Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence for Low-proficiency Junior High EFL Learners: an AI-mediated Pedagogic Framework

Abstract

Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) development for low-proficiency junior high students could be overlooked due to the persistent prioritization of language accuracy over intercultural understanding in traditional instruction. To address this drawback, the present paper sought to propose an ICC pedagogy framework by synthesizing ICC Model as objectives, the Interacting Processesof Intercultural Learning (IPIL) as pathway, and AI-supported multimodality as mediators that collectively renders ICC development more accessible for these students. Unlike previous AI-mediated ICC intervention studies that have primarily targeted at proficient learners, this paper conceptualized AI-supported multimodality as constitutive mediators engaging low-proficiency learners throughout the ICC learning process. The framework comprises a fourfold cycle from cultural identification, structured comparison and scaffolded interactive simulation to critical reflection adjusted by AI-mediated multimodality, which may help reduce these students’ linguistic burdens, facilitate participatory engagement and may have the potential to support self-efficacy throughout the entire process, possibly developing their ICC. By presenting specific teaching scenarios and illustrative examples, it yielded practical values for classroom practice and demonstrated how this proposed framework operates within the IPIL Model. It further advanced the argument that ICC Model, the IPIL Model and AI-mediated multimodality are not merely a theoretical aggregation but an organic integration that interweaves explicit learning goals, recursive learning trajectories, and adaptive, individualized mediation into a coherent ICC learning ecology specifically designed for low-proficiency junior high students.