Developing learners’ intercultural communicative competence using thinking routines in inquiry-based English language teaching

Abstract

The paper explores the development of the intercultural communicative competence (ICC) of high-school learners of English as a foreign language through the implementation of thinking routines within an inquiry-based language teaching framework. Emphasizing the importance of ICC, the paper begins by situating this competence within the Hungarian National Core Curriculum. The inquiry-based language teaching approach is then examined, highlighting its alignment with the needs of teaching English as a foreign language in an information-based society and its efficacy in promoting active English language learning. The paper introduces thinking routines as strategic tools that teachers can employ to scaffold learners’ thinking and enhance their metacognitive awareness. Subsequently, three thinking routines are presented as implemented during English lessons in a Hungarian high school. The paper argues that such an approach not only improves linguistic proficiency but also equips learners with the intercultural communicative competence necessary for meaningful engagement in our globalized, information-based society.