Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence through Emotional Intelligence among EFL Learners.

Abstract

This study strives to explore how emotional intelligence influences the development of intercultural municative competence among English as a Foreign Language students at Mila University Center. Within the context of this study, three research questions are addressed: (1) How do the different dimensions of emotional telligence influence intercultural communicative competence? (2) What specific challenges do English as a Foreign Language students at Mila face in developing intercultural communicative competence? (3) How can emotional intelligence support overcome these challenges? In response to the questions, a descriptive research design is adhered to. To collect the necessary data, a questionnaire is administered to 55 first-year master’s English as a Foreign Language students at the Department of Foreign Languages, University of Mila. The main research findings reveal how crucial emotional intelligence is for helping students engage and connect with people from diverse cultures. Hence, learning how to understand and regulate emotions by leveraging the dimensions of emotional intelligence is essential for overcoming communication challenges. Eventually, the study proposes a set of recommendations for pedagogy and future research with the purpose of drawing more structured attention to improving learners’ intercultural awareness through emotional intelligence.