Dimensions Of Intercultural Competence Research Articles

Towards a stance de-centring model for the foreign language classroom: Training 21st-century agents of change

The present paper describes a new, theoretically grounded model for stance de-centring that advocates for enhancing foreign language learners’ intercultural awareness, sensitivity, and behaviours. This model embraces both three levels of stance de-centring: epistemic, emotional and effective, and three dimensions of intercultural competence: cognitive, affective and conative. Epistemic, emotional, and effective stance de-centring is carried out at the cognitive, affective and conative intercultural dimensions to raise foreign language learners’ intercultural awareness, develop their intercultural sensitivity, and activate their intercultural behaviours. Each intercultural dimension comprised within the model is rigorously examined, highlighting the importance of nurturing skills in critical thinking, empathy, and behavioural adaptability to counter ethnocentrism through stance de-centring. Practical examples illustrating the successful implementation of the stance de-centring model within the foreign language classroom are also presented. These examples elucidate the practical application and potential impact of the model, offering insights into fostering inclusive environments and preparing foreign language learners to navigate diverse cultural landscapes as future agents of change.

A qualitative study on Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ beliefs about incorporating intercultural competence into foreign language teaching

Intercultural competence has become one of the important goals of foreign language education. The potential and value of foreign language education on students' intercultural competence (IC) has been widely recognized by academia. Currently, most of the research on intercultural foreign language teachers in China focuses on university teachers, with little attention paid to primary school EFL teachers. However, the cultivation of IC is a staged and continuous process which cannot be achieved in one stroke. Therefore, it is necessary to include primary school EFL teachers in the study of IC cultivation. This paper presents data on Chinese primary school EFL teachers' beliefs about incorporating IC into foreign language teaching. Specifically, their understanding of culture, IC, and intercultural teaching practices are investigated through interviews. The interview transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis. The research found: 1. Chinese primary school EFL teachers generally hold an essentialist view of culture; 2. Teachers emphasize the attitudinal dimension of IC; however, they also exhibit a tendency to oversimplify IC or perceive it as a higher-order skill than language proficiency, hence deeming it unsuitable for cultivation at the primary school level; 3. Most cultural teaching practices are teacher-centered, focusing on background knowledge-style introduction. In general, teachers’ intercultural teaching practices align with their cultural outlook. At last, the study explores two suggestions for promoting intercultural foreign language teaching: 1. Supporting primary school EFL teachers in updating their language and culture concepts system; 2. Encouraging teachers to reflect on their daily teaching practices as a major opportunity to promote the development of intercultural foreign language teaching.

Unleashing the Potential of Social Media: Enhancing Intercultural Communication Skills in the Hospitality and Tourism Context

Intercultural communication skills play a vital role in achieving success in the global hospitality and tourism profession. This study examined the effectiveness of leveraging social media, specifically YouTube (San Bruno, CA, USA), in developing intercultural competence (ICC) among students enrolled in service management courses within the hospitality and tourism department. The research involved 112 Korean students who were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n = 57), which participated in social media-integrated intercultural learning activities; and the control group (n = 55), which engaged in traditional intercultural learning activities. Data were collected through pre- and post-questionnaires using the Intercultural Competence Scale (ICS). The findings indicated that social media-based intercultural activities on YouTube were more effective in improving learners’ ICC levels compared to traditional classroom activities. Significant differences in mean gain scores underscored the impact of social media-based interventions in promoting intercultural learning and fostering meaningful intercultural engagement. The analysis also revealed noteworthy distinctions between the experimental and control groups across various dimensions of ICC. This study emphasized the value of social media platforms, including YouTube, in facilitating positive changes in affective orientation, self-efficacy, behavior performance, and intercultural consciousness. The research provided practical insights for educators and institutions in the hospitality industry to integrate social media-based intercultural activities, thereby enhancing students’ intercultural learning experiences and nurturing their ICC.

Acculturation expectations of German majority members in relation to their intercultural competence and identifications

Economic internationalisation and refugee movements entail that many Western societies are characterised by ethnocultural diversity to an increasing degree. For the relationship between ethnocultural minority groups and the respective societal majority, acculturation strategies and preferences are of high pertinence. Since following a specific acculturation strategy is not only at the discretion of ethnocultural minorities, but also depends on the opportunities granted by the respective society majority, the expectations of the majority for a specific acculturation strategy is a central limiting factor. In the present study, we examined associations of intercultural competence dimensions and group identifications with the acceptance of multiculturalism by German majority members. We found that two intercultural competence dimensions – cultural empathy and flexibility – are associated with the acceptance of multiculturalism. Thus, the ability to understand other cultures and the ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations might be beneficial for the acceptance of lived cultural diversity. We also observed that European identification was associated with the acceptance of multiculturalism. European identification is likely to function as a superordinate identification which embraces a variety of ethnocultural groups, so that these ethnocultural groups are part of the wider, superordinate ingroup. While common group memberships tend to foster positive attitudes towards ingroup members, a high European identification also appears to be an indication of a generalized acceptance of cultural diversity or multiculturalism. Our demonstration that superordinate identification and both dimensions of intercultural competence are associated with the acceptance of multiculturalism suggests possibilities of fostering multiculturalism via intercultural trainings and international encounters.

