Intercultural competence as an aspect of the communicative ...

the students for the most part found these issues unrelated to language instruction and
learning. This might be seen as a possible weak area in teaching of English at the
university level where further work on ICC is still needed.
The culture assimilator used for the study was developed further and can be used
as a teaching and assessment tool in the educational context. Since there have not been
any techniques developed specifically for the Serbian context, the culture assimilator
might provide the starting point for material development for our local purposes.
Since no similar research has been done in Serbia on the topic of ICC, the study
gives a contribution to applied linguistics and a significant first step in terms of offering
both the relevant literature review and the data for further research.
The mixed methods approach used in the study is not a preferred method of choice
for applied linguistic research in Serbia, therefore the study shows the importance of
applying multiple perspectives to complex problems as they can provide a greater range
of divergent views.
The study provided an insight into the functioning of the ICC of probably the most
important population – students, as future educators and social agents, thus showing what
aspects should be taken into consideration when educating students to be global citizens.
6.2. Pedagogical implications
There are several pedagogical implications for students at the university level that
follow this study. Firstly, since many students would work directly with others and many
of them in education, it is essential that students have some intercultural training
incorporated in their classes – of a foreign language or as a separate course. Stereotypical
perceptions of other nations, in this case, Anglophone ones, are still present and should be
dissuaded, while at the same time one’s own culture should be explored and analysed.
More specifically, for the English language students, as most definitely future
language teachers, ICC training and instruction would be invaluable for their improved
teaching skills. The current practice at the English language department in Niš has shown
that one elective course on ICC is not enough, especially since ICC is closely related to
sociolinguistic and pragmatic knowledge. As some authors show, the linguistic
proficiency signals to interlocutors’ intercultural proficiency as well which is why IC
misunderstandings look graver and more serious in their eyes.
Even though the use of linguistic means was not in the focus of the study, a closer
attention could be paid to the choice of linguistic functions as an additional step when
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