“Exploring Intercultural Competence:
A Construct Proposal”
NCOLCTL Fourth Annual Conference
Alvino E. Fantini, Ph.D.
School for International Training
Brattleboro, Vermont
About Intercultural Competence
Contact with other languages and cultures provides an excellent opportunity to foster the development of
intercultural communicative competence (ICC, or intercultural competence, for short). Once the process
has begun, however, the development of ICC normally involves an on-going and lengthy process,
occasionally even with periods of regression or stagnation, and normally with no end point. Different
individuals will have different goals and will attain varying levels of competence. For some, a goal might
be to achieve native-like behavior; for others, it may be to gain acceptance in the host culture; and for still
others, just to survive.
It is interesting to note that the more deeply one enters into a second language-culture (LC2, or
"linguaculture"), the more profound are its effects on one's native linguaculture (LC1). A common result is
that individuals will modify their initial perspectives and understanding of the world (or "worldview").
Both transcendence and transformation of one's original mode of perceiving, knowing, and expressing
about the world, take place in the process.
But what exactly is intercultural competence? Although the term is in increasing use today, there is by no
means consensus about what it is. Some stress global knowledge, others sensitivity, others stress certain
skills. The characterization presented here suggests, however, that ICC is far more complex that any one of
these views.
The Components of ICC
ICC is a complex phenomenon with multiple components. These components include:
• a variety of characteristics or traits;
• three areas or domains;
• four dimensions;
• proficiency in a second language;
• and various levels of a longitudinal and developmental process.
Characteristics or Traits - Some commonly cited traits of ICC include: flexibility, humor, patience,
openness, interest, curiosity, empathy, tolerance for ambiguity, and suspending judgment, among others.
Three Areas - ICC involves ability in three areas or domains:
• the ability to establish and maintain relationships;
• the ability to communicate with minimal loss or distortion;
• the ability to collaborate in order to accomplish something of mutual interest or need.
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© Alvino E. Fantini, Brattleboro, VT, USA 1995; Revised 2001
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Four Dimensions - ICC has four dimensions; these include:
• knowledge;
• (positive) attitudes;
• skills; and
• awareness.
Proficiency in Another Language – Ability to communicate in a second or foreign language is important to
the development of ICC. Grappling with another language challenges how one perceives, conceptualizes,
and expresses oneself; and in the process, it opens the possibility of developing alternative communication
strategies on someone else's terms. This humbling process often results in transcending and transforming
how one understands the world. Lack of a second language – even at a minimal level – constrains one to
continue to think about the world and act within it, only in one's native system, and deprives the individual
of one of the most valuable aspects of the intercultural experience.
Developmental levels – The development of ICC usually involves a longitudinal and on-going process. For
this reason, various benchmarks may be helpful to mark one's journey along the way. At World Learning,
four levels have been found useful for our context. These are:
• Level I: Educational Traveler – e.g., participants in: Summer Abroad, students of
English, and other short term exchange programs, etc. (4-6 weeks);
• Level II: Sojourner – longer cultural immersion, e.g., interns, and participants in Study
Abroad programs and internships of long duration (4-8 months);
• Level III: Professional – staff working in a intercultural or multicultural context; e.g., SIT
and World Learning employees, alumni, project staff, etc.;
• Level IV: Intercultural/multicultural Specialist – individuals engaged in training,
educating, consulting, or advising international students, Academic Directors, crosscultural trainers.
Other levels may be substituted as useful as well as other terms, such as: basic, intermediate, advanced,
native-like (or terms akin to those used in the ACTFL Proficiency Scale).
Assessing Intercultural Competence
Because ICC is still a fairly recent notion, there is no consensus yet about what it is. People use this term
with various meanings; while others prefer still other terms, such as global competence, international
competence, multicultural competence, and so forth. A simple definition, however, might be: the abilities
to perform effectively and appropriately with members of another language-culture background on their
terms. This definition brings up the word "perform" or "performance." In one view, competence is abstract
and cannot be witnessed directly; consequently, it must be inferred by observing how one performs. Hence,
competence and performance are interrelated – one being abstract and the other observable. In this view,
then, one monitors competence by observing performance, rather than only talking about it in abstraction.
Moreover, the criteria on which intercultural competence is sometimes identified, monitored, and assessed,
are not always clear or consistent. For this reason, a pilot assessment tool was developed based on the four
dimensions (and represents only one iteration of several possible constructs). This tool is known as a
YOGA Form; "YOGA" standing for "Your Objectives, Guidelines, and Assessment." The form is intended
for use as a guide before, during, and after an intercultural sojourn, by helping to monitor the development
of one's intercultural competence. It can help in three ways: 1) first, to establish and then critically examine
intercultural objectives, 2) to serve as a guide during the intercultural experience, and 3) to provide an
assessment tool at various stages of the process and at the end. As such, the assessment approach is
normative, formative, as well as summative.
