Fostering the Critical Perspective in Intercultural Competence: The Role of the L2 Japanese Teacher

Researchers and intercultural educators have put forward various theoretical principles and pedagogical ideas related to the design and implementation of intercultural communication (IC) courses. Recently, researchers have called for curriculum development to include students’ voices about their intercultural communication education (ICE). This paper reports on a study which examined 42 students’ perceptions of an intercultural communication course taught over one semester at a university in Japan, focusing in particular on motivations for students’ intercultural learning and their strategies for maintaining or further developing their IC competence upon completing their studies. Students were also asked to consider the significance of ICE in terms of their life experiences. Survey results revealed that participants enrolled in the IC course to reflect on their study abroad experiences, develop tangible skills for their vocations, and effectively manage IC interactions. They also claimed that learning about perceptions and IC transitions contributed to their understanding of their own experiences and broader intercultural issues. The study contributes to understanding of what students who choose to enrol in an IC course potentially seek from such a course in this context and how they interpret its significance in terms of their own goals and anticipated life trajectories. It also offers some implications for the design of future IC courses.

Intercultural communication competence and skills have become increasingly essential for translators to succeed in the global language industry. While some university translation programs offer a specific course explicitly covering intercultural communication, others teach it implicitly, embedding it in other practical courses. The main aim of the study is to shed light on the ways of adapting intercultural communication courses for translation and interpreting students by uncovering student perceptions of the relationship between intercultural awareness and translation and discussing the role of cross-cultural interaction-oriented assignments with a metacognitive approach, giving impetus to the aspiration of self-improvement and life-long learning. For this purpose, we conducted this research at a state university in Turkey during a 14-week Intercultural Communication course in the 2021/2022 spring semester. Our data-gathering method is based on focus group discussions and qualitative content analysis on student assignments using MAXQDA 2020. Following the analysis, three main themes have been identified: experiencing intercultural interaction, building intercultural awareness, and developing intercultural competence and skills. The results of the study show that an interpersonal and practical assignment contributes to translation students’ intercultural competence in several aspects: gaining self-confidence, improving their intercultural sensitivity and mindfulness, noticing cultural stereotypes, and reflecting on cultural similarities and differences. Furthermore, benefiting from a self-reflexive approach, students realized that being aware of the effects of cultural differences, as well as commonalities in mindset, language, and certain behaviors is a necessary skill for future translators.

In our globalized interconnected world, intercultural and interpersonal communication competencies are essential. Virtual reality (VR) narrative-based scenarios offer a unique opportunity to foster these competencies by simulating quality contact with people of different races, religions, and other identities. This activity had students meet and take the perspective of fictional dorm roommates from different cultural backgrounds. Using VR headsets, students experienced the conflict scenario in a combination of first-person and third-person perspectives. Students responded positively to this immersive activity and reflected on how the story allowed them to see the same situation from different approaches. Instructors may adapt the script from the activity to incorporate narrative-based learning experiences in their own intercultural or interpersonal communication courses. Courses Introduction to Intercultural Communication, Introduction to Interpersonal Communication. Objectives Students will compare and contrast different perspectives of characters in an intercultural conflict scenario; apply the concept of facework to different cultural approaches to conflict management; evaluate the effectiveness of mediation in an intercultural conflict scenario; and relate an intercultural scenario to personal experiences.

With the constant development of the global economy, cross-cultural communication courses for undergraduates are becoming more and more important for business English major. Intercultural communication course is a practical and applicable course, so the traditional teaching method is difficult to help teachers achieve the ideal teaching effect. The author finds that case teaching method is very consistent with the characteristics of cross-cultural communication course and conducive to the implementation of the teaching reform of intercultural communication course. This thesis defines the contents and concepts of case teaching method and intercultural communication, and expounds the characteristics of case teaching method. In addition, this thesis discusses the present situation of intercultural communication teaching in colleges and universities, further explores the implementation of the current case teaching method in intercultural communication course, and points out the specific problems and causes. Based on these, some corresponding suggestions are brought up to ameliorate the teaching effect.

