Explaining the relationships among components of intercultural competence: A structural equation modelling approach

This large-scale study aims to test Byram’s model of intercultural competence (IC) (1997) and examine the relationships among the five IC components – attitudes, knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, and critical cultural awareness. Although different IC models have been put forward each year, little empirical effort has been made to validate the theoretic IC models. The current study thus intends to fill the gap in the literature by testing Byram’s model and examining the relationships among the model’s components. Data were collected from 2599 students enrolled in 11 Chinese universities and colleges. Structural equation modelling was employed, and the reliability and validity of the research model were tested. The results indicated that 53% of the variance in critical cultural awareness was explained by attitudes and skills. Individuals’ attitudes significantly influenced their skills of discovery and interaction, while knowledge significantly influenced their skills of interpreting and relating. In addition, an individual’s cultural knowledge is not directly associated with their critical cultural awareness. This study provides implications for IC cultivation in foreign language teaching in the Chinese higher education context.