The Impact of Street Interviews on Chinese EFL Undergraduates’Intercultural Communicative Competence

The study adopts Byram’s Intercultural Communicative Competence(ICC)model as the theoretical framework,and structured interviews were conducted to explore the impact of street interviews on the participants’ICC.Analysis results revealed street interviews help students acquire knowledge in intercultural attitudes,intercultural knowledge,skills of discovery and interaction,and critical cultural awareness,aligning with the four components of Byram’s ICC model.Meanwhile,they have positive perceptions of street interviews.Therefore,street interviews have a positive effect on the development of participants’ICC.

Integration of Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence

The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in China calls for a paradigm shift in theory and practice of foreign language(FL)teaching from a communicative language teaching approach(CLT)to intercultural language teaching(ICLT),which treats intercultural communicative competence(ICC)as the core of FL education.Unfortunately,the College English Curriculum Requirements of China(CECR)does not specify the aspects for cultural teaching or assessment;nor does it provide any theoretical or practical guidance for teachers on how to teach or assess ICC.This leads to teachers’confusion about what should be taught and assessed and how,hence to a deficiency in real actions.In this paper,we first outline the learning outcomes of ICLT-oriented courses,the ICC components which respectively fall into the categories of intercultural attitude,knowledge and skills.By presenting the pedagogical practice of a cultural literacy course,we also demonstrate how FL teachers can help learners achieve these learning outcomes through a fivestage instruction process.Finally,we discuss how these learning outcomes can be assessed using formative and summative assessment tools,especially how ICC components can be incorporated into a comprehensive test of FL.

Cultivation of Intercultural Communicative Competence of Senior High School Students

With the trend of globalization in education and the strengthened position of English as a foreign language in China,the need to understand the cultural differences between Chinese and Western culture is becoming increasingly urgent,especially for the students in senior high schools in China.This paper is aimed to arouse the awareness of the urgency to improve the intercultural communication competence of the students in senior high school in China.It proposes four feasible and conducive suggestions for senior high schools in China to set up curriculum about Western culture to meet the needs of their students.

Cultivating Cultural Self-Awareness to Teach Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is undisputably important in today’s world.Schools on every level in China attach great importance to educating young people with intercultural communication competence.Chinese anthropologist Fei Xiaotong developed the concept of cultural self-awareness to meet this urgent need.The paper explores the rich meanings of cultural self-awareness concept and how the idea is relevant to teaching intercultural communication.

Developing Students’ Intercultural Communicative Competence Through Threads of Personal Experiences: A Reflective Approach

With the development of world globalization, English works as a lingua franca for intercultural communication among different cultures in the world. This shift implies that introducing solely English native speaking cultures to students is not sufficient for their needs. This paper depicts the reflective teaching process of my ten years of experience of teaching intercultural communication.The paper describes how the teacher systematically reflects on the practice of teaching,continuously revises the curriculum, and finally formulates an efficient model of integrating students’ personal experiences into developing students’ intercultural communicative competence and awareness. This reflective study attempts to provide some pedagogical implications for intercultural communication education.

On the Ecological Evaluation of Iranian Secondary Schools English Language Course Books in Light Intercultural Communicative Competence： Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude

With the spread of English language around the world and its status as an international language, the need for more communication is felt. One pivoting aspect of this communication is the role of culture which can contribute to the success of communication at the global level and the co-construction of identities as individuals from different parts of the world get into interactions. Thus, the role of materials developed for learning English, especially the local ones, in the improvement of individuals＇ intercultural competence is significant. New course books for learning English at Iranian secondary schools entitled Prospect series have been developed recently. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the first and the second books of this series in light of Byram＇s model of Intercultural Communicative Competence （1CC）. Based on this model, ICC consists of three dimensions of attitude, knowledge, skills, and five saviors of knowledge, attitude, discovery, interaction, and critical thinking. To do the evaluation of the course books, the checklist developed based on these five saviors was used to evaluate the tasks for each unit of the books. The evaluation was done separately by each of the researchers in the study and inter-rater reliability showed a high level of Cronbach alpha. The findings indicated that about 90 percent of the activities of Prospect 1 and Prospect 2 lack the skills required for improving English language learners＇ ICC. They mostly focus on Iranian culture which might have been improved via learners＇ first language as well. This might imply the need for the adaptation of Prospect series activities in light of ICC so that Iranian English language learners can take advantage of their communication with the rest of the world.

