Intercultural Contact and Communicative Competence Among EFL Learners: A Case Study in Guangzhou

Authors

  • Shuang Wang School of Foreign Languages, Guangzhou City University of Technology, Guangzhou 510800, Guangdong, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53469/jerp.2025.07(03).03

Keywords:

Intercultural communicative competence, Intercultural contact, Correlation, EFL learners

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between intercultural contact and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among Chinese EFL learners at a university in Guangzhou. It adopts an integrated framework combining communicative and intercultural competence, analyzing how direct and indirect intercultural contact influences ICC development. Using questionnaires to assess intercultural contact and ICC, data from 185 students reveal that overall ICC is below the intermediate level, with linguistic competence being the weakest dimension. Intercultural contact is similarly limited, with indirect pathways such as multimedia dominating. The study confirms a strong positive correlation between intercultural contact and ICC, highlighting the reciprocal reinforcement between these factors. These findings provide practical insights for designing educational strategies to enhance ICC through increased and diverse intercultural engagement opportunities.

References

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Byram, Michael. Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Multilingual Matters, 1997.

Zhong, Hua, Bai, Qianhui, and Fan, Wei. “A Pilot Study on the Development of a Self-Assessment Scale for Chinese College Students’ Intercultural Communicative Competence.” Foreign Language World, no. 3, 2013, pp. 47-56.

Peng, Renzhong, and Wu, Weiping. “Measuring Intercultural Contact and Its Effects on Intercultural Competence: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol. 53, 2016, pp. 16-27.

Pettigrew, Thomas F., and Linda R. Tropp. “A Meta-Analytic Test of Intergroup Contact Theory.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 90, no. 5, 2006, pp. 751-783.

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Published

2025-03-26

How to Cite

Wang, S. (2025). Intercultural Contact and Communicative Competence Among EFL Learners: A Case Study in Guangzhou. Journal of Educational Research and Policies, 7(3), 24–27. https://doi.org/10.53469/jerp.2025.07(03).03

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Shuang Wang

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.