Insights into Intercultural Competence among Vietnamese Business English Majors

Abstract

Intercultural competence (IC) is an increasingly important topic, especially in English language education, given the diversity of the globe today. However, in Vietnam, particularly among Business English students, there is a lack of knowledge of IC, so this issue requires further attention and investigation. This study aims to gain insights into the IC of Vietnamese Business English majors.  The study was conducted among 102 Business English majors through a questionnaire. With respect to data analysis, the quantitative data was analyzed by descriptive statistics. The values of IC are related to its sub-dimensions, intercultural attitudes, intercultural skills, and intercultural knowledge of students pursuing Business English in Vietnam. The result indicates that the level of IC among Vietnamese Business English was high; so were the Vietnamese Business English students’ levels of intercultural attitudes, intercultural skills, and intercultural knowledge. More specifically, the highest level belonged to intercultural attitudes followed by intercultural skills and intercultural knowledge. To achieve a higher level of IC, in terms of intercultural skills, they had to analyze differences between cultures, evaluate foreign cultural perspectives and behaviors, seek opportunities to communicate with people from foreign cultures, adapt to new cultures flexibly, reflect when intercultural conflicts arise, and work out solutions when misunderstandings emerge. Additionally, in terms of intercultural knowledge, they had to acquire the knowledge of foreign cultures’ manners, their artifacts (e.g., food, money), customs, behaviors toward foreign cultures, holidays and festivals of foreign cultures, their institutions (e.g., education, politics), foreign literature, their beliefs, history, and core values. These results are expected to help students increase their awareness, abilities, and understanding of IC.