Strategies to Promote Intercultural Communicative Competence in EFL Teaching

With the acceleration of globalization and internationalization, the demand for multilingual speakers is urgent, which promotes the development of foreign language teaching and learning especially English. Consequently, the English as a Foreign Language （EFL） teaching is paid great attention to in China. Many previous studies show the connection of EFL teaching and teachers＇ intercultural communicative competence （ICC）. Although it is presumed that teachers＇ ICC at this stage is a prerequisite to raise students＇ ICC, the specific strategies to promote teachers＇ intercultural skills in EFL teaching have not yet been empirically demonstrated. The goal of the present study is to put forward some specific strategies to promote teachers＇ ICC in EFL teaching. Two cases including interview and teaching plans, were administered in high school teachers. Sample analysis demonstrated teachers＇ current problems in ICC and in Chinese EFL teaching as well as the necessity for teachers to acquire the specific teaching strategies. These findings seem to suggest that specific strategies are indeed essential to promote teachers＇ ICC in EFL teaching.

Cultural Schema and Intercultural Communicative Competence

Cultural schemas, as cognitive structures and generalized collections of knowledge of past experiences that are organized into related knowledge groups, can be used to perceive and understand various cultural phenomena in the communication. People carry different schemas （background knowledge） that play an important role in guiding people＇s behaviors in intercultural communication. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to theoretically apply communication strategies to the development of intercultural communicative competence in light of Cultural Schema Theory. It focuses on the relationship between cultural schema and intercultural communicative competence. Some pedagogical implications are given that cultural schema could be previously intended to help communicaters have a better and easier life when they are living in other countries, such as awareness raising, knowledge acquisition, emotional management, and skills development. This paper is written on the basis of a collection of the Chinese university students＇ experience of culture-learning. The study has certain significance in the practice on cultural acquisition, communication competence, and intercultural communication.

Fostering Intercultural Communicative Competence in Writing:A Preliminary Study

The deepening of internationalization has promoted intercultural communication.Countries around the world have established education policies on intercultural communication,highlighting the importance of intercultural communicative competence.The paper offers a preliminary study of how to foster learners’intercultural communicative competence in writing.It first elaborates intercultural communicative competence and the factors that cause intercultural communication failures,and then proposes a variety of writing strategies to develop learners’intercultural communicative competence.Suggestions on how to improve English teachers’intercultural communicative competence are also provided.

Assessment of Intercultural Communicative Competence

The present paper concems itself with the overview of the assessment of intercultural communicative competence in the field of language testing worldwide, hoping to emphasize the importance of culture testing in language projects, provide some insightful information for test item constructors, educators, authorities as well.

On Intercultural Communicative Competence in College English Education

In the context of globalization,this paper introduces the characteristics of intercultural education,analyzes the problems existing in the cultivation of intercultural communicative competence in college English education,with a view to putting forward some corresponding cultivation strategies and providing some reference for college English reform.

On the Development of Students' Intercultural Communicative Competence in College English Classes

More frequent international contacts require culture teaching to be incorporated into college English classes so as to develop students' intercultural communicative competence. English culture is different from Chinese at linguistic and pragmatic levels and in nonverbal communication as well. To make students engage in intercultural communication successfully, teachers should first develop their "critical cultural awareness".Meanwhile, they need to try flexible ways of culture teaching and create an authentic learning environment for the students. Opportunities should also be created for the students to communicate in the real context. Students' autonomy to learn the language and its culture should also be nurtured.