Presently, many researchers are focusing on the English intercultural communication course. However, these courses face serious challenges, such as individual student variances in conventional English cross-cultural teaching, fostering students’ cross-cultural communication abilities, and enhancing teaching quality. These problems need to be solved; therefore, this paper aims to explore the development and application of the Massive open online courses (MOOCs) system in the English cross-cultural communication course based on neural networks. Firstly, the overall function modules of the MOOC system for the English intercultural communication courses are described, with emphasis on the student function module, teacher function module, administrator function module, and system database design of the MOOC system. Second, the MOOC system’s teaching technique in an English intercultural communication course is based on a genetic algorithm, and the MOOC system’s teaching quality index in an English intercultural communication course is chosen using principal component analysis. We conducted several tests to demonstrate that the MOOC system of the English intercultural communication course using the neural network suggested in this work is resilient and may successfully increase teaching quality. The experiment proves that the MOOC system of the English intercultural communication course based on the neural network developed in this paper has efficient results as compared to existing studies. In addition, it can effectively improve the teaching quality and can train students’ intercultural communication skills and their ability to adapt to intercultural communication.

The aim of this article is to highlight theoretical and practical considerations in design of an intercultural communication course. The first part of the article considers intercultural competence, and uses Bourdieu’s notions of education to frame the design of an intercultural communication course. This is followed by discussion of general principles of intercultural course design; the concepts of backward design and constructive alignment as they relate to an intercultural communication course; and finally, the importance of including active and collaborative learning/teaching activities within course design. The remainder of the article draws on a case study of an existing Australian undergraduate course in intercultural communication to highlight how this course may be redesigned in line with the pedagogical principles discussed in the first part of the article.

Planning and evaluation of an adapted online intercultural communication course for undergraduate English language students.

With the acceleration of globalization, intercultural communication courses are faced with the challenge of effectively integrating ideological and political education (IPE) while fostering students' intercultural communication skills. This paper, centered on the theme of "cultural consensus and value guidance", explores innovative teaching practices and outcomes in integrating IPE into intercultural communication courses. The research delves into course design, teaching method optimization, and case analysis, extracting cultural connotations and value orientations within the curriculum, thus organically incorporating IPE into intercultural communication teaching. Specifically, the study focuses on dual objectives of "cultural consensus" and "value guidance", constructing an interactive classroom centered around students. It designs teaching modules based on social hot topics, classic cases, and cultural comparisons, emphasizing the integration of multicultural understanding and the recognition of Chinese culture. Through teaching practices, the model has proven effective in enhancing students' cultural confidence, ability to discern values, and intercultural communication competence. It provides a feasible path for the integration of IPE and professional courses, offering valuable reference for cultivating talents with international perspectives and national sentiment.

The article presents the results of the performed research of implementing the intercultural communication studies into the future teachers’ professional training. The relevance of the research is proved by the strong need to prepare today’s youth for reaching mutual understanding and avoiding barriers in communication. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the need of introducing the intercultural communication studies into the curriculum of future teachers training for enhancing their intercultural communication competence. The analysis of the structure of the intercultural communication competence is carried out, based on which the content of the intercultural communication course is developed. The research includes three stages. The methods which are applied in the research are theoretical methods for analysing the literature, modelling for substantiating the course content, and interpretive methods for assessing the research results. The article covers the main topics of the course, aimed at gaining culture knowledge and developing intercultural skills, behaviour abilities and attitude. To enhance future teachers’ intercultural competence, two methodological approaches are used: social scientific approach and interpretive methods. The effectiveness of the course is proved through measuring the level of language skills, assessed by Standardised test Cambridge English First, and behaviour abilities, assessed by a number of direct and indirect methods.

As graduates in higher education engage with multiple constituencies from around the world, having cultural competency skills is valuable. Intercultural competence enables people to initiate and sustain dialogues among their diverse colleagues and members of the globalized community. In this chapter, Barger examines the role of dialogue education in attaining intercultural competency in graduate courses. According to Vella, dialogue education values inquiry, integrity, and commitment to equity. People should treat others with respect and recognize their knowledge and experience within the community of learning. Dialogue education provides a safe and inclusive place for learners to voice their perspectives and opinions. This chapter utilizes a professor’s reflections with respect to teaching a graduate Intercultural Communication (IC) course in a private liberal-arts college. In the narrative, she discusses teaching and learning strategies to help adult learners understand the importance of intercultural competence and interactions in a multicultural and multilingual world. Barger also examines the integrative reflections of graduate students that took the IC course.