Rationale
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Many foreign language and intercultural educational programs prescribe some manner of assessing
participant performance in a variety of academic and professional areas. However, many educators often
overlook or undervalue an important area – the development of intercultural competence. Valuing and
evaluating ICC development is consistent with recent trends in higher education to address the
competencies needed for our global age that go beyond the academic and professional. This form helps to
do just that while also shifting the focus from teaching to learning, from input to outcome, and from
evaluation to development. Moreover, it involves the learner as a partner in the teaching-learning process, it
stresses outcomes, and it is consistent with co-constructive approaches to education.
The YOGA form was compiled in various stages. First, a Task Force at the School for International
Training collected empirical observations. These observations were then checked against a review of the
intercultural literature. And finally, the items were crosschecked against 18 other approaches to ICC
assessment. The resulting form establishes five competency areas (knowledge, attitude, skills, awareness +
second language proficiency), followed by factors commonly cited for each.
To date, this form has been used primarily as a tool to enhance the educational process. After significant
piloting in field situations, however, it is anticipated that the form will portray not only individual
participant profiles, but also group profiles once results are compiled from significant numbers of
individual forms. This approach is used to learn first what we consider important outcomes, before
finalizing and validating the instrument with statistical reliability. The instrument will eventually reflect
agreed-upon outcomes rather than utilizing an instrument which tests only part of ICC or leads down a
different path (the "tail wagging the dog" syndrome). The eventual result will be to establish norms for
ICC attainment for future participants in similar programs and program lengths.
Finally, a few additional thoughts about the construct of this form. Although this form is about assessing
developmental levels of ICC, its completion is based on both observations and performance. It is not about
what participants think they might do in a given situation, but what is actually done and observed – by
participants and by others. This acknowledges the differences between professed intentions (what one
thinks or says one might do in a given situation) and expressed behaviors (what one actually does).
Abstract notions of competence are substantiated by observed behaviors. Secondly, what is the basis for
assessment? For comparative purposes (in areas of knowledge and skills only), this model uses a person
competent in the host culture; that is, a native. It is understood, however, that few learners will ever attain
native-like behaviors, nor might they desire to do so. The intercultural experience allows but does not
demand native-like behavior, recognizing that participant choices are both complex and personal.
Nonetheless, it will help each individual to determine how far he or she is willing to go and why, and the
consequences of their decisions. The result is often a reaffirmation of those values most central to that
person. Yet, a minimal expectancy for all who embark on an intercultural sojourn, it seems, must be
tolerance and understanding of the host culture (that will, at the very least, allow the participant to be able
to stay), whereas not everyone will also develop respect and appreciation.
Procedures for Using The YOGA Form
1. Administrators and/or foreign language and other educators provide program participants with the
YOGA Form before or early in the foreign language experience or cross-cultural sojourn, to complete as a
self-assessment (a sort of pre-test), adding other items to the form, as appropriate. Participants rate
themselves in each of the areas on the form and on levels ranging from 0 (no competence) to 5 (native-like
competence).
2. Based on observations and knowledge of participant performance, the administrator/educators evaluate
the participant using a separate copy of the form.
3. Next, administrator/educators and participants compare and contrast their separate evaluations and
discuss similarities and differences. They conclude the dialog by summarizing both the participant's
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strengths as well as areas for further development. They then prioritize the items and identify strategies for
achieving them.
4. Repeat this same process as often as is feasible and/or desirable during the experience. Use different
marking systems on each occasion to track the participant's development; e.g., a checkmark [  ] the first
time, a circle [ O ] the next, a square [ □ ] the third time, and so on. (Or, use different colored markings).
5. When the experience is over, the administrator/educator and participant complete a final assessment
using the same form, indicating the participant's level of competence at that point, noting once again
strengths and areas for future development.
Additional Comments
An important aspect of this form is its two-way assessment, involving the learner plus one or more external
evaluators. Other evaluators, in addition to the administrator/educator, may include a peer, a native of the
host language-culture, or others. Of these, the target language-culture native's perspective is most
instructive because it provides an "emic" in addition to an "etic" (i.e., insider vs. outsider) viewpoints that
invariably contrast across cultures. For this reason, ICC is considered not only as "effective" behavior
(from the sojourner's viewpoint) but also as "appropriate" behavior (from the host culture perspective). If
using a host native evaluator, it may be necessary to translate the form into the target language.
It is common for one's individual competence to be perceived differently by each assessor. This is not
important. What is important, however, is that the different perspectives are used to stimulate dialog,
reflection, and learning by later identifying strategies that will maximize the potential for developing ICC.
For this reason, at the end of each assessment session, it is important to develop an action plan for the
participant's future work.
Finally, please keep in mind that, despite a rather formidable list on this form, intercultural competence is
not achieved by simply checking off a series of discrete items. A checklist, no matter how comprehensive,
is clearly only a guide. Other means of monitoring the process are often necessary and encouraged (such as
journals, portfolios, etc.) as well as other assessment strategies that include discrete/global and
direct/indirect indicators in various combinations. This is especially so given the inclusion of awareness
and attitudes in addition to the more traditional areas of skills and knowledge.
For More Information
For more information about the YOGA Form and the form itself, consult the following websites
• www.sit.edu/publications (see pps 25-42)
• http://conahec.org
• http://elnet.org
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