An Evaluation of Master 1 EFL Students’ Understanding of Intercultural Competence The Case of Master 1 Students at the department of English, Mohammed Seddik Ben Yahia University

Abstract

The objective of teaching and learning a foreign language is nowadays defined in terms of the notion of intercultural competence. Students learn the language in association with its culture and are expected to develop intercultural competence to effectively and successfully use the language. This study, based on Byram’s model (1997) of defining and describing intercultural competence, seeks to evaluate Master 1 EFL students ‘understanding of this notion. It has been hypothesized that Master 1 students might have formed an understanding of intercultural competence and might be aware of its different aspects. To test the validity of the formulated hypotheses, a questionnaire was administered to 70 Master 1 EFL students at Mohammed Seddik Ben Yahia University and an interview was done with 10 other students. After analysing the obtained data, the findings revealed that students’ understanding of intercultural competence is relatively good and that they are somewhat aware of its aspects. Furthermore, they are aware of the importance of intercultural competence in foreign language learning. Based on these findings, a number of pedagogical recommendations are given to students and teachers in addition to some limitations of the study