1. Introduction
2. Framework of reference
3. Three dimensions of ICC
4. Methods of assessment
5. Steps in assessing ICC 
6. Assessing ICC 
7. Levels of ICC proficiency  
8. Conclusion
9. References

5. Steps in Assessing ICC

We would like the reader to keep in mind the definition of intercultural communicative competence / which requires a range of "knowledge/savoirs", "know how/savoir-faire" in relation to linguistic, sociolinguistic and discourse communicative competence and "being/savoir-être" related to attitudes and perceptions of others and other cultures.

This section covers the different moments of assessment (when to assess?), the subjects of assessment (what to assess?) and the different ways of assessing (how to assess?) the ICC profile.

When to assess?

Before starting to teach, it may be important to get information based on the students' experiences and backgrounds. Self-evaluation (culture-log) and a self-evaluation profile (profile diagram) are the two methods of assessment proposed as a pre-test to students. When going on to a new teaching unit, for example, Unit 5: All you need is love, a survey to assess attitudes on love can reveal students' perceptions.

During the learning experience, the teacher's observation in reference to specific criteria specified in a grid and gathering work from discussions and productions in the student's portfolio are appropriate methods of assessment.

At the end of a unit or learning sequence, the teacher may need to know the different types of knowledge acquired by students. Any indirect testing method is possible using multiple choice items, matching items or short answers items. To evaluate "know-how/savoir-faire", we need to develop tasks to be performed by students. Simulations and role plays based on critical incidents would reveal the students' perceptions mostly when they interact in pairs or in groups of three or four. 
 
At the end of the course, the same methods used at the end of a unit or learning sequence can be repeated in terms of "knowledge/savoirs" and "know-how/savoir-faire". For "being/savoir-être", the measures used before starting teaching can be repeated as a post-test, that is, we can use self evaluation (culture-log), self-profile (profile diagram) and the portfolio as reflective devices.

What to assess?

To answer this question, the teacher needs to identify the learning outcomes; those specified as learning outcomes for the course or as defined in the textbook, and those defined at the beginning of each unit or learning sequence. They should cover the three dimensions of ICC: knowledge, know-how and being. They should also take into consideration the learning process and progress.

How to assess?

Each dimension of ICC covers different aspects of learning. Consequently, the methods of assessment will vary accordingly in order to evaluate the students as efficiently as possible.  "Knowledge" uses indirect testing procedures. "Know-how" is based on tasks. "Being" relies on self-evaluation, surveys on attitudes, teacher's grids and the student's portfolio.

The following table gives a résumé of the three dimensions assessed (what), the moments they are assessed (when) and the methods of assessment selected to assess the learning of Unit 5 (how).

Table:  Steps in assessing students' performance and perceptions

Self-evaluation – culture-log

b) Self-evaluation of being: Profile diagram (cultural awareness, empathy, respect for Otherness, knowledge discovery).

This self-evaluation is similar to the one described before but it has been developed mostly to help the students' reflect on their own perceptions in terms of «Being/savoir-être». The scale shows five levels of perceptions from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". Students should fill in this evaluation as pre-evaluation, before the learning process, and fill it again at the end of the learning process to compare their answers and reflect on their own progress.

Self-evaluation – Profile diagram

c) Use of the portfolio

The Portfolio of Intercultural Competence as presented by the Council of Europe focuses on three dimensions which can be easily adapted when assessing students' ICC.
Reference:
Portfolio of Intercultural Competence:  http://www.incaproject.org/en_downloads/23

The portfolio not only explains who the students are and want to become but should also reveal how they got to the point where they are at the end of their learning. It is about experiences that confirm their knowledge, behaviours, attitudes and perceptions on ICC. Growing through the pages of their portfolio should help the students to grow as a person and become aware of changes in their ICC. It could include:

1. A Language Passport - which represents a record of the student's skills in different languages and it is based on the reference levels of the Common European Framework. The passport records not only language competences, but also intercultural learning experiences, including details about different partial and specific competences. It can be used for self-assessment, teacher assessment or institutional evaluation. The information in the passport must include details about time, place and person who recorded the entries. 
   
2. A biography of students' which ICC can describe their intercultural background by means of a survey or self-evaluation (cf. 5.1 of this document). It would reflect on how students see themselves in intercultural situations and record actual and past experiences as positive or negative. It has the benefit to promote self-awareness and motivate the learner, as the assessee, to take responsibility for his or her own progress. It may include personal history, cultural background, human life style, societal systems, religious influences, intercultural and linguistic experiences. It could recall intercultural contexts and aspects of different cultures difficult to adjust with, etc.
   
3. A dossier of evidence of ICC which is possible by gathering any tangible evidence of the assessee's intercultural communicative competence. It could contain statements from formal assessment sessions and continuous self-assessment. Audio or video recordings of the assessee interacting effectively in intercultural situations would be of help to follow the progress of a student. It could include personal observations regarding language and culture and reflexive thinking to demonstrate students' progress as timeline.

The portfolio enables students to keep records of, and reflect on, experiences that have contributed to their progress. It would also enable them to store in an organized way, any pieces of evidence to support the levels of competence recorded. It provides a continuous internal assessment of performance based on the three dimensions taken into account in the teaching of ICC: "knowledge", "know-how" and "being" (Lussier, 2001).
 
In terms of "knowledge" it could reflect knowledge linked to collective memory, socio-cultural context and the diversity in ways of living. It could provide sources that contribute to learning cultural facts (music, arts, architecture, etc.) and day-life situations of the target language. It could reflect culture as history and geography of a civilization (culture with capital "C") linked to the anthropological approach (culture with no capital "c").

In terms of "know-how", it could reflect students' performance in real life situations: how they function in different contexts, in plurilingual/pluricultural practices such as exchange programs, how they adjust to different cultural environment and how they interact in the target language and culture.

 In terms of "being", which is considered as the existential and affective domains, it reflects cultural awareness, critical appropriation of other cultures and identity, and transcultural valorisation of others. These different attitudes bring students to understanding, accepting and integrating the target culture and to internalizing, when given time, new values.  

N.B.  The section on « During teaching» will be presented in the following section (6.5) with an example of methods of assessment taken from Unit 5: All you need is love from textbook Mirrors and windows.

5.2  After teaching
(at the end of the book)

In section 5.1, which refers to self-evaluation tasks to be used before teaching there are three assessment tools that can be used as pre-testing procedures: Self-evaluation (Culture log), Self evaluation (Profile diagram) and the Portfolio.
The same tasks can also be used as post-testing procedures. The final task of evaluating, at end of the semester/year of study, aims at assessing the students' progress and change in attitudes and perception of the target culture.

Here is an example of how one task can be organized to better help teachers with the final appreciation using the Self-evaluation (profile diagram)

Step 1: students should fill in the same self-evaluation they
             completed.
Step 2: they could compare their first answers with those they 
             have just given.
Step 3: they have to find out where it differs positively or
             negatively.
Step 4: they can justify changes by finding specific reasons.
Step 5: there can be an exchange in small groups to put together
             the different answers.
Step 6: Finally, there can be a brainstorming with the whole class
             to better understand changes that occurred, contexts 
             that provoked these changes and what can be done to 
             change negative feedback into positive behaviours and 
             attitudes. 

next chapter:  6. Assessing ICC