Relationship Between Intercultural Communicative Competence and L2-Learning Motivation of Iranian EFL Learners

In today's interconnected multicultural world, citizens' differential levels of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) can play an important role in the amount of enthusiasm, time, and efforts they invest in second or foreign language (L2) communication and learning. ICC has recently found its way into L2 theory and research. This study attempted to first develop a measure of ICC and then explore the relationship between Iranian L2 learners' ICC and their L2 learning motivation, on the one hand, and between gender and the development of ICC, on the other. The participants were 180 B.A. English Literature/Translation and M.A. TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) students at several Iranian universities. A test battery including the final version of the ICC questionnaire and an L2-learning motivation questionnaire adapted from Gardner's attitude/motivation test battery was then administered to a random selection of 70 students (M = 30 and F = 40). The correlation results indicated that there was a strong, positive relationship between L2 learners' ICC and L2-learning motivation. Meanwhile, t-test results demonstrated that Iranian female and male L2 learners did not possess different levels of ICC. The finding related to the ICC and motivation association suggests that an account of ICC development be incorporated into L2 teachers' classroom agendas at different educational levels.     

Developing intercultural communicative competence in foreign language classrooms – A study of EFL learners in Taiwan

Internationalisation has accentuated the importance of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among language learners in higher education in the 21st century. As in the case of Taiwan, universities worldwide have begun to emphasise intercultural ‘literacy’ in language classrooms. Following Byram’ (1997) ICC model, this study adopts an intercultural approach to language classroom in order to investigate the effectiveness of explicit instruction in developing ICC among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in Taiwan, and to discover how this development is related to the background factors of overseas experience and English proficiency. The accompanying research therefore has two purposes: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of explicit instruction on EFL learners’ development of ICC by employing both self-assessment and other assessment tools and (2) to investigate the relationship between the development of ICC and two background factors. The results show that (1) explicit instruction is effective in raising students’ development of ICC, especially the knowledge and skills dimensions, and (2) English proficiency and overseas experience are significantly related to better acquisition of ICC.     

Towards a Model of Intercultural Communicative Competence in Iranian EFL Context: Testing the Role of International Posture,Ideal L2 Self,L2 Self-Confidence,and Metacognitive Strategies

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to present a model of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) by incorporating international posture, motivational disposition (ideal L2 self), second language (L2) self-confidence, and metacognitive learning strategies. To this end, 150 Iranian L2 learners, selected through convenience sampling procedure, took part in the research. The findings of structural equation modelling revealed that the proposed model showed adequate fit to the data, implying that the model is appropriate in Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Also, the results indicated that learners with a high level of international posture are more likely to bridge the gap between their present and ideal selves. This was, additionally, argued that internationally oriented and ideally motivated learners become confident of their abilities to get engaged in interaction with L2 target communities. Furthermore, metacognitive learning strategies were found to be directly associated with ICC, implicating that the learners who continuously reflect on their learning and evaluate their performances are more prone to have a higher level of ICC. Finally, suggestions were offered for language teachers and policy-makers to inspire their learners to be more competent in communication with people of other cultures and languages.     

International Faculty in Chinese Universities’ Foreign Language Teaching Preferences

ABSTRACT

International college faculty in China are stakeholders in foreign language teaching. This project was designed to find out what international instructors’ pedagogical choices were in regards to English as a Foreign Language instruction. Twenty-eight international college instructors who taught oral English or English writing participated in interviews. Interviewees were employed at various tertiary institutions in large and small cities throughout China. Some interviewees described an audiolingual approach to foreign language teaching. Most interviewees took a situational approach to teach English as a Foreign Language. Finally, remaining international faculty described an intercultural approach when delivering EFL instruction.     

Developing intercultural competence in college business English students: A study of innovative teaching in China

Despite the increasing need to develop students' intercultural competence in China, the relationship between the approaches used to teach the English language and the cultivation of students' intercultural competence remains largely under-researched. Based on Byram's intercultural model and the intercultural language teaching framework, using action research we developed and implemented new teaching approaches to cultivate intercultural competence among students using a quasi-experimental design that combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Two classes of undergraduate students majoring in Business English were randomly selected, with one being assigned as the treatment group (n = 33) and the other as the control group (n = 32). The primary data consisted of questionnaires, journals, and interviews. After participating in a three-month intercultural speaking course where the treatment group students were guided through an intercultural learning process of noticing, comparing, and reflecting, findings revealed that they developed intercultural competence regarding their attitudes, knowledge, skills, and awareness. Implications for facilitating students' intercultural competence are discussed.     

