Intercultural Communication Competence Development: A Key Component of Foreign Language Education

Abstract

Amid the acceleration of global integration, increasingly improved transportation and advanced information and communications technology have resulted in closer connections and more frequent communication among people from different countries. consequently, there have been a worldwide broader application of foreign languages. concomitant with increased communication between individuals from varied cultural backgrounds is the challenge of cultural differences (han, 2002). in this context, researchers, since 1950s, have endeavored to integrate the findings from anthropological, psychological, linguistic, sociological, philosophical, cultural, and communication studies to establish a distinctive theoretical framework and research methodology for intercultural communication studies. the american anthropologist edward hall, with his in-depth research on the relationship between culture and communication, is regarded as the pioneer of the field of intercultural communication. his book the silent language (hall, 1959) has been considered the foundational work for this domain. intercultural communication theory: current perspectives, authored by gudykunst (1983), further established intercultural communication as an independent and mature discipline.