Intercultural communicative competence in foreign language learning

Abstract

The importance of teaching both language and culture inseparably are widely acknowledged by both instructors and students. As a result, new concepts such as intercultural communicative competence have emerged. This means that this new skill has to be promoted and fostered so that students can develop it and interact with other people effectively in a more culturally diverse setting. This paper aims to analyse the role of this new competence in foreign language learning, which is characteristic of 21st-century citizens. The study, therefore, conducts a literature review. In this process, teachers, and to a lesser extent coursebook, play a paramount role. Even though all the agents involved in the teaching-learning process value its importance, there are some factors such as a lack of appropriate training on the part of teachers, inadequate content and materials contained mainly in coursebooks, and effective ways of assessment, which prevent the development of this new 21st-century skill.   Keywords: Awareness; culture; development; intercultural communicative competence; interculturality