Attaining the dao of interculturality: developing a Daoist-informed model of intercultural competence in foreign language education

Current intercultural competence research remains largely shaped by Global North epistemic traditions, while Global South and other non-dominant intellectual traditions are often treated as cultural content rather than resources for theory construction. Responding to calls for epistemic diversity, this study develops and empirically refines a Daoist-informed model of intercultural competence. A preliminary model informed by Lao-Zhuang thought was translated into a four-session Sino-German intercultural course at a Berlin university and retrospectively refined through classroom interaction, reflective journals, and interviews. The resulting relational and process-oriented framework comprises six interrelated orientations: bu zhi, dong jian, wu dai, qi wu, shun shi er wei, and wu hua. The data clarified their conceptual boundaries and provided preliminary evidence of pedagogical feasibility, while wu hua was not clearly manifested. Rather than demonstrating competence development or instructional effectiveness, the study shows how a non-Western philosophical tradition can contribute to theory construction while remaining open to empirical scrutiny and revision in foreign language education.