ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
93 Miguel Ángel Candel-Mo a
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
BENCHMARKING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR ESP TEACHING
Miguel Ángel Candel-Mo a
Uni e si a Poli ècnica de València, Spain.
[email p o ec ed].es
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
In an in e na ional p o essional en i onmen , knowledge o he language
alone is no a gua an ee o success, as a esul , ecen language esea ch
emphasizes he in e cul u al componen o o eign language educa ion, and he
de elopmen o ools o assess in e cul u al communica ion compe ence (ICC)
owa ds he design o cou ses and aining ma e ial.
ICC esea ch has p oduced a wide ange o amewo ks o analysis
and assessmen models o measu e in e cul u ally success ul beha io s, such
as adap a ion, app op ia eness, and e ec i eness o in e cul u al in e ac ions.
Howe e , ools and ins umen s o assess in e cul u al communica ion compe ence
a y depending on whe he hei ocus is on language lea ning o on cul u al
aspec s and in e na ional o in e cul u al di e ences, bu wi h ega d o o eign
language o speci ic pu poses eaching, hese ools do no seem o ake in o
conside a ion he speci ici y o he con ex o lea ne s.
The e o e, he objec i e o his pape is o p opose a amewo k o
analysis speci ically a ge ed o ESP lea ne s based on exis ing ICC assessmen
ools and ins umen s, wi h a wo old pu pose: o assess lea ne s’ awa eness and
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
94
Benchma king in e cul u al communica ion compe ence...
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
o apply i owa ds ESP syllabus design, and hus align ICC assessmen wi h
eaching objec i es.
Key wo ds: ICC assessmen ools, English o speci ic pu poses, Eu opean
highe educa ion a ea, in e cul u al communica ion compe ence, specialized
languages.
En un en o no p o esional in e nacional, el conocimien o de la lengua
únicamen e no es ga an ía de éxi o. Es udios ecien es des acan el componen e
in e cul u al en la enseñanza de lenguas ex anje as, y el desa ollo de
he amien as pa a e alua la compe encia comunica i a in e cul u al (CCI) con
el in de elabo a cu sos y ma e ial didác ico.
La in es igación en CCI ha gene ado modelos basados en ac i udes
y compe encias pa a e alua conduc as in e cul u almen e acep ables, como
la adap ación, o idoneidad y e icacia en las in e acciones in e cul u ales. Sin
emba go, los ins umen os pa a e alua la CCI a ían dependiendo de si es án
o ien ados al ap endizaje de lenguas o a aspec os cul u ales y di e encias
in e nacionales. No obs an e en el campo de la enseñanza de lenguas ex anje as,
es os modelos no pa ecen ene en cuen a el con ex o especí ico de los es udian es.
Po lo an o, el obje i o de es e abajo es diseña un ma co de
análisis pa iendo de ins umen os de e aluación de CCI exis en es di igido
especí icamen e a los alumnos de IFE, con una doble inalidad: e alua el g ado
de concienciación de los alumnos y aplica los al diseño de p og amas IFE, y po
an o alinea la e aluación en compe encia comunica i a in e cul u al con los
obje i os de ap endizaje.
Palab as cla e: Compe encia comunica i a in e cul u al, espacio
eu opeo de educación supe io , he amien as de e aluación de CCI, inglés pa a
ines especí icos, lenguas de especialidad.
1. In oduc ion
I he e is one hing ha cha ac e izes he ea ly yea s o he 21s cen u y
i is undoub edly he expansion o communica ion ne wo ks, social media,
exchange o in o ma ion and in e na ional in e ac ion h oughou he
globe. As Fan ini (2009: 456) pu s i : “Mo e people han e e be o e in
he his o y o he wo ld now ha e bo h di ec and indi ec con ac wi h
each o he , and inc easingly, his con ac includes people om a a ie y o
di e se language and cul u al backg ounds.”
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
95 Miguel Ángel Candel-Mo a
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
Language and cul u e a e ine i ably associa ed in he p ocess o
lea ning a o eign language, bu he mas e ing o bo h does no seem o go
in pa allel as much as i would be desi able, acco ding o Zaha na (2009:
190) “i is possible o be luen in he language ye igno an o he cul u e.”
