INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

The present paper aims to address an issue closely intertwined with communicative competence in a foreign language. Mastery of a foreign language cannot be separated from the cultural and intercultural communicative competence associated with that language, given the now well-established, inseparable language–culture dyad that underpins the effective knowledge and use of any language. The study draws on field research conducted in Albanian pre-university education, seeking to identify the challenges encountered in implementing the foreign-language curriculum with respect to the development of communicative competence, as well as the problems or shortcomings observed in its application. Although carried out within the framework of a broader project—with objectives that address various aspects of the foreign-language curriculum and communicative competence—this paper focuses specifically on cultural and intercultural communicative competence as a fundamental dimension for the most effective development of communicative competence in a foreign language. This work is undertaken within the project “The Impact of the Curriculum: ‘Competence-Based Teaching’ on the Development of Communicative Competence and Expression among Foreign-Language Students in Albanian Upper Secondary Education,” funded by AKKSHI 2024. Pursuant to Article 10 of Contract No. Prot. 999/12 with AKKSHI, we hereby declare: “This publication was made possible with the financial support of AKKSHI. Its content is the responsibility of the author(s), and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of AKKSHI.”