Dimensions of intercultural competence in foreign language learning

Este artículo tiene como propósito comprender una revisión respecto a los aportes teóricos y metodológicos que se han hecho entorno a la competencia intercultural. Para ello, la estrategia metodológica se desarrolló con un análisis de diseño cualitativo e interpretativo, documental, construida a partir del estado del arte. Empezando desde la interculturalidad, se ve que ésta no llega a ser exclusiva de un campo en particular, debido a que es utilizada y trabajada desde varias disciplinas como las ciencias humanas y sociales. En el marco de la educación, varios autores que han fungido como promotores de la interculturalidad en la enseñanza de lenguas han hecho evidente la contraposición al modelo de civilización, tomando posición como una nueva parte de la cultura que implica el desarrollo de las capacidades, conocimientos y saberes que le posibiliten al aprendiente regular sus relaciones con las personas pertenecientes a culturas diferentes a la suya. Tras identificar diversas clasificaciones de autores en torno a la competencia intercultural se analizaron cada una de las tipologías, para después integrar una nueva clasificación con sus principales elementos. Así, surgieron cuatro dimensiones de la competencia intercultural: la simbólica, la comunicativa, la conductual y la personal. Éstas con el fin de que posibiliten analizar el nivel de desarrollo de la competencia intercultural que desarrollan los aprendientes de una lengua extranjera.

Self in mobility: exploring the transnational in-between identity of Chinese student returnees from the UK

ABSTRACT Situated within the changing dynamics of international student mobility, this paper explores the meaning of transnational in-between identity. The empirical evidence is based on the key findings of a four-year qualitative study on Chinese students who returned from the UK after completing their university degrees. The paper argues that transnational in-between identity is a fluid and diverse process of self-formation through which agency interacts with the four key dimensions of intercultural competence, reconstruction of locality, diaspora consciousness and mixed senses of belonging. The conceptual contribution of this research is that it combines transnationalism, a theory normally confined to the field of migration studies, and the concept of in-betweenness, derived from intercultural adjustment, to investigate the identity changes experienced by student returnees.

From knowledge building to intercultural development of American mobile students in Spain

This paper looks into the intercultural development of a cohort of 26 American students in Spain. Spain constitutes the third preferred world destination of American sojourners. Starting from an analysis of students’ knowledge areas about the host culture, this study explores the relationship between intercultural knowledge and other dimensions of intercultural competence through students’ journals. Results indicate that sojourners increase their knowledge of 13 areas of the host culture, especially of issues related to food and drink, daily life, house, and institutions and services. Data also reveals that the acquisition of and reflection on culture-specific knowledge instigates intercultural development by honing awareness of intercultural verbal and non-verbal communication and the processes inherent in adjustment to life in the host country, learning from experience, and critical stances. The paper concludes that informed and critical reflection on sojourners’ experiences of otherness during study abroad, facilitated by an intercultural orientation program, favors positive attitudes towards the outgroup and enhances the intercultural attitudes of empathy, curiosity or willingness to adjust, along with the intercultural skills of communicative awareness, cultural awareness, awareness of the self and the other, action-taking, or suspending judgement.

The Differences between the Military Field and the Civilian Fields in Terms of Intercultural Competence

Abstract This study aimed at investigating significant differences in the level of intercultural competence of students before attending an internship of international mobility by the intermediary of the Erasmus Plus program, depending on their field of study. The three areas of study that imply the students attending the research are: military, exact science and humanities. The research was processed by a questionnaire measuring the level of intercultural competence, the items being structured on the three dimensions of intercultural competence: knowledge, attitudes and abilities. The results indicate that significant differences exist only at the level of the attitude’s component, the highest average being registered for the field of exact sciences.

The Relationship between Foreign Literary Work Reading and Intercultural Competence of Chinese College Students

This study constructs a scale to investigate Chinese college students' foreign literary work reading situation, and to explore the correlation between foreign literary work reading and six dimensions of intercultural competence. Firstly, the basic situation description of foreign literary work reading and intercultural competence development is conducted by Foreign Literary Work Reading Scale for Chinese College Students and Assessment of Intercultural Competence of Chinese College Students (AIC-CCS), which is proposed by Wu et al (2013) [1]. Then, combined with the Pearson Correlation of SPSS, the correlation analysis is performed and reveals that there is a significant positive relationship between foreign literary work reading and intercultural competence. And it has the greatest effect on knowledge of others, the general effect on intercultural communicative and cognitive skills, and the minimal effect on knowledge of self, attitudes and awareness. This research can provide a theoretical reference for foreign language teaching.

