Focusing on Intercultural communication through English: An analysis of learners’ responses

The global role of English as a primary means of intercultural communication has highlighted the need to develop intercultural competences in language learners. The more learners are able to see that different cultures represent equally legitimate ways of looking at the world, the higher is the chance for them to act like intercultural citizens. Based on thes e premises, the study will attempt to explore the relationship between language and culture from a cultural and intercultural perspective. Secondly, the intercultural nature of English will be highlighted in the attempt to identify which factors are more l ikely to contribute to successful intercultural communication. In the specific, the study will analyse the attitudes of two groups. The first sample is composed of students belonging to different first language backgrounds, mainly non - native speakers of En glish studying in a non - target language environment, the University of Calabria (South of Italy). The second sample is made up of both native and non - native English speakers studying in target - language environments, Chicago Loyola University (USA) and Univ ersity of Alberta (Canada) where English is not only the main means of communication but also the main medium of academic instruction. An online link to a questionnaire was sent via email to all participants and was used as a research instrument to collect quantitative data. In particular, the study will investigate whether exposure to non - native English and familiarity with multicultural academic communities, leads participants to manifest more or less positive attitudes towards the relation between cultur