Toward a model of informal digital learning of English and intercultural competence: a large-scale structural equation modeling approach

Utilizing a structural equation modeling approach, this article aims to examine the dynamics between Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) and Intercultural Competence (ICC). Altogether, 1490 Chinese college students from different types of universities in China answered the self-developed and validated IDLE-ICC questionnaire. The results indicated that Knowledge of Self, Knowledge of Others, Attitude, Awareness, and Intercultural Communication Skills stood out to be the core dimensions of measuring ICC in the Chinese higher education context. It was also found that by participating in IDLE activities, Chinese college students could acquire knowledge of the English language and culture, take attitudes of openness and curiosity, foster the ability to understand cultural differences, and thus gradually acquire the competence to engage in future successful intercultural communication. Additionally, it has been confirmed that students' knowledge of the Chinese language and culture served as an important factor in developing their ICC, and that intercultural awareness featured in understanding Chinese college EFL learners' ICC. This article also provides implications for future intercultural research and pedagogical practices.