Abstract:

Intercultural communication has become a more visible element of human life along with the advanced technology. Interacting with individuals speaking the target language directly or through face-to-face or online tools, in foreign language learning, has emerged as a result of the possibilities offered by the technology. This interaction is 20. From the second half of the century, it has been provided in the leadership of English, which has become literally a global common language. In a more clear way, the use of English as a common language, meaning Lingua Franca, has been both the purpose and catalyst of intercultural communication. The potential concern that occurs in this communication process may be considered to have a negative impact on intercultural communication, and therefore the learning of the target language. The purpose of this article is to measure the impact of intercultural communication concerns on foreign language learning among university students. For this purpose, the 'Intercultural Communication Anxiety Measure' was used, which was previously adapted to Turkey, and the necessary ethical board approved for the study. The scale examines the levels of inter-cultural communication anxiety of individuals in three levels: low, medium and high. It has also been investigated the possible relationship between the participants’ foreign experience and the various identifying information such as gender and intercultural communication concerns. All the individuals in which the scale is applied are Kocaeli University students who learn English at a foreign language school in the center of Kocaeli Province. It is predicted that low intercultural communication concern will increase students’ interaction with the target language speaker and thus make foreign language learning more efficient.

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