Although Language MOOCs (LMOOCs) now play a central role in China’s digital education system and have revolutionized English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction, their potential for fostering the intercultural skills essential in our interconnected world remains underexplored. To bridge this gap, this study analyzes the pedagogical design of LMOOCs for EFL learning across three major platforms, including China University MOOC, XuetangX and UMOOCs. Using descriptive pedagogical documentation, we conducted a systematic survey of Intercultural Communication (IC) courses as they represent a critical component of China’s EFL curriculum. The results show that: (1) core instructional resources in most courses are short lecture videos and texts, while intercultural cases and slides are less frequently used. (2) Learning activities are largely passive, with minimal integration of interactive or immersive tools such as virtual simulations. (3) Assessment primarily centers on knowledge recall by automated quizzes, with discussions and peer-reviewed tasks being less frequently used. (4) The instructor-learner interaction is infrequent and mostly reactive, indicating limited instructor participation in the learning process. These findings reveal the prevalence of xMOOCs-style designs in Chinese LMOOCs for EFL learning, which fails to support the sociocultural engagement necessary for developing intercultural competence. In response, we propose a hybrid model blending AI-powered personalized learning with collaborative community-based activities. This model offers valuable insights for LMOOC developers, digital platform designers and education policy-makers both in China and globally.

Over twenty-five years ago, leading scholars in the field of intercultural communication William B. Gudykunst, Stella Ting-Toomey and Richard Wiseman published the paper “Taming the beast: Designing a course in intercultural communication.” We revisit their work in light of renewed interest in the design and implementation of the intercultural communication (ICC) course as a key site for engaging with diversity in universities around the world. Our paper draws on Gudykunst et al.’s overview of four major issues instructors should consider in designing and delivering an introductory ICC course: (a) philosophical and ethical issues, (b) pedagogical issues, (c) curricular content; and (d) resources and teaching techniques. We draw on these four issues to conduct a critical appraisal of the current state of the ICC field and to reflect on Gudykunst et al.’s recommendations in the 21st century. We pay particular attention to the increasingly stronger links between the fields of ICC and modern/foreign language (MFL) education through the key role that language(s) play in meaning making in interaction. We therefore use the issues identified by Gudykunst et al.’s seminal work as a springboard to discuss key parameters that may assist instructors in the design of a reimagined ICC course, responsive to the crucial role of language and languages in engaging with diversity.

A survey of Intercultural Communication courses

In 2006, Ministry of documents On the requirements of the English teaching in higher vocational education raised the educational objective--focuses on developing communicative competence in the workplace. For foreign-related majors in higher vocational colleges, how to improve students' communicative ability the people from different countries and cultural backgrounds is particularly urgent. This article aims at the intercultural communication courses in Shandong foreign languages vocational college, using the way of combination of stealth curriculum and dominant curriculum to set up different levels of intercultural communication courses. Promote the construction and development of intercultural communication courses and cultivate qualified talents in international working Inttroduction In 2006, the Ministry of Education proposed the teaching objective of stressing the cultivation of communication ability under the job market environment in Teaching Requirements for English Courses of Higher Vocational Education. With the deep implementation of international communication and cooperation, for the foreign matters-involved language major of higher vocational with service as the purpose and employment as the orientation, a consensus has been formed in the target positioning of higher vocational of cultivating high-quality skill talents. To meet the requirements of the employers, the students of foreign matters-involved major in higher vocational colleges should have the ability of effective communication and exchange in the cross-cultural background, i.e. the cross-cultural communication ability. Therefore, it has been very urgent on how to implement the courses of cross-cultural communication effectively, explore how to combine the foreign language ability the professional knowledge, achieve mastery through a comprehensive study of the subject and improve the students' ability to communicate the individuals from different countries an different cultural backgrounds in the foreign matters-involved work.

With the swift development of technology and economy, intercultural communication and cooperation has become increasing frequent. College students as the main reserves of socialist modernization drivers of China, the intercultural communication competence should be the basic requirement for them. Thus the intercultural communication course has attracted the attention of more and more colleges and universities. However, the course and the course design for intercultural communication is still in its initial stage, especially in China. In view of the problems mentioned above, on the basis of literature review, a practical and innovative way is put forward in the paper. It is proved that this model of teaching is a reference for intercultural communication course enriches and develops the ways of teaching this course.