A Study On English Majors’ Intercultural Communication Competence

It is important to possess intercultural communication competence(ICC) to keep up with the rapidly developing globalization. Many studies are conducted to understand non-English majors’ ICC, however, few studies are related to English majors’ ICC. This survey is conducted to explore with 182 English majors their ICC. The data sources are from Intercultural Communication Competence Inventory for Chinese College Students(ICCICCS) and three informal interviews. The major findings are as follows:Firstly, the participants have comparatively good ICC but there is still room for them to develop better. Secondly, the participants behave comparatively worse in knowing system, especially in cultural knowledge. They also should improve their local culture consciousness and logical ability. Fortunately, they show much respect to cultural differences and can critically deal with difficulties in intercultural communication. Thirdly, the participants behave comparatively better in doing system, especially in attitudes, skills and strategies. However, they lack enough practice and can’t be flexible enough to play different roles or deal with problems in communication. Fourthly, this survey finds various factors influencing the participants’ ICC development. The internal factors mainly include gender, personalities, motivations and knowledge. The external factors mainly include experiences and reflections, especially overseas experiences, intercultural atmosphere and culture input resources.This study provides first-hand information of the status quo of English majors’ ICC. Based on the findings of this study, a few tentative suggestions for English majors and college educators are put forward.