The i s s udies on in e cul u al communica ion compe ence (ICC)
ace back o he 1970s (Shuang, 2012: 270; Spi zbe g and Changnon,
2009: 6), howe e he deba e on he complexi y o de ine ICC emains
open (Han, 2012: 168; Spi zbe g and Changnon, 2009: 45), as well as he
di e en app oaches o i s s udy, as e idenced by he di e se e minology
in he ICC li e a u e: in e cul u al awa eness, in e cul u al e ec i eness,
in e na ional compe ence, anscul u al communica ion, o name jus a ew
(Fan ini, 1999: 456).
Howe e , his appa en lack o consensus (Fan ini, 2009: 456)
con i ms no only he complexi y o he s udy o in e cul u al communica ion
compe ence, bu he need o add ess i s s udy om a mul idisciplina y
pe spec i e depending on he con ex in which he in e cul u al in e ac ion
akes place. Fu he mo e, o da e i appea s ha he e is no uni e sal ICC
assessmen model and he success ul ounda ions o ICC assessmen ools
shall lie in he speci ic ocus on he pu pose and he a ge use o he
in e cul u al communica ion compe ence. As Van de Vij e and Leung
(2009: 413) poin ou : “Gi en he complexi y o assessing in e cul u al
compe ence esea ch, Dea do (2004) has shown ha i is impo an o
use a mul ime hod, mul ipe spec i e app oach when assessing in e cul u al
compe ence. This kind o app oach has been a ely used o da e.”
The e o e, his s udy aims o e ise es ablished amewo ks o
analysis o assessing ICC om di e en pe spec i es and adap hem
o he con ex o eaching English o Speci ic Pu poses wi h a wo old
unc ionali y: 1) o inc ease and assess lea ne s’ ICC awa eness and, 2)
o apply i owa ds ESP syllabus design. All his, om he pe spec i e
o he Bologna p ocess and Eu opean Highe Educa ion A ea (EHEA)
objec i es o 2020, which clea ly es ablish as p io i ies a p o essional and
employabili y app oach and a social and mobili y dimension (Leu en and
Lou ain-la-Neu e Communiqué, 2009).
In o de o achie e his aim, his wo k s a s wi h a e ision o
in en o ies o ICC assessmen ools om he li e a u e o in e cul u al
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
96
Benchma king in e cul u al communica ion compe ence...
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
communica ion compe ence (Fan ini, 2009; Han, 2012; In e cul u al
T aining and Assessmen Tools, 2015) in o de o iden i y hei main
elemen s in common, he mos sui able aspec s o he con ex o ESP
s uden s objec o his s udy, and inally, o iden i y he d awbacks mos
equen ly men ioned in he li e a u e.
This wo k con inues in he line o a p elimina y s udy on ICC
o ESP s uden s (Candel-Mo a, 2015) om he pe spec i e o a i udes
and knowledge o in e cul u al communica ion compe ence, which,
among o he hings, e ealed ha in addi ion o he adi ional dimensions
aken in o conside a ion in mos ICC heo e ical cons uc s (A asa a nam
and Doe el, 2005; By am, 1997; Spence -Oa ey, 2014; Spi zbe g
and Changnon, 2009), special emphasis was made on he ele ance
o in e cul u al communica ion o he s uden s’ u u e business and
p o essional con ex s. Findings also e ealed a s ong associa ion be ween
in e cul u al communica ion and o eign language lea ning —some
pa icipan s e en poin ed ou in e cul u al communica ion compe ence
as a means o lea n languages—, and he need o adap o in e na ional
in e ac ions in o he languages apa om English, hus minimizing he
cu en p edominance o English as a global language.
2. Me hodology
The e o e, wi h he p elimina y su ey men ioned abo e in mind
(Candel-Mo a, 2015), he i s s ep owa ds he benchma king analysis
o in e cul u al communica ion compe ence assessmen o ESP eaching
consis ed in e ising he bibliog aphy on ICC assessmen ools (mos ly
ocused on he cul u al componen only) and hen, iden i y he ools and
ins umen s ha make special emphasis on he p o essional and language
componen s adap ed o he ESP s uden s’ en i onmen and ex ac he main
elemen s o hei cons uc s.
Secondly, om he a ie y o op ions al eady es ablished by he
ICC assessmen ools a ailable, i was de e mined he mos app op ia e
assessmen o ma and ype o assess ESP s uden s.
