

Abstract

This paper reports on a systematic review on the studies of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) regarding English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching in Korea over the last 10 years (from 2009 to 2018). A total of 41 studies, both empirical and non-empirical, were analyzed according to the methodology, the educational level, and the research theme. The results indicated that a quantitative methodology and a content analysis of the textbooks were the two most widely incorporated methodologies, accounting for 75% of the total studies. Many of the studies were conducted either at the primary or the tertiary educational level. A large portion of the empirical studies examined the effects of an instructional intervention that sought to promote Korean students’ intercultural competence and sensitivity. There were also studies that investigated the relationship between the students’ ICC and their English abilities, in addition to research which focused on teachers’ and students’ perceptions of and attitudes toward ICC education. Most of the non-empirical studies offered practical ways to incorporate ICC instruction in actual educational contexts by proposing several ICC learning models, materials, and assessment tools. Research and educational implications are proposed from the results of the review.