Intercultural Communication Competence and Its Importance in the Teaching and Learning of Arabic for Specific Purposes
Abstract
The focus of teaching and mastering Arabic language has shifted to particular objectives in preparing students for the work market. Even though it has received a lot of attention and interest in higher education, there is one important issue that needs to be addressed: intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among students of Arabic as a foreign language to ensure their ability to communicate professionally with diverse people from different cultures. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the level of ICC among Arabic language students as well as to explore their perceptions towards the importance of ICC in Arabic for specific purposes. The study is quantitative research that involved 41 students from UiTM Shah Alam's Bachelor of Arabic for Professional Communication program. The results were obtained utilizing a questionnaire. The data were examined with SPSS software. The findings revealed that students have a high level of intercultural communication competency, with nearly all of them emphasizing the importance of ICC in Arabic teaching and learning for specific purposes. The report also provided suggestions and recommendations for in the context of Arabic specific purposes.
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