One o he ad an ages o e ising di e en app oaches om a
mul idisciplina y pe spec i e o ICC assessmen ools is he possibili y
o a oid wha he li e a u e iden i ies as common po en ial d awbacks o
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
97 Miguel Ángel Candel-Mo a
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
exis ing ools, like o example he lack o alignmen o ICC assessmen
wi h eaching objec i es men ioned by se e al au ho s.
3. Aligning In e cul u al Communica ion Compe ence o he ESP
Teaching Con ex
Following he scien i ic, echnological and indus ial expansion a e
Wo ld Wa II, and he in luence o English-speaking coun ies, especially
he Uni ed S a es, English became he lingua anca ha allowed he
ans e o knowledge, inno a ions and new de elopmen s, which esul ed
in a mo emen wi hin he eaching o his language aimed a esponding
o social and p o essional demands called English o Speci ic Pu poses.
The in luence o his me hodological app oach has had a di ec e ec on
he selec ion, design and adap a ion o eaching ma e ials, which end o be
connec ed o bo h he speci ici y o he subjec i sel and he language skills
common in such ields, bu always based on he speci ic needs o s uden s.
Cou se design is hen a c ucial poin in ESP eaching me hodology,
hus he i s s ep usually consis s in he iden i ica ion and speci ica ion o
goals. Fo his, i is necessa y o p e iously iden i y he communica i e
needs o s uden s wi hin a p o essional o academic si ua ion (Alca az,
2000; Dudley E ans and S . John, 1998; Hu chinson and Wa e s, 1996;
Jo dan, 1997; Robinson, 1991).
The e o e, mos ESP cou ses need o be cus omized and upda ed
acco ding o he academic con ex , social demands and p o essional p o ile
o s uden s. This upda e is e en mo e necessa y in p o essional languages
ha need o be in pace wi h socie y’s demands and in he case o highe
educa ion – keeping in mind he Bologna P ocess and he Eu opean Highe
Educa ion A ea. The p o essional p o iles ha socie y demands a e al eady
es ablished in he co esponding whi e pape s o he uni e si y deg ees.
Whi e pape s include g adua es’ employmen su eys, Eu opean s udy
models, su eys on gene ic and speci ic compe ences o p o essional
aining, which acili a ed he es ablishmen o p o essional p o iles. These
a e in ended o se e as a basic jus i ica ion o he p oposal o he deg ees
and, om hem, de ine he objec i es and he s uc u e o such s udies.
In addi ion, cu en ends in o eign language eaching
me hodology a e based no only on he s uc u e and unc ioning o he

ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
98
Benchma king in e cul u al communica ion compe ence...
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
language, bu ake s uden s, hei a iables and hei mo i a ion as a s a ing
poin . Thus, he p ocess ocuses on he s uden as he main p o agonis .
F om his lea ne -cen e ed language eaching app oach, needs analysis
con ibu es o iden i y lea ne s’ aining needs and hei expec a ions,
in e es s o equi emen s as u u e p o essionals o success ully unde ake
hei p o essional ca ee .
4. In e cul u al Communica ion Compe ence Assessmen Tools and
Ins umen s
The mul idisciplina y app oach o ICC (Van de Vij e and Leung, 2009)
has led o complex de ini ions ha ange om concep ualiza ions o
language eaching like By am’s (1997: 7): “an indi idual’s abili y o
communica e and in e ac ac oss cul u al bounda ies; e sa ile de ini ions,
like F i z, Möllenbe g & Chen’s (2002: 166) who de ine ICC as he
abili y o indi iduals o de elop a posi i e a i ude owa ds he o eign
cul u e; o mo e neu al de ini ions adap ed o di e en con ex s like he
de ini ion by Spi zbe g and Chagnon (2009: 7): “ he app op ia e and
e ec i e managemen o in e ac ion be ween people who, o some deg ee
o ano he , ep esen di e en o di e gen cogni i e, a ec i e, and
beha io al o ien a ions o he wo ld.”
Ex ensi e s udy has al eady been ca ied ou so a owa ds
speci ic concep ualiza ions o in e cul u al communica ion compe ence
and ounda ional models as he compila ion by Spi zbe g and Changnon
e eals (2009: 3). Thus, o his wo k e o s will concen a e on exis ing
in en o ies o ICC assessmen ools ha al eady p o ide a p elimina y
in-dep h discussion on ICC heo e ical concep ualiza ions and p esen
an o e iew o di e en ools and ins umen s selec ed om a numbe
o sou ces and adap able o di e en pu poses and con ex s (Fan ini,
2009; Han, 2012; In e cul u al T aining and Assessmen Tools, 2015). The
a ionale o his selec ion is based on he app op ia eness o he sou ces
o he in en o ies s udied o he con ex o ESP lea ne s ou lined abo e:
mainly academic and p o essional. In pa icula , he selec ion o he
esea ch wo k ca ied ou by Han (2012), has been decisi ely in luenced by
he ac ha i includes bo h s uden s and p o essionals among he po en ial
a ge use s o he assessmen , bu especially because i deals speci ically
wi h he echnical communica ion en i onmen , e y closely ela ed o
special languages and he e o e wi h English o Speci ic Pu poses.
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
99 Miguel Ángel Candel-Mo a
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
The i s no iceable ac upon e ising he h ee in en o ies is
he wide ange o designa ions o ICC assessmen ools; as Han poin s
ou (2012: 86) “di e en ins umen s may bea he names o in en o ies,
scales, o su eys”. Among he wide ange o exis ing ICC assessmen
ools and ins umen s di e ences can be ound mainly in 1) hei me hod
o assessmen : sel -assessmen ools, discussion ques ions and wo kshops,
psychome ic ins umen s, and ques ionnai es; 2) hei pu pose: o
de e mine u u e success, he pe son’s abili y o adap o any cul u e, o
explo e le el o com o , awa eness aising, o assess pe sonal quali ies, o
o measu e how people espond o con lic ; and 3) hei ield o applica ion:
aining, consul ing, p og am e alua ion, o assessing in e na ional
assignmen candida es. Thus, he combina ion o me hods, pu poses and
ields o applica ion esul s in a coun less numbe o di e en ools. As
epo ed by Fan ini (2009: 456): “Some ins umen s ocus on lingual
a he han cul u al aspec s; some do he opposi e. O he ins umen s s ess
in e na ional a he han in e cul u al and he eby exclude di e ences
wi hin na ional bounda ies; s ill o he s a e simply ambiguous and hei
in en is unclea .”
In addi ion o he a ie y o ools, he e is also a wide ange o
assessmen o ma s and echniques o ob ain da a: closed and open-ended
ques ions, ma ching i ems, ue/ alse ques ions, mul iple-choice ques ions,
cloze o gap- illing i ems, o al and w i en ac i i ies, in e iews, ole-
plays, and simula ions, ques ionnai es, o a combina ion o some o he
abo e (Fan ini, 2009: 464). Wi h ega ds o es ypes, designa ions a e
also a ied: eadiness es s, placemen es s, diagnos ic es s, ap i ude es s,
a i ude es s, o ma i e es s, o achie emen es s, o example.
In sum, e e y hing seems o con i m ha he e is no uni e sal ool
o assessing he deg ee o adap abili y o ano he cul u e ha is applicable
o any use and pu pose, co obo a ing he ini ial hypo hesis o his pape
and jus i ying he e ision o he mos di ec ly ela ed ools o he p o ile
o ESP s uden s and ex ac hose elemen s ha bes align wi h i .
5. Resul s and Discussion
An explo a o y e iew o he h ee in en o ies unde s udy in his pape
shows ha he e a e no clea ly es ablished c i e ia o he classi ica ion o
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
100
Benchma king in e cul u al communica ion compe ence...
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
ools. Thus, Fan ini, (2009) p oposes as ac o s o ICC assessmen quali y
elemen s like he pu pose, a ge audience, ou comes, and alignmen o
assessmen wi h lea ning objec i es, along wi h common aspec s o
he es s used, such as scope, e iciency, leng h, alidi y and eliabili y.
Howe e , Fan ini’s (2009) classi ica ion is simpli ied and i only includes
he name o he ool, a b ie desc ip ion, wi h he ype o scale, he o ma
o he ool —ques ionnai e, in e iew, scale, ield ins umen —, whe he
he ools is web-based, a diagnos ic ool, o a sel es , o example, and he
sou ce whe e he ool can be accessed.
Han (2012: 169) does no make a classi ica ion o he ools pe
se, bu p oposes a e iew o he main elemen s o ICC assessmen ools
wi h examples o speci ic ools and sou ces in e spe sed, and p o ides a
desc ip ion o nine di e en in e cul u al compe ence assessmen me hods,
o la e e alua e he s eng hs and d awbacks o each one, and inally,
discuss hei po en ial applica ions in echnical communica ion.
The lis o ools om he In e cul u al Communica ion Ins i u e
(In e cul u al T aining and Assessmen Tools, 2015) uses a classi ica ion
o ma ha includes he name o he ool and i s ac onym, he pe sons
esponsible o i s de elopmen , a b ie desc ip ion o app oxima ely 50-
70 wo ds, which desc ibes he ype o ool (i.e., 50-i em psychome ic
ins umen , sel -assessmen p ocess, ques ionnai e); hei use (i.e., aining,
consul ing), i s use (i.e., o o ganiza ions, o employees). Howe e ,
hese desc ip ions do no ollow a es ablished pa e n, and some imes
in o ma ion on speci ic classi ica ion c i e ia does no appea , o has o be
deduced om he ex .
Wi h ega d o he in en o ies, Fan ini iden i ies 44 ools and
ins umen s o “Ex e nal Assessmen Tools”, as hey a e called in he a icle
(2009: 456). The sou ces o ins umen s ange om academic jou nals (like
he C oss-Cul u al Counseling In en o y om he jou nal P o essional
Psychology: Resea ch and P ac ice, o he Mul icul u al Counseling
In en o y om he Jou nal o Counseling Psychology), online access ( o
example, C oss-Cul u al Assesso a ailable om www.c osscul u e.com,
o Pe e son Cul u al Awa eness Tes & Pe e son Cul u al S yle Indica o ,
accessible online om www.ac osscul u es.com), a ailable comme cially
o om specialized agencies o o ganiza ions (ACTFL P o iciency Scale
& Guidelines om he Ame ican Council o he Teaching o Fo eign
ELIA 15, 2015, pp. 93-107
101 Miguel Ángel Candel-Mo a
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.05
Languages, o he Li ing and Wo king O e seas In en o y om he
Canadian In e na ional De elopmen Agency).
Wi hou any doub , he mos in e es ing classi ica ion c i e ion
in his in en o y o ools is he pu pose o he ool o wha he ool
measu es, which anges om Fo eign language p o iciency (ACTFL
P o iciency Scale & Guidelines), In e cul u al compe ence and language
p o iciency (Assessmen o In e cul u al Compe ence), c oss-cul u al
beha io (Beha io al Assessmen Scale o In e cul u al Communica ion),
o he Indi idual po en ial o c oss-cul u al adap abili y (C oss-Cul u al
Adap abili y In en o y) o name jus a ew.
Howe e , his in en o y does no p o ide u he guidance wi h
ega d o he app op ia e a ge use in all o hem —as in some cases whe e
i clea ly indica es ha he ool is in ended o conduc business e ec i ely
in 35 coun ies (GlobeSma ) o ha has been designed o help employees
“assess hei eadiness o ake on he challenges o li ing and wo king in
ano he coun y” (Fan ini, 2009: 472). Finally, he sou ce and he yea o
he ool a e also use ul da a because hey help o ace he academic o
business o igin o he ool, and his allows o assign he pu pose o he ool
and he a ge audience.
The websi e o he In e cul u al Communica ion Ins i u e
(In e cul u al T aining and Assessmen Tools, 2015) p o ides a link
o a documen wi h 12 ools, al hough i e e s he eade o a mo e
exhaus i e lis ing. Howe e , one signi ican pi all is ha i does no
indica e he selec ion c i e ia o he ools a any ime. The classi ica ion
o ma includes a b ie desc ip ion p esen ing he ype o ool, i s pu pose
( aining, consul ing, i.e., C oss-Cul u al Adap abili y In en o y o he
Di e si y Awa eness P o ile; a ge use ( o o ganiza ions i.e., Diagnosing
O ganiza ional Cul u e o he O e seas Assignmen In en o y; o o
employees, Disco e ing Di e si y P o ile o he In e na ional Candida e
E alua ion; and me hod o assessmen (sel -assessmen ool i.e., C oss-
Cul u al Adap abili y In en o y), e c.
Finally, Han’s in en o y (2012) ocuses on class oom assessmen
me hods and bases he s udy on he li e a u e om di e en ields, including
o eign language, communica ion s udies, in e cul u al s udies, business,
and heal h ca e, which con i ms ou ini ial p emise o a mul idisciplina y