The Development and Validation of a Questionnaire for Measuring English-majored Students’ Intercultural Competence in a Vietnamese Higher Education Context

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54855/ijli.25442

Keywords:

Intercultural competence, instrument validation, cultural education, English-majored students, language and culture integration

Abstract

This study aims to develop an instrument to measure the intercultural competence (IC) of English majors in a formal, interculturally embedded English-language program in Vietnam. To do this, we implemented measures to prepare the item pool and validate the IC instrument. Using a self-report approach, the initial 38-item instrument was verified through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), with sample sizes of 274 and 212, respectively, in each phase. The result was a finalized 20-item IC scale with four factors: knowledge of one's own culture; knowledge of other cultures and intercultural communication; attitudes (openness, respect, willingness to talk to people from other cultures); and skills (interpreting/relating, analyzing/evaluating). The measurement model exhibited good fit indices (Chi-square/df = 1.62, CFI = 0.96, TLI = .95, RMSEA = 0.05, PCLOSE = 0.26) and acceptable reliability and validity. Hence, the recently developed scale is deemed legitimate and dependable for implementation in the given Vietnamese higher education contexts.

Author Biographies

  • Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam

    Ngoc Thi Bich Nguyen is an English teacher at Faculty of English, School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam. She is currently a PhD candidate at Hanoi University, Vietnam. She is a senior lecturer and teacher educator with 17 years of teaching experience and conducting research in the field of foreign language education. Her research interests include cultural/ intercultural education and TESOL methodology.

  • Nguyen Nhat Tuan, Hanoi University, Vietnam

    Tuan Nhat Nguyen is Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies at Hanoi University. He instructs courses in Theories of Translation, Teaching Methodology (TESOL), Course and Curriculum Design, and Research Methodology. Nhat Tuan completed his PhD dissertation on the representation of Irish women in contemporary Irish female popular fiction and its translation into Vietnamese at Dublin City University. He holds a BA in Translation Studies and a double major MA in Translation Studies and English from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine). His research interests include translation theories, popular culture, contemporary female popular fiction, gender and sexualities studies and teaching foreign languages.

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24-11-2025

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Research Article

How to Cite

Nguyen, T. B. N., & Nguyen, T. N. (2025). The Development and Validation of a Questionnaire for Measuring English-majored Students’ Intercultural Competence in a Vietnamese Higher Education Context. International Journal of Language Instruction, 4(4), 18-40. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijli.25442

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