Developing a Measurement Scale for Assessment of Intercultural Communicative Competence

Abstract

In this paper, the author explains the development processes of measurement scales applied as intercultural competence assessment tools. A questionnaire form was created, composed of 48 questionnaire entries derived from Byram’s (1997) Intercultural Communicative Competence model. Factor analysis was applied to the questionnaire results, and five factors were extracted. The factor scores obtained are considered as scale values for assessment. The scales are expected to assess the effects of study abroad programs, which are active in many higher education organizations in Japan. The effects were assessed by comparing the answers of students before and after some study abroad programs. The results showed that statistically significant differences were found among all the factors.