Measuring EFL Students’ Intercultural Competence and Language Skill after Having an International Living
Bibliographic record
Abstract
The study aims to measure EFL students’ intercultural competence and English language skills both qualitatively and quantitatively after participating in an international living program, where English served as the primary means of communication. This research utilized surveys, interviews, and self-reflections to assess the sojourners' intercultural competence and English language proficiency. To provide a comparative perspective, data were also collected from a control group of students who did not participate in international living. The findings reveal that the international living experience had a significant impact on students' intercultural competence and English language skills compared to their non-participating peers. Knowledge and awareness showed the most improvement, followed by skills and attitudes. Additionally, students exhibited notable advancements in their English language proficiency. Qualitative data from interviews indicated that the international experience facilitated self-discovery, empathy, and cultural awareness, enriching their understanding of their original culture’s complexities and contributing to their English language development. Quantitative analysis from questionnaires highlighted participants in the international program had higher levels of cultural competence and language skills compared to the control group. The informants demonstrated a better attitude toward cultural differences and showed marked progress in their English communication abilities compared to the control group. They overcame initial challenges by actively engaging with various cultural practices, interacting with locals, and embracing different viewpoints, which also fostered their language learning. The study underscores the transformative impact of international living on students’ intercultural competence and English language skills, highlighting a journey of self-discovery, empathy, and enhanced communication abilities.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.004 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".