Evaluating the self and the other: Imagined intercultural contact within a ‘native-speaker’ dependent foreign language context

Recent research has shown that imagined intercultural contact, being based upon the adoption of principles of mental imagery and imagination, is able to elicit similar emotional, attitudinal and motivational responses as actual lived contact experiences. Furthermore, it has been noted that possessing the multiple competencies required to successfully negotiate an intercultural contact encounter with a target language speaker represents one of the most prominent sources of motivation for many foreign language learners. Therefore, situated within the context of a Japanese foreign language university which exhibits a dependency on ‘native-speaker’ English teachers from inner-circle (Kachru, 1985) countries, this paper showcases a social psychological study undertaken with 120 Japanese English language learners which sought to explore various dimensions of imagined intercultural contact via evaluations of the self and three intercultural others of different racial and ethnic appearance across two specific contact situations (positive and neutral). The outcomes are discussed in relation to underlying theories, as well as to the practical implications created for the improvement of foreign language teaching and learning practices which specifically seek to incorporate an explicit intercultural dimension.     

L2 Willingness to Communicate and Perceived Accent Strength: A Qualitative Inquiry

This study examined whether and how English as a foreign language (EFL) learners` perceptions towards their own and others` accent is liable to impact their second language (L2) willingness to communicate (WTC). The content analysis of interviews with 20 EFL learners showed that L2 WTC was amenable to their hegemonic attitudes towards native English accents. As many as four recurring themes arose from the interviews which showed how perceived accent strength can impact L2 WTC. These include: Accent-related stigmas, accent-based disruptiveness, aspiration for showing off one`s accent, and self-perceived communicative competence and self-confidence. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and outlining avenues for future research.     

Intercultural communication between Chinese college students and foreign teachers through the English corner at an elite language university in Shanghai

This paper uses an ethnographic approach and draws critical pedagogical and sociolinguistic insights from Pierre Bourdieu to explore Chinese college students’ participation in an English Corner program at an elite language university in Shanghai. Accordingly, this paper promotes scholarly conversations about intercultural communication between Chinese college students and foreign teachers from English-speaking countries. By underpinning the concepts of intercultural capital, this paper analyzes these themes: (a) linguistic habitus and capital in the stratified field of elite language education; (b) articulating English proficiency; (c) bridging cultural distance and improving intercultural competence; and (d) personal growth and professional development. This paper critically interprets Chinese college students’ benefits and mutual relationships with foreign faculty from English-Speaking Countries; how they cultivated intercultural capital in the field of elite education beyond linguistic capital, how they strove to maintain their accumulated capital to secure better career prospects, and what the roles of international faculty should be.     

The English Only Movement: Revisiting Cultural Hegemony

Between national and state budget cuts in education and an ever increasing push toward the English Only movement, a rise in dropout rates for Hispanic students is imminent. National data show the percentage of Hispanic students who drop out of high school to be nearly 60% in some states including Michigan, South Dakota, West Virginia, Alabama, Connecticut, South Carolina, Nevada, and Ohio. While numerous studies have been conducted to find out why this is happening, the research findings indicate a complexity of issues surrounding Hispanic student achievement, ranging from a lack of linguistic ability in English to issues of self-esteem. While nearly 4.7 million students are being served in programs of language assistance, this article focuses on Hispanic students as an illustrative example of a larger phenomenon: Reproductive acculturation disguised as benevolence, carried out by linguistic hegemony.     

Using systemic functional linguistics as method in identifying semogenic strategies in intercultural communication: A study of the collocation of “time” and “different” by Swedish managers with international management experiences

Theoretical foundations to intercultural communication (ICC) are integrative and interdisciplinary but few have studied ICC from a systemic linguistics perspective. Viewing communication as a dialogic process, this study takes a systemic functional linguistics (SFL) view of language as a social semiotic where semogenesis (meaning making) is both construed and construed by context of situation which in turn is construed by culture. Using interview data collected from Swedish managers who have extensive international management experiences, this study aims to illustrate how SFL can be used as an adaptive theory and framework of discourse analysis in uncovering semogenic strategies in ICC processes.     

Abolishing English in schools: implications for higher education in West Bengal

Abstract

In 1982, the then ruling Left Front government in West Bengal (India) abolished the teaching of English from its primary schools. The move led to a high-pitched controversy over the social importance of teaching English, and when and how it should be taught. The main arguments in favour of the decision were to confront the elitism inherent in giving primacy to a “foreign” language and to promote higher enrolment and reduce drop-out rates. Those opposed to the decision spoke of redrawing class maps and the difficulties of negotiating a nation of many languages with fluency in only one regional language. Over the years, there were more complex arguments; moreover, demand for English among the rural poor led to a greater demand for private schools or private tuition. The abolition of English was accompanied by major interventions in Bangla language-teaching, which were also hotly debated within the academy. Twenty-five years later, in 2007, a new-look Left Front government sought to reverse the decision and re-introduce English into primary schools. There was opposition within the government from those who had been votaries of the previous decision. The reversal was endorsed by government, however, despite vocal protests. This paper revisits some of the arguments attending this policy flip-flop. It argues that these arguments have wider significance for language policy in higher education in West Bengal, and that they also resonate in other contexts with strong traditions in regional languages.     

