Developing intercultural competence of foreign language learners by using awareness raising classroom activities

Intercultural competence has gained more and more importance as a result of globalisation and other factors which lead the way to intercultural encounters with people from different cultural backgrounds. Accordingly, the need for interculturally competent individuals, to overcome prejudices and abstract barriers in the minds of people, are needed in the modern society. In developing IC of individuals, formal education can be a solution. And, it can be said that foreign language classrooms are very suitable for this purpose because foreign language teaching cannot be separated from culture teaching. The aim of this study was to find out how participating learners perceive intercultural competence, and what their views about the importance of intercultural competence are. What was also aimed in the study was to investigate if intercultural competence can be developed by using awareness raising activities which require multiple perspectives and critical thinking in the foreign language classroom. The study was conducted in Mustafa Kemal University School of Civil Aviation and Transportation Management with 28 participants. And, mixed methods research design was used. Data collections instruments were a survey questionnaire, a checklist and field notes and observations.