Project-Based Assessment in Teaching Intercultural Communication Competence for Foreign Language Students in Higher Education: A Case Study

Hong-Thu Thi Nguyen

doi:10.12973/eu-jer.10.2.933

Abstract

<p style="text-align:justify">As a part of learning process, project-based assessment (PBA) is determined to be a potential approach in higher education evaluation that focuses on developing the important objectives related to critical thinking, team working and problems solving skills. The aim of the paper is to find out students’ reflection and teachers’ beliefs towards using this project-based assessment method in teaching Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC). To collect the data, a project-based assessment design was applied for 124 English major students at B University in the 9 weeks ICC course. This project was implemented from the beginning of the course, and at the end of the course, learners’ products were performed with specific activities regarding culture knowledge competition, online cultural community activities, talent performance, situational judgment ability, and eloquence skills. In addition, a set of questionnaires were delivered to the participants, plus the interviews with 36 teachers who have taught culture-related subjects from the universities in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. The findings revealed that although there were certain challenges, using project-based assessment in teaching culture had satisfactory effects on students’ intercultural competence, problem- solving skills, critical thinking, and learning motivation.</p>

Highlights

As a part of learning process, project-based assessment (PBA) is determined to be a potential approach in higher education evaluation that focuses on developing the important objectives related to critical thinking, team working and problems solving skills
Internationalization efforts in higher education have offered more opportunities for students to explore and approach the global knowledge, and posed challenges in international communication which is placed on a prior position to educate in academic institutions
With the emergence of worldwide shared culture, Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC) has been identified as an indispensable component in achieving the international communication goal and soon become an essential learning outcome in higher education (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Internationalization efforts in higher education have offered more opportunities for students to explore and approach the global knowledge, and posed challenges in international communication which is placed on a prior position to educate in academic institutions. With the emergence of worldwide shared culture, ICC has been identified as an indispensable component in achieving the international communication goal and soon become an essential learning outcome in higher education (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2011). In order to support the academic and intercultural communication goal in higher education context to be successfully implemented, the author strongly recommended project-based assessment approach as an alternative for the paperbased assessment in which students can mature their knowledge, uphold skills and nourish the professional needs. Two research questions are revealed as following: 934 NGUYEN / Project-Based Assessment in Teaching Intercultural Communication Competence

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Discussion

Conclusion