STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (ICC) IN ESL CLASSROOMS: ISLAMIC ETHICAL VALUES IN PAKISTANI UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the strategies that Pakistani university teachers use to develop intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in their ESL classrooms through Islamic ethical values. It also focuses on the teacher’s perspectives as to how they perceive the integration of ICC in teaching English as a second language. There is a rising need for cultural awareness and sensitivity in as multilingual and multicultural society as Pakistan in general and in the fast-shrinking world due to latest technology in particular, where nations and cultures have come closer like never before. The research methodology used is qualitative in nature with purposive sampling to choose the participants carefully for the interviews which were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Results show that it is important to develop Students’ ICC in a Pakistani multilingual and multicultural society to inculcate much-needed tolerance. However, it reveals the lack of teachers’ professional development and proper assessment in this regard. Teachers also need to combat the inferiority complex as non-native ESL instructors while transferring English cultural values and identities. Rigid attitude, limited resources and time constraints are some of the challenges that the teachers face while developing ICC. Strategies to promote ICC include lecture-based explanation, selection and creation of multicultural materials, interactive in-class activities, and relevant reading and listening activities.