Intercultural Communicative Competence Learning Outcomes in EAP: A Tool for Supporting Post-secondary Students with Life On and Off Campus

Abstract

The ongoing trend of internationalization at Canadian post-secondary institutions has led to a growing need for support for plurilingual students using English as an additional language (EAL). English for academic purposes (EAP) programs are one support offered in a wide range of contexts across post-secondary institutions in Canada. However, there has been little research to date related to the efficacy of intercultural learning objectives in these programs. Drawing on a wider study into student views on the inclusion of asynchronous online intercultural learning outcomes in an EAP program in British Columbia within a theoretical framework that included literature on additional language socialization, EAP in Canada, and intercultural communicative competence (ICC), qualitative research methods were used to generate data from online questionnaires, student e-Portfolios, focus groups, and individual interviews with students and instructor participants. Meaningful units of text in the data were coded, and the codes were gathered together into themes. A major theme identified in the data in connection to EAL development and additional language socialization was that of life on and off campus, particularly in terms of academic transitions, friendships, and community engagement. The findings point to the benefits of including intercultural learning outcomes in EAP.