Impact of Critical Cultural Awareness on Intercultural Communicative Competence for Iranian EFL Learners: Practical Techniques for Implementation

The study aimed to investigate the significant impact of enhancing critical cultural awareness (CCA) on developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among Iranian EFL learn-ers in an advanced online communication course. The participants of this explanatory mixed methods study included 154 Iranian EFL learners at Islamic Azad University’s Shahr-e-Qods and Islamshahr branches. The research employed pre-and post-tests to measure the effective-ness of three distinct techniques, culture capsule, culture narrative, and culture training activi-ties, in enhancing CCA and ICC. The quantitative strand of the study revealed statistically sig-nificant impacts of CCA on Iranian EFL learners’ ICC in an online setting, as well as the differ-ential impacts of using different techniques to raise CCA on ICC. Moreover, culture narratives had the most significant impact, followed by culture training activities and culture capsules. The qualitative strand provided valuable insights into how learners perceive the improvement of CCA and ICC in meeting participants’ needs and objectives in the language learning process. The study concluded that enhancing CCA significantly contributes to the development of ICC among Iranian EFL learners and holds implications for language educators, curriculum develop-ers, and policymakers in fostering effective cross-cultural communication in online language learning environments.