The impact of task-based intercultural language teaching on intercultural mindset development

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of an eight-week task-based intercultural language teaching program on the development of intercultural mindset among 9th-grade EFL learners. In this study, intercultural mindset was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of intercultural awareness, social-emotional competence, and intolerance of uncertainty. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design was employed in the study. The participants consisted of 46 ninth-grade students attending a public high school in Malatya, Türkiye. While the experimental group received an eight-week task-based intercultural teaching program, the control group continued with regular instruction. Data were collected through the Intercultural Awareness Questionnaire, the Delaware Social-Emotional Competency Scale, and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. ANCOVA, paired-samples t-tests, and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the task-based intercultural teaching program did not produce a statistically significant group effect on intercultural awareness, social-emotional competence, or intolerance of uncertainty. No significant within-group change was identified in either the experimental or the control group. The findings suggest that short-term task-based intercultural teaching programs may not be sufficient to generate statistically measurable changes across the dimensions of intercultural mindset within an eight-week period. The study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing intercultural mindset as a multidimensional construct and by providing empirical evidence at the high school EFL level.