Intercultural Communicative Competence: A Group Training for Study Abroad

Derya Tuzcu-Eken*, Dinçay Köksal**
* Department of Foreign Languages, Kırklareli University, Kırklareli, Turkey.
** English Language Teaching Department, ÇanakkaleOnsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey.
Periodicity:July - September'2021
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.11.3.17805

Abstract

Intercultural communicative competence is mandatory for multicultural interactions in the modern world. People getting in to such environments need to develop their intercultural skills for better interaction. However, there is a scarcity of practical suggestions for teachers and institutions on how to put theory into practice. The present paper, therefore, aimed to design a training program for a group of students who are selected to study abroad for atleast 6-months period. Combining theory to build an effective practice opportunity, a mixed methods research design was utilized entailing both quantitative and qualitative techniques. For the quantitative techniques, SPSS was used to interpret the data, and for the qualitative data content, analysis method was utilized. As a result, it was revealed that EFL learners who learn the language to interact mostly with non-natives of English are in need of cultural guidance and interactive activities to build intercultural skills. The designed activities that were fed by the needs analysis conducted in the study and ICC models in the field were ascertained to be beneficial in accordance with this purpose.

Keywords

Erasmus Program, Intercultural Communicative Competence, International Exchange Programs, Study Abroad, Training.

How to Cite this Article?

Tuzcu-Eken, D. and Koksal, D. (2021). Intercultural Communicative Competence: A Group Training for Study Abroad. i-manager's Journal on English Language Teaching, 11(3), 29-43. https://doi.org/10.26634/jelt.11.3.17805

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