Exploring the relationships between international extracurricular activities and the intercultural competence of Chinese domestic university students

Abstract

Some Chinese domestic universities with high international reputation and educational capabilities offer students distinctive internationalization at home experiences through international extracurricular activities. The research explored the relationships between these international extracurricular activities and Chinese domestic university students’ intercultural competence. A sample of 2633 Chinese students from three “Double First-Class” universities participated in the study. The results showed that the two types of international extracurricular activities (e.g., extracurricular foreign language learning and club activities) had significant relationships with students’ intercultural competence. Cultural and artistic activities amplified the positive relationship between extracurricular foreign language learning and students’ foreign culture knowledge, intercultural skills and outcomes. Moreover, there were group differences in the relationships between the international extracurricular activities and students’ intercultural competence. These findings have some implications for improving the international extracurricular activities for domestic students in Chinese universities.