Exploring the Relationship between Intercultural Competence and Willingness to Communicate among EFL Learners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18860/jetl.v5i1.33111Keywords:
Intercultural Willingness to Communicate, Intercultural Competence, Self-Perceived Communication Competence, Intergroup Anxiety, Mixed-MethodsAbstract
This mixed-methods study investigated the psychological and linguistic factors influencing Intercultural Willingness to Communicate (IWTC) among 192 English majors at a public university in Vietnam. Quantitative survey data, analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression, revealed a moderate overall level of IWTC. Intercultural competence and self-perceived communication competence significantly predicted communication readiness, accounting for 52.4% of the variance. Qualitative semi-structured interviews further illuminated that intergroup anxiety, cultural ethnocentrism, and linguistic cognitive load acted as severe communication barriers. However, participants mitigated these challenges by deploying adaptive strategies such as non-verbal scaffolding and circumlocution. The findings underscore the critical need to integrate English as a Lingua Franca and intercultural training into foreign language curricula to foster global communicative confidence.Downloads
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References
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Widdowson, H. G. (1997). EIL, ESL, EFL: Global issues and local interests. World englishes, 16(1), 135-146.
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Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The modern language journal, 86(1), 54-66.
Yashima, T. (2021). Willingness to communicate in an L2. In The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching (1st ed., pp. 1–12). Routledge.
Zarrinabadi, N., & Tanbakooei, N. (2016). Willingness to communicate: Rise, development, and some future directions. Language and Linguistics Compass, 10(1), 30-45.
Zhao, H., & Coombs, S. (2012). Intercultural teaching and learning strategies for global citizens: a Chinese EFL perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 17(3), 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2011.611874
Zhou, Y., Xu, S., & Bayley, J. (2011). Intercultural competence and EFL teaching in China. In Researching Chinese learners: Skills, perceptions and intercultural adaptations (pp. 138-166). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Boonsuk, Y. (2026). When EFL meets ELF: negotiating intelligibility and intercultural communication in ASEAN EMI classrooms. Language Awareness, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2026.2626503
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Buelt, F. (2025). Taiwan’s educational transformation: the role of motivation, English Lingua Franca, and Willingness to communicate in developing intercultural communicative competence. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2025.2513634
Chen, G. M., & Starosta, W. J. (2000). The development and validation of the intercultural sensitivity scale.
Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (2016). A first course in factor analysis (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Gómez-Rodríguez, L. F. (2018). EFL learners’ intercultural competence development through international news. GIST–Education and Learning Research Journal, (16), 185-208. https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.431
Gu, X. (2016). Assessment of intercultural communicative competence in FL education: A survey on EFL teachers’ perception and practice in China. Language and Intercultural Communication, 16(2), 254–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2015.1083575
Huang, L. J. D. (2021). Developing intercultural communicative competence in foreign language classrooms–A study of EFL learners in Taiwan. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 83, 55-66.
Kassing, J. W. (1997). Development of the intercultural willingness to communicate scale. Communication Research Reports, 14(4), 399–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824099709388683
Lee, T. Y., Ho, Y. C., & Chen, C. H. (2023). Integrating intercultural communicative competence into an online EFL classroom: An empirical study of a secondary school in Thailand. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 8(1), 4.
Luu, P. D. (2026a). Challenges and strategies of intercultural willingness to communicate among English majors at a Vietnamese public university. TNU Journal of Science and Technology, 231(04), 422 – 429, doi: https://doi.org/10.34238/tnu-jst.13650
Luu, P. D. (2026b). YouTube Spoken Corpora in Pronunciation Instruction for Fostering Intercultural Willingness to Communicate. World Conference on Science, Innovation and Human Progress. Futurity Research Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21260676
Luu, P. D. (2026c). Perceived effectiveness and identity development in gamified intercultural learning among EFL learners. TESOL and Technology Studies, 7(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.48185/tts.v7i1.2106
Luu, P. D. (2026d). EFL students’ Intercultural Willingness to Communicate through Intergenerational Storytelling. Journal of Philology and Educational Sciences, 5(1), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.53898/jpes2026512
MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The modern language journal, 82(4), 545-562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x
McCroskey, J. C., & McCroskey, L. L. (1988). Self-report as an approach to measuring communication competence. Communication Research Reports, 5, 108-113.
Mirzaei, A., & Forouzandeh, F. (2013). Relationship Between Intercultural Communicative Competence and L2-Learning Motivation of Iranian EFL Learners. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(3), 300–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.816867
Mostafaei Alaei, M., & Nosrati, F. (2018). Research into EFL Teachers’ Intercultural Communicative Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 47(2), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2018.1424020
Nafisah, S., Oktarina, I., Santri, D., & Suwartono, T. (2024). Teachers’ perception and practices of intercultural communicative competence integration in EFL classroom: A systematic literature review. Educalitra: English Education, Linguistics, and Literature Journal, 3(1), 1-19.
Pawlak, M., & Mystkowska-Wiertelak, A. (2015). Investigating the dynamic nature of L2 willingness to communicate. System, 50, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2015.02.001
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Sharkey, W. F., Kulp, C., Carpenter, B. M., Lee, C., & Rodillas, U. (1997). Embarrassment: The effects of embarrassor and target perceptions. Communication Research Reports, 14(4), 460–469. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824099709388689
Simões, A. V., & Sangiamchit, C. (2023). Internationalization at home: Enhancing global competencies in the EFL classroom through international online collaboration. Education Sciences, 13(3), 264.
Wang, Y., Zhang, H., & Liu, D. (2026). The evolving impact of virtual reality-based cultural immersion: A longitudinal mixed-methods study on EFL learners' intercultural sensitivity, willingness to communicate, and L2 learning motivation. Acta Psychologica, 265, 106631.
Wei, X., & Xu, Q. (2022). Predictors of willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC): Toward an integrated L2 WTC model from the socio‐psychological perspective. Foreign Language Annals, 55(1), 258-282.
Widdowson, H. G. (1997). EIL, ESL, EFL: Global issues and local interests. World englishes, 16(1), 135-146.
Xu, H., Wang, Y., & Ma, J. (2025). A comprehensive review of intercultural communicative competence in EFL education and global business. Cogent Education, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2557608
Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The modern language journal, 86(1), 54-66.
Yashima, T. (2021). Willingness to communicate in an L2. In The Routledge Handbook of the Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching (1st ed., pp. 1–12). Routledge.
Zarrinabadi, N., & Tanbakooei, N. (2016). Willingness to communicate: Rise, development, and some future directions. Language and Linguistics Compass, 10(1), 30-45.
Zhao, H., & Coombs, S. (2012). Intercultural teaching and learning strategies for global citizens: a Chinese EFL perspective. Teaching in Higher Education, 17(3), 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2011.611874
Zhou, Y., Xu, S., & Bayley, J. (2011). Intercultural competence and EFL teaching in China. In Researching Chinese learners: Skills, perceptions and intercultural adaptations (pp. 138-166). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
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Published
2026-06-10
