ENHANCING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AND DIGITAL LITERACY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS

Abstract

The article examines the professional development of foreign language instructors in higher education, focusing on the relationship between intercultural communicative competence and digital literacy. The objective of the study is to identify effective ways of developing these competencies in an integrated manner and to substantiate a training model for continuing professional education. The theoretical basis includes Byram’s model of intercultural competence, the European Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu), and research on media literacy and digital didactics. The scientific novelty consists in interpreting digital literacy not only as technical readiness to use digital tools, but also as a reflective ability to act in culturally mediated digital environments. A six-month professional development programme was piloted with 38 university EFL instructors. The empirical results indicate statistically significant growth on the IDI scale (from 97.4 to 112.6, p < 0.01) and positive dynamics in DigCompEdu self-assessment; a moderate positive correlation was found between the two sets of indicators (r = 0.54, p < 0.05). The analysis of reflective journals and interviews show changes in the participants’ understanding of online pedagogical communication. The proposed model can be used in continuing professional education programmes for foreign language instructors.