THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

This paper analyzes the role of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) class in a B.A in Bilingualism through a qualitative case study using three main instruments for data collection (questionnaires, interviews and observations). It focuses on determining the role of ICC taking into account the perceptions and knowledge of 5th-semester pre-service teachers, as well as the ways in which the ICC is applied in their English class. Findings show that although students value the teaching of culture and most of them think it is developed in all their classes, there is not a full development of all the dimensions of the ICC, which leads to a partial understanding of the concept both in theory and practice.