Definition of intercultural competence (IC) in undergraduate students at a private university in the USA: A mixed-methods study.

IntroductionIntercultural competence (IC) is an important skill to be gained from higher education. However, it remains unclear what IC means to students and what factors might influence their definitions of IC. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively assess how students at one higher education institution in the USA define IC and to quantitatively test for relationships among IC components and various demographic characteristics, including intercultural experience and study context. A further aim was to descriptively compare the IC definitions from the US sample with the definitions obtained from another sample of university students in Germany.Materials and methodsA purposive sample of n = 93 undergraduate, second semester students at Dickinson College, USA, participated in the study by completing an online questionnaire. The qualitative data were content-analyzed to define the dimensions of IC. The quantitative data were cluster-analyzed to assess the multivariate relationships among the IC components and the demographic characteristics of the sample.ResultsThe most important dimensions of IC were Knowledge, External Outcomes (interaction, communication), and Attitudes (respect, tolerance) according to the US sample. The most frequently chosen dimensions of IC differed between both samples: Knowledge was chosen by the sample in the USA while External Outcomes was chosen by the sample in Germany. Relative to the US sample, significantly more students chose Attitudes, External Outcomes, and Intrapersonal Skills in the sample in Germany. The relationships among IC components and demographic characteristics were only weak in the US sample. A person with IC was rated as Open-minded and Respectful by students who lived predominantly in the USA or Tolerant and Curious by those who lived outside the USA for at least six months.DiscussionThe current results suggest that students residing in two countries (USA or Germany) define IC using similar dimensions. However, IC definitions may depend on the intercultural experience and the current global discourse. Longitudinal studies with representative samples are required to assess how IC definitions change over time.

Is there really a need for assessing intercultural competence? Some ethical issues

Assessing intercultural competence (IC) is one of the hot-button issues within intercultural language education research today. Even if there are “more questions than answers” (Sercu, 2010) about this matter, it is generally accepted that assessing IC is somehow possible and necessary. This conceptual paper shifts from possibility to ethics, and discusses some reasons why assessing IC may not be considered opportune from an ethical perspective. Moreover, it casts doubt on whether assessing IC is truly necessary in language education. The paper presents four issues which appear problematic: The weaknesses of the existing models of IC with respect to assessment; the relationship between IC and interculturally competent performance; the context-based and relational nature of IC; the affective dimension of IC.

Tailoring Cross‐Cultural Competence Training

This study tests a new framework for capturing the different training needs required to become interculturally competent. Indications for the need for specialized training methods differentiated by target segments are provided. Many researchers have suggested that an overgeneralization of cultural differences within a proposed framework can lead to a gap between the skills being learned and the application of these skills in organizational practices. It has been also suggested that a “one‐size‐fits‐all” approach might not be effective, as various aspects of the training need to be tailored in order to fit the culture and the specific organization. Comparing the short‐term and long‐term benefits of various training options, a problem arises when an individual has learned to be competent within a particular cultural setting but, in fact, she or he is not able to transfer that knowledge and use it appropriately in another cultural setting. We used a questionnaire to test not only the dimension of intercultural competence but also the level of emotional intelligence, communication styles, and character traits and the degree of correlation of these concepts. We also compare low‐context and high‐context cultures as an attempt to distinguish different subcategories of different cultural trends and needs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relationship between student sojourner perceptions of intercultural competencies and previous sojourn experience

This study investigated the relationship between perceived intercultural competence and sojourn experience. Three groups of student sojourners with varying amounts of intercultural experience (none, less than three months, 3–12 months) completed an 18-item questionnaire measuring four general areas of intercultural competence, drawn from previous literature. First, sojourner ratings were submitted to factor analysis which confirmed the four conceptual dimensions found in previous literature, with slight modifications: Awareness of Self and Culture, Awareness of Implications of Cultural Differences, Interpersonal Flexibility and Ability to Facilitate Communication. Scales were constructed from the individual items and ratings of the three sojourner groups were compared on ratings of their perceived competence on the four dimensions. Results of the statistical analysis revealed significant differences among the three groups on two of the four dimensions of intercultural competence: Sojourners with the most intercultural experience (3–12 months) rated their ability significantly higher than those with no experience on: Awareness of Self and Culture, and Ability to Facilitate Communication. Results are examined for implications for future research and application.