Using AI-driven chatbots to enhance EFL students' ICC levels: Turkish context

As the internationalization of higher education accelerates, Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) has emerged as a foundational outcome of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education. Contemporary models of ICC conceptualize intercultural competence as a multidimensional construct encompassing affective dispositions(openness, curiosity, empathy), cognitive knowledge (cultural self awareness and sociocultural understanding), and behavioral skills (adaptability and effective interaction). Developing these dimensions requires sustained engagement with cultural difference; however, many EFL contexts provide limited opportunities for authentic intercultural contact. In response to this gap, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly conversational agents, offer new forms of digitally mediated interculturalsimulation. Thisstudy investigatesthe extent to which AI driven chatbot interaction can support the development of ICC among EFL learners in a Turkish higher education context.