From intercultural engagement to intercultural communicative competence: The case of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean

As the objective of language teaching is shifting from producing so-called “native-like” speakers to fostering speakers competent in intercultural communication, it has become necessary to identify the kinds of learning resources that may be related to the learner's development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in today's context of globalization and technological innovation. Employing a mixed-method approach with focus group interviews (n = 46) and a survey (n = 342), this study examines Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language learners' out-of-class intercultural experience and examines how interpersonal engagement and media usage are associated with the three dimensions of ICC: approach, analyze, and act. The study found that while both interpersonal interactions and media usage related to target language were positively associated with self-reported gains in all three dimensions of ICC, media use consistently had a greater effect on ICC than interpersonal interactions. The implications of these findings for language educators are discussed.