A STUDY ON DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS SCALE (ICAS) AND EXAMINING ELT STUDENTS INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS

Abstract

This study aims to examine ELT students’ intercultural awareness levels according to various variables. To attain this goal, a scale measuring intercultural awareness was developed in the first phase. The scale development process was carried out with data of 207 ELT students studying in a state university. After collecting the data, exploratory factor analysis was computed, and a 24-item scale was obtained as a result of the AFA. The developed scale was administered to a different group of students consisting of 182 students (Male=71, Female=111). The collected data were analysed considering the extraneous variables like gender, grade, presence abroad and the number of been abroad. Since the test of normality results pointed out the skew distribution among all the variables, comparisons were made through non-parametric analysis techniques. The results showed that the students’ intercultural awareness did not significantly change according to their genders, grades, or the number of been abroad; however, their intercultural awareness significantly changed according to their presence abroad. According to the results, the students having been abroad had higher intercultural awareness compared to the ones who did not go abroad.