Intercultural Competence of International Students: A Qualitative Content Analysis of the Textbook “Civilization” for French Language Learners

The relationship between language and culture is a crucial concern for both language education researchers and those studying the internationalization of higher education, as it addresses the need to alleviate cultural challenges encountered by international students in their host countries. This qualitative research aims to analyze the textbook “Civilisation Progressive du Francais” for basic-level French language learners from the perspective of intercultural competence using content analysis. The book is dedicated to teaching French and Francophone culture to enhance the adaptation of international students in France. According to the findings, the book effectively increases students' cultural "knowledge" by focusing on the "specific culture" of France, covering both general French culture and the daily culture of the French. While the book facilitates the development of students' intercultural skills by providing space for the analysis and interpretation of "French culture", awareness of "native culture", and comparison with "other cultures", but a significant portion of the book is devoted to specific French culture. Therefore, to foster a multicultural atmosphere and enhance the intercultural attitude and critical cultural awareness of international students, the book needs to be revised to include more sections on other cultures. The final results indicate that enhancing the intercultural attitude and knowledge of "authors" when writing books for foreign students and the effective role of "instructors" in promoting intercultural interactions in the classroom are crucial factors for students' effective and appropriate intercultural engagement in real-life situations.

1. Introduction

In recent decades, international mobility increase, such as migration, international employment, and especially the embrace of the internationalization of higher education, with the movement of students through international student mobility programs, has doubled the importance of considering culture in the process of learning the target language. Students, just as they need to be taught and learn the language of the host country to establish verbal communication, need to be placed in situations and conditions that help increase their cultural awareness and knowledge of the host country. This, in turn, aids in developing understanding, interest, and curiosity about the culture of others, as well as the ability to communicate with people from different cultures. The formation and enhancement of this ability, aimed at reducing the challenges faced by international students and increasing their adaptability to the host country, can be achieved through educational books and classroom teaching.

One of the ways used by host countries to achieve intercultural competence among international students is the dynamic teaching of culture through language education in the form of educational books. The present study aims to analyze the textbook " Civilisation Progressive du Francais " for adult French language learners in France from the perspective of intercultural competence.

Research Question

The main research question of this study is:

How does an educational textbook enhance the intercultural competence of international students in the host country?







2. Literature Review

1.2. Intercultural Competence

The intercultural dimension of language education helps learners not only acquire the linguistic competence necessary for communication but also enhance their intercultural competence (Byram et al., 2002). They emphasize that developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching involves recognizing that the aims are: to give learners intercultural competence as well as linguistic competence; to prepare them for interaction with people of other cultures; to enable them to understand and accept people from other cultures as individuals with other distinctive perspectives, values, and behaviors; and to help them to see that such interaction is an enriching experience.

The main components of intercultural competence (communication) according to Byram’s model (Byram et al., 2002) are described below:



Table 1

Components of Intercultural Competence

Curiosity and openness, readiness to suspend disbelief about other cultures, and belief about one’s own Intercultural attitudes (savoir être)

Of social groups and their products and practices in one’s own and in one’s interlocutor’s country, and of the general processes of societal and individual interaction Knowledge (savoirs)

Ability to interpret a document or event from another culture, to explain it, and relate it to documents or events from one’s own Skills of interpreting and relating (savoir comprendre)

Ability to acquire new knowledge of a culture and cultural practices and the ability to operate knowledge, attitudes, and skills under the constraints of real-time communication and interaction. Skills of discovery and interaction (savoir apprendre/faire)

an ability to evaluate critically and on the basis of explicit criteria, perspectives, practices, and products in one’s own and other cultures and countries Critical cultural awareness

(savoir s'engager)

Note. Adapted from " Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching: A Practical Introduction for Teachers," by Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002)





From Fantini's perspective (2009, p. 458), intercultural competence is “a set of abilities required for effective and appropriate performance when interacting with others who are linguistically and culturally different from oneself”. Therefore, achieving intercultural competence in language learners not only enhances their linguistic competence but also prepares them for interaction with people from different cultures, empowering them to understand and accept individuals from other cultures as people with distinct perspectives, values, and behaviors.

The Council of Europe's document (2001) titled Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) divides learners' competence into two parts: communicative linguistic competence (linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, and pragmatic competence) and general competence (intercultural knowledge, attitudes, and skills).

Deardoff (2006) defines Intercultural Competence as the ability to develop targeted knowledge, skills, and attitudes that lead to visible behavior and communication that are both effective and appropriate in intercultural interactions. His two Intercultural Competence Models (2006), Pyramid Model of Intercultural Competence and Process Model of Intercultural Competence are based on five elements: attitude, knowledge, skills, internal outcomes, and external outcomes as following.



