Examining intercultural communication education in EFL programmes: The case of Yemeni universities

Abstract

In foreign language (FL) education, it is now emphasised that learners' needs are not limited to knowledge and skills in the grammar of the language but also the aptitude to use the language in socially and culturally suitable ways in intercultural contexts. However, addressing intercultural communication (IC) in an FL context remains a challenging goal to achieve, especially given the need for innovation in curriculum design and pedagogical implementation. This paper examines the status quo of IC education in Yemen through scrutinising the curriculum of English language programmes in the higher education system. A corpus-based analysis was used to analyse the integration of IC in the course specifications of English as a foreign language (EFL) programmes. Additionally, a questionnaire was administered to delve into EFL faculty members' perceptions of the barriers to implementing IC education in the same context. The results revealed that IC is unproductively included, taught, and practiced in formal EFL education in Yemeni universities. The results also indicated that superficial exemplification of IC patterns, imbalance between linguistic and cultural dimensions, ineffective teaching methods, improper classroom practices, and lack of exposure to the target culture are the key impairments of IC education in the context of this study.