EXPLORING ENGLISH LEARNERS’ READINESS FOR INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND CITIZENSHIP

Abstract

In the world of super-diversity, education for intercultural citizenship has acquired a special significance. Despite numerous reviews in the research literature that address the intercultural citizenship in foreign language (FL) education, very few studies have investigated the connections between language learners’ motivation for studying a foreign language and their development of intercultural citizenship (IC). This study aims to bridge this gap by focusing on this relationship. For this purpose, quantitative data was collected from 407 students through an online questionnaire. The results revealed that the respondents consider intercultural communication, travel, networking, and future prospects, as important motivations for learning English. Moreover, the participants reported having a diverse range of intercultural experiences and feeling prepared for intercultural communication and citizenship. However, when evaluating their English classes’ effectiveness in preparing them for these aspects, the majority of students expressed that their EFL classes did not adequately equip them for high-level intercultural communication and citizenship. This research contributes to existing literature by investigating the connection between students’ motivation to learn English and their intercultural communication and citizenship skills and behaviors. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the significance of providing students with the necessary skills and knowledge to engage in purposeful and successful intercultural dialogue. Key words: intercultural communication, intercultural citizenship, EFL students, motivation, factors.