Taking Stock of Grammar-Translation Teaching Method in Developing Intercultural Pragmatic Competence

Grammar-translation teaching method(GTTM as a shorthand below) has long been a buzzword when it is adopted in the class of English as a foreign language.It has been universally acknowledged that such teaching method contradicts the development of communicative language competence advocated in recent decades.However,I positively argue that GTTM in English class,as a comparative and intercultural model,should be given a due reconsideration to improve L2 learners' pragmatic competence.

The framework and cultivating modes of intercultural communication competence for business English majors in vocational colleges： Based on the study of vocational colleges in Guangxi

The teaching objective of vocational business English is not only to improve students＇ English language competence, but also to develop their intercultural communication competence. Based on an analysis of the outcome of a survey on cultivation of English majors＇ intercultural competence among vocational colleges in Guangxi, the paper aims at exploring the framework and cultivating modes of intercultural communication competence for business English majors in vocational colleges.

The Cultivation of Intercultural Communication Competence in College English Teaching

During the long history of foreign language teaching and learning,educators focus just on the same question:how they could have the learners learn and use the target language effectively.In traditional college English teaching,much attention is paid to language knowledge,whereas the cultural background of the language is ignored.In recent years,many people begin to realize the importance of intercultural communication competence(ICC).The thesis first gives a general introduction to the thesis,states the definition of intercultural communication(IC)and ICC.Then the thesis analyzes the factors affecting ICC cultivation.At last,the thesis presents the significance of ICC cultivation and puts forward some suggestions.

An Investigation on Business English Majors' Intercultural Communication Competence

Business English students are more engaged in business communication activities after graduation.Good interculturalcommunication competence is an essential condition for successful communication. Therefore, Business English students shouldnot only possess strong professional knowledge but also they should have qualified intercultural communication competence. Theauthor has investigated the current situation of intercultural communication competence of business English students and analyzedreasons, then put forward some feasible suggestions based on the findings. It is hoped that this survey will be helpful to similar research in the future.

On the Enhancement of Intercultural Communication Competence in Interpreting Classes

To ensure effective intercultural communications, it is highly important to equip interpreter with intercultural communicative competence. Specific suggestions in interpreting teaching classes are provided in this paper in order to enhance interpreter's intercultural communicative competence and improve interpreting quality in interpreting classes.

Dimensions of Intercultural Communication Competence

Intercultural communication competence can help us adapt better to the host culture and deal with culture shock successfully. This paper mainly discusses the dimensions of intercultural communication competence.

Intercultural Competence Development of Chinese Students After a Short-Term Study Abroad Experience

This study investigated Chinese students’ intercultural competence and linguistic growth during a six-week study abroad program. The students and their professor participated in pre- and post-tests covering written and oral language competency as well as intercultural competence. The Global Scale of English assessed student language development to determine linguistic growth and the Assessment of Intercultural Competence of Chinese College Students (AIC-CCS) was used to determine student growth of intercultural competence skills, specifically related to cultural knowledge, skills, attitudes, and awareness as a result of their experiences in a non-Western context. Results indicated that students experienced a change in the salience of intercultural knowledge themes over their period abroad, as well as improved their individual language abilities. This study provides suggestions for future programming focused on the development of Chinese student intercultural competencies during short-term study abroad experiences in Western university environments.

Intercultural Interaction and Competence： Challenges Facing South African Children

South Africa is a country of many cultures. Before the first democratic elections in 1994, people of different cultures found it difficult to interact because of legislated racial segregation, which made it difficult for blacks to mix with whites in almost all spheres of life. The only place interaction could take place was in the workplace. As a result, children from different cultural groups had few opportunities to interact. This made it impossible for South African children to learn about the cultures of other racial groups. With the introduction of a democratic government, all segregation laws were relaxed and people mixed freely in all spheres of life. Intercultural communication became commonplace. This new scenario presented a challenge to many South African children, but despite the limits imposed before 1994, children from all racial groups associated successfully. Their ability to cope with this situation with so much more ease than adults was remarkable. This paper seeks to highlight the communication skills used by South African children from all cultural backgrounds to achieve intercultural competence in a relatively short space of time. The paper will further reflect on the impact made on African children by intercultural interaction and competence.