The effects of a short-term study abroad program on developing students’ intercultural competence and oral proficiency

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a short-term study abroad program on developing students’ intercultural competence, oral proficiency, and the relationship between the two. Participants consisted of 33 American college students studying Korean as a foreign language. Data was drawn from an intercultural competence questionnaire, role play oral assessment, reflective writings, and interviews. The results showed that students made significant improvement in the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of perceived intercultural competence. As for the oral proficiency gains, students showed significant improvement in language use but failed to show significant improvement in fluency and pragmatic competence. The results also revealed that an increase in students’ intercultural competence did not predict oral proficiency gains. The study provides pedagogical implications regarding programmatic consideration and specific activity design to improve intercultural competence.