TEACHER’S STRATEGIES IN INCREASING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN THE EFL CLASSROOM AT TBI PROGRAM OF STAIN SULTAN ABDURRAHMAN KEPULAUAN RIAU

In the age of global communication, English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers are increasingly urged to incorporate intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in language classes. To enhance ICC among learners, the teachers responsible for the courses must clearly understand its concepts. Therefore, a clear understanding of ICC and its application in language teaching should be provided to all teachers to help them successfully increase it in their classes. This study aims to investigate how university teachers’ teaching strategies increase ICC in the EFL Classroom at the TBI Program of STAIN Sultan Abdurrahman Kepulauan Riau. The research applied a qualitative research approach with a case study design. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and documentation, with analysis data involving data condensation, data display, and data conclusion. The participants included three teachers with some criteria: English educational background, an English teacher at the TBI Program of STAIN Sultan Abdurrahman Kepulauan Riau, and integrating ICC into their EFL classroom. The findings revealed three ICC teaching strategies: role-play, discussion, and debate. The implementation of role-play encompassed introduction, grouping, role-play, and evaluation; the implementation of discussion covered introduction, grouping, discussion, summarizing, reflection, and evaluation; meanwhile, the implementation of debate included brainstorming, grouping, debating, and reflecting. These strategies enhanced ICC in the EFL classroom. It allowed teachers to tailor their teaching strategy to students’ needs, effectively enhancing ICC in the EFL classroom.