Visualizing the knowledge domain of intercultural competence research: A bibliometric analysis

As the volume of research on intercultural competence (ICC) increases greatly in the past twenty years, a systematic review of the diverse literature and its development process becomes essential. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis for the knowledge domain of intercultural competence by using 663 research articles on ICC spanning from 2000 to 2018 in Web of Science (WoS) database. Knowledge maps of ICC research were visualized by CiteSpace. The research findings show that in the field of ICC research, the number of published articles shows an ostensible upward trend in terms of temporal distribution since 2007; the first five highly cited countries are USA, China, Australia, Spain, and UK; International Journal of Intercultural Relations (IJIR) is found to be the most highly cited journal within the past twenty years; the first five highly cited authors are Michael Byram, Darla Deardorff, Claire Kramsch, Mitchell Hammer and Milton Bennett; Conceptualizing intercultural competence (Spitzberg & Changnon, 2009) is the most highly cited article; Blog entries, medical student, academic expatriate, and global management competencies are found to be top four ICC research hotspots. These findings provide considerable insights into research trend, topics, journals, authors and hotspots concerning ICC from the diachronic perspective. Visualization study of the ICC literature by formulating a graphical and explicit approach might be beneficial for researchers and scholars to track the development of ICC research.     

Language and intercultural peer interactions: Vietnamese students in Taiwan’s bilingual academic settings

This study examines Vietnamese students’ experiences of language choice practices in intercultural interactions with their local Taiwanese peers. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with students from five different Taiwanese universities where both English and Mandarin Chinese are used as mediums of instruction and communication. Findings suggest that the students frequently used English as a language of neutrality to communicate with local students, which either connected them with or disconnected them from their peers. They, whereas, considered Mandarin as a language of convergence, which helped them to get closer to their Taiwanese friends. They also occasionally made use of Vietnamese—a language of divergence—to a small extent to connect with their local peers. As international students seem to be the ones who often put more effort into addressing the linguistic and cultural gaps and improving the communication effectiveness compared with their local counterparts, it is recommended that local students should play a more proactive role in using proper accommodation strategies to connect with international students. Internationalised universities should also contribute to building a healthy and inclusive intercultural environment for international and local students and facilitating respectful and effective intercultural interactions among them.     

“Thank You for Calling:” Accents and Authenticity on NBC’s Outsourced

India’s turbulent and dynamic relationship with the English language stems from its colonial past. This project integrates linguistic hegemony, mimicry, and brown voice to examine discourses surrounding the creation and reception of fake Indian accents on the short-lived NBC series Outsourced. The first primetime sitcom to showcase a primarily South Asian cast, Outsourced featured British and American actors of Indian descent using fake Indian accents to portray call center workers. Critical Discourse Analysis reveals the influence of linguistic hegemony to delegitimize Indian English and thereby hinder linguistic cosmopolitanism.     

Can EFL Speakers Communicate in English-mediated Classes?: A Case of a Liberal Arts Class for Engineering Students in Korea

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to explore what factors prevent English as a foreign language (EFL) students from participating in English-medium instruction classes; and (2) to examine how dialogic teaching techniques enhance students’ participation in classroom interaction. Utilizing the notions of “communicative competence” and “truncated repertoire,” we first investigated the barriers to communication in classrooms. We next examined how EFL speakers are able to communicate in English-medium instruction (EMI) classes. The findings suggest that when the instruction was designed to reduce cultural barriers and to facilitate authentic discussion, EFL students were able to participate in classroom interaction, and they perceived discussion as a way to learn an unfamiliar subject taught in English.     

Investigating Pragmatic Competence,Metapragmatic Awareness and Speech Act Strategies among Turkmen-Persian Bilingual and Persian Monolingual EFL Learners: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the effect of bilinguality on pragmatic production and metapragmatic awareness in third language learning. Thus, 59 Turkmen-Persian bilinguals (using Turkmen as their L1 and Persian as their L2) learning English as a third language and 55 Persian monolinguals learning English as their second language were selected and given a WDCT and a metapragmatic awareness questionnaire. The results showed that bilingual EFL learners outperformed monolingual EFL learners in pragmatic production and metapragmatic awareness. The findings also confirm the pragmatic differences among the three languages and the bilinguals’ advantage over monolinguals concerning the appropriate use of speech act strategies.     

A Study of the Level of Intercultural Communicative Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity of Iranian Medical Students Based on Ethnicity

Competence and sensitivity at intercultural communication are essential for an effective and appropriate communication in the context of health care. The present study sought to survey the levels of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and intercultural sensitivity (IS) of 400 Iranian medical students based on their ethnic backgrounds (i.e. Fars, Turkish, Kurdish, and Lor). The findings of this study indicated that the four ethnic groups had moderate levels of ICC and IS, and that the Lor ethnic group had the lowest mean scores on the four dimensions of ICC (i.e. knowledge, attitude, skills, and awareness). Implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Teaching Social Studies for Newcomer English Language Learners: Toward Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Through this case study the author explores how an exemplary teacher utilized social studies curriculum and pedagogy to engage English language learners (ELLs) in learning in a culturally relevant and meaningful way and discusses practical implications for teaching and learning.