Table 2

Components of Intercultural Competence

Attitude

Respect (valuing other cultures, cultural diversity) Openness (to intercultural learning and to people from other cultures, withholding judgment) Curiosity and discovery (tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty)

Knowledge & Comprehension Cultural self-awareness; Deep understanding and knowledge of culture (including contexts, role, and impact of culture & others’ world views); Culture-specific information; Sociolinguistic awareness

Skills To listen, observe, and interpret, to analyze, evaluate, and relate

Internal outcomes Adaptability (to different communication styles & behaviors; adjustment to new cultural environments); Flexibility (selecting and using appropriate communication styles and behaviors; cognitive flexibility); Ethno relative view; Empathy

External outcomes Behaving and communicating effectively and appropriately (based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes) to achieve one’s goals to some degree

Note. Adapted from " Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence as a Student Outcome of Internationalization," by Deardorff, D. K. (2006)



Deardorff (2006) asserts that the enhancement of intercultural competence begins at the individual’s attitudinal level and then, through the use of knowledge and understanding and skills leads to internal outcomes, which collectively result in external outcomes that influence the individual's attitude.



2.2. Culture Learning in Language Education

Searle (1976) argues that learning a language without considering its cultural roots hinders an individual’s socialization. This is because learning the language (linguistic knowledge) alone does not provide specific insights into the political, social, religious, or economic systems of the target country. Knowledge is acquired through education and learning. According to Paige et al. (1999, p. 50), cultural learning involves "the process of acquiring the culture-specific and culture-general knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for effective communication and interaction with individuals from other cultures." Paige et al. (2003) emphasize two aspects of culture in the education and learning of culture-specific and culture-general knowledge: ‘C’ culture’ and’ c’ culture. Lee (2009) defines the big “c” domain as a set of facts and statistics relating to the arts, history, geography, business, education, festivals, and customs of a target speech society. The small “c” domain refers to the invisible and deeper sense of a target culture (that is, the mainstream socio-cultural values, norms, and beliefs, taking into consideration such socio-cultural variables as age, gender, and social status)’.



3. Methodology

The overall design of this qualitative research is text-based. The case study is the “Civilisation Progressive du Francais ” textbook (Carlo & Causa, 2005), which is designed to aid adult language learners in becoming familiar with French and Francophone cultures to facilitate students' adaptation in France. The data collection tools are based on a researcher-developed checklist. For analyzing the data, which includes 164 pages of text and 400 class activities, a qualitative content analysis method was used, focusing on the components of intercultural competence.



4. Results

Enhancing intercultural competence in students as a fundamental element in international education (Deardorff & Arasaratnam-Smith, 2017) helps reduce common challenges faced by international students in the host country, such as culture shock, cultural incompatibility, and difficulties in communication and social interaction (Asghari, 2021). Educational textbooks play a significant role in improving the intercultural competence of international students.

The results of this study show that while the content of the French civilization/culture textbook (designed for adult international students in France) effectively creates knowledge about the specific culture of France (including both “C” culture and “c” culture), it has shortcomings in fostering a multicultural environment (even when addressing Francophone countries). As Risager (2021, p. 177) notes in practice, as seen in textbooks and other educational materials for beginner and intermediate learners, the prevailing nationalist perspective implies that awareness of the world is confined within the borders of each nation. This complicates participation in global citizenship and also somewhat hinders the creation of a third space (Kramsch, 1993). Creating a multicultural environment not only enhances general knowledge about global cultures but also requires providing more opportunities to introduce one's own culture and become familiar with other cultures (beyond the host country's culture), acquiring skills to understand and interpret different cultures, the ability to make unbiased comparisons, and ultimately being prepared to respond appropriately when encountering various cultures in real life.

The results of the current study indicate that while the content of the French civilization /culture textbook somewhat contributes to strengthening intercultural knowledge and skills through creating a space for analyzing and interpreting French culture, awareness of one's own culture, and comparison with other cultures, it still requires revision. Due to a significant portion of the book being devoted to the specific culture of France, there is a need for the inclusion of other cultures to create a multicultural environment, which will effectively enhance the intercultural attitude and critical cultural awareness of international students. In fact, the goal of such education, as Byram et al. (2002) described is not the purpose of teaching to try to change learners’ values, but to make them explicit and conscious in any evaluative response to others.

In today’s multicultural world, especially in a country like France, which is a destination for international students from around the globe, it is expected that textbooks for international students should play a more prominent role in creating a multicultural environment to train intercultural speakers (through language education). Strengthening the intercultural attitudes and knowledge of authors when developing textbooks for international students, along with the effective role of instructors in enhancing intercultural interactions in the classroom, are key factors in improving the effective learning and appropriate intercultural engagement of international students in real-life situations