Title:
Reframing the EFL Curriculum: Moroccan Professors’ Perspectives on Advancing Intercultural Communicative Competence

Authors:
Lahcen Ousiali, Morocco

Abstract:

In today’s increasingly globalized society, intercultural communicative competence has become essential for college students. It encompasses more than just language skills and includes the capacity for successful cross-cultural communication and teamwork.

This present study is an empirical attempt to systematically investigate Moroccan EFL university educators’ perspectives on ICC and the factors that facilitate and constrain its development with regard to specific areas: curriculum design and teaching materials. The study employs a mixed methods approach combined with a cross-sectional design, using surveys as a primary data collection tool. The sample comprises teachers from universities across morocco using a convenience sampling method, with varying participation rates. Specifically, 63 university professors completed the TPICCFS and 11 took part in the interviews. The results indicated that various curriculum and material factors intervene to enhance ICC skills, such as cultural content and activities and tasks. Yet, factors such as evaluation methods, time allocated to ICC activities, traditional materials and authenticity are viewed as limiting constraints according to the informants. The study suggests a number of implications for curriculum designers and proposes valuable recommendations to strengthen ICC among Moroccan EFL university students, and to help them thrive in the national and global job market.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.51505/ijaemr.2025.1408