Intercultural communicative competence in the classroom: the case of idioms

Competencia comunicativa intercultural en el aula: el caso de las expresiones idiomáticas

Abstract

Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) is a critical component in the process of training English Language students as future professionals. In the interest of meeting this need, the authors of the present study propose a set of actions to enhance Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in the classroom through the teaching of idioms. The study herein presented adopted a mixed approach and the sample comprised thirty-five students from the degree course English Language with A Second Foreign Language at Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” de Las Villas. The results obtained through different research methods and instruments indicated that most students agreed that the treatment idioms receive in English lessons, their knowledge regarding this structure and the usage they do of them is insufficient. Therefore, the authors hope that the set of actions proposed can help to improve the students’ mastery of idioms and to enhance their intercultural communicative competence.