Thai EFL teachers' self-reported levels of intercultural communicative competence and intercultural sensitivity

Pariwat Imsa-ard
Thammasat University, Thailand

Individuals must be interculturally competent and sensitive in today's globalised society to interact effectively with members of other societies. EFL teachers, as critical stakeholders in language education, must be interculturally competent and sensitive to enhance their students' intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and intercultural sensitivity (IS). The purpose of this research was to ascertain Thai EFL secondary school teachers' views regarding ICC, levels of ICC and IS, and the relationship between their IS and ICC. 395 Thai EFL teachers completed the ICC questionnaire and the IS scale. Additionally, six of them took part in follow-up interviews. Descriptive statistics indicated that Thai EFL teachers had good ICC and IS levels. A correlational study indicated significant correlations between the different components of ICC and IS, with the exception of the relationship between the knowledge dimension of ICC and the respect for other cultures and interaction enjoyment dimensions of IS. Finally, the implications and future research recommendations are presented to complement the results and assist the development of English language textbooks that foster a knowledge of language and cultural diversity.
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Author: Pariwat Imsa-ard PhD is an Assistant Professor of English Language Teaching at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University, Thailand. Prior to his PhD in English Language Teaching from Thammasat University, Thailand, he obtained MA in TESOL from the University of York, UK, and BEd with honours from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. His research interests include language assessment, teacher education, reflective practice, and intercultural learning and teaching. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2648-3392 Email: pimsaard@gmail.com Please cite as: Imsa-ard, P. (2023). Thai EFL teachers' self-reported levels of intercultural communicative competence and intercultural sensitivity. Issues in Educational Research, 33(1), 71-90. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/imsa-ard.pdf