To understand how ISL addresses linguistic difference between participants and host communities, a qualitative content analysis of recent peerreviewed articles in which programs were described as having addressed linguistic difference. Nearly half of the literature did not explicate how language was addressed. Across 25 programs, seven methods…

The research was conducted at a public university in Bangkok, utilizing the Personal Report on Intercultural Communication Apprehension (PRICA) to measure Intercultural Communication Apprehension (ICA). The study aimed to compare the ICA levels among three groups of students within the same university: bachelor's degree students majoring in…

Telecollaboration has received growing interest in language education as a way of fostering intercultural learning. While the body of literature primarily focuses on the impact of telecollaborative processes on intercultural learning, the effect of supportive mechanisms on intercultural telecollaboration has received little academic attention.…

Conversation clubs are excellent resources for practicing a new language. They bring together individuals with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to engage in enriching language activities and discussions that promote intercultural consciousness and intercultural skills. While previous studies have emphasized the importance of conversation…

Intercultural sensitivity, which is seen as an affective component of intercultural competence, is crucial to cultivating one's favorable emotions about cultural differences experienced in intercultural communication. This qualitative study was conducted to find out how undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) students in Vietnam…

In the twenty-first-century working professionals need to possess strong Interactional Competence to handle professional communication in intercultural contexts (PCIC). However, the relationship among the three PCIC constituents -- culture, workplace and interaction -- is undertheorized in current research. This leaves PCIC practitioners…

Developing intercultural sensitivity in the current multicultural world is an essential, but challenging requirement. This necessity is significant in EFL classes where learners are expected to gain intercultural skills to communicate more efficiently in culturally diverse contexts. Grounded in Bennett's (Bennett, International Journal of…

This ethnographic study reports four teenage Chinese EAL students' learning journey in a UK independent school. Due to linguistic barriers, they encountered significant challenges in their social lives and academic studies. The school arranged EAL lessons to improve students' English proficiency. However, participants were concerned that the EAL…

Utilizing a structural equation modeling approach, this article aims to examine the dynamics between Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and Intercultural Competence (ICC). Altogether, 1490 Chinese college students from different types of universities in China answered the self-developed and validated IDLE-ICC questionnaire. The results…

The plurality of the use, users, and forms of English has prompted Global Englishes scholars to advocate the need for English language curricula to more accurately reflect the current sociolinguistic landscape of English and the intercultural nature of contemporary communicative exchanges. However, the scarcity of teaching materials has been…

Culture is an inseparable part of English Language Teaching (ELT), and ELT textbooks, as one of the main instructional resources are bound to include cultural and linguistic content. However, the kind of cultural content in these books has been a controversial issue for decades. It is recommended that curriculum designers use intercultural…

The world has become seemingly smaller with the advancements of technologies, instead of taking days to receive a written letter, it takes seconds to get an email. While the connection is obvious there still seems to be a barrier between the majority of the world's population: Language. Though it seems irrelevant in people's small communities, the…

Iranian authorities view English language learning as a disturbing influence on national identity. They are concerned about its impact on learners' identities. Despite the political concern, there is growing interest in learning English in Iranian private schools for personal and social development. This article reports on a study in which six…

Upon encountering unfamiliar words or observing local practices in study abroad contexts, second language learners may discuss aspects of the target language and culture with their peers -- 'non-native' friends from the same cultural background or 'natives' of the target culture. Such mediations are instrumental in elaborating understandings, but…

Study abroad homestays are generally assumed to provide visitors with opportunities to learn language 'in the wild' by participating in the host family's everyday life. Ultimately such participation is accomplished via individual episodes of interaction as the visitor is socialized into the family's mundane routines and rituals. Building on…