Yuanfan Li

Yuanfan Li

November 28, 2025

Cross-cultural communicative competence, Art and design students, Academic Reading, Integrated pedagogy, Disciplinary context.

This paper explores a pedagogical framework for fostering cross-cultural communicative competence (CCC) among art and design students within the specific context of an Academic Reading course. Recognizing the unique challenges and strengths of this student population - often characterized by visual literacy and creative thinking alongside limited English proficiency - the study synthesizes insights from intercultural communication theory, vocabulary acquisition research, and technology - enhanced learning. It argues that a compartmentalized approach to language and culture teaching is inadequate. Instead, it proposes an integrated model where cultural awareness, linguistic skills, and critical thinking are developed synergistically through carefully designed, authentic tasks that resonate with students' disciplinary interests. The paper concludes that such an approach not only prepares students for the demands of examination but also equips them with the necