ERIC Number: EJ1094263
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1470-8477
EISSN: N/A
Assessment of Intercultural Communicative Competence in FL Education: A Survey on EFL Teachers' Perception and Practice in China
Gu, Xiaole
Language and Intercultural Communication, v16 n2 p254-273 2016
The intercultural approach to language teaching, intercultural communicative language teaching, has emerged in response to the limitations of communicative language teaching. As a result, the ultimate goal of foreign language (FL) education is being shifted from communicative competence to intercultural communicative competence (ICC). In China, this calls for an understanding of the status quo of ICC assessment in FL. The aim of the present study, which is a part of a nation-wide survey, is to investigate the opinions and attitudes of teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China on assessment of ICC and to gauge how and to what extent these beliefs are reflected in their classroom implementation. Data were collected from 1170 Chinese university EFL teachers by means of a questionnaire. The analysis reveals that, despite a willingness to assess ICC, the EFL teachers lack a clear conception of ICC. This leads to confusion about what should be assessed and how to assess it, and to deficiencies in their attempts to measure students' ICC in the classroom. Possible reasons for the deficiencies are explored and solutions proposed. The findings from this empirical study have implications for intercultural language teaching in China.
Descriptors: Intercultural Communication, Communicative Competence (Languages), English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, College Faculty, Questionnaires, Teacher Attitudes, Asians, Foreign Countries, Teaching Methods, Second Language Instruction, Educational Objectives, National Surveys, Student Evaluation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A