Intercultural competence as a perceived predictor of cooperative EFL learning and classroom life among Ethiopian university students

Abstract

AbstractThis study aims to establish the significance of intercultural competence (IC) as a perceived predictor of cooperative EFL learning and classroom life among Ethiopian higher education students. In so doing, a quantitative correlational design was employed to answer the research questions. The data were gathered through Intercultural Competence Scale (ICS) and Classroom Life Measure (CLM) questionnaires administered to 292 randomly sampled undergraduate Communicative English Skills students. Correlation and multiple linear regression were computed via SPSS to analyze the data. The results have revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between perceived IC and cooperative classroom life (CCL) among the target EFL students. Besides, learners’ overall IC is found to be a significant positive perceived predictor of CCL, with intercultural knowledge, behavioral performance and affective orientation significantly contributing to this effect as individual IC factors. Based on the findings, fresh insights and implications are offered for intercultural cooperative EFL learning theory, pedagogy and research in higher education.

Keywords

• Culture
• intercultural competence
• cooperative learning
• cooperative classroom life
• English as a foreign language (EFL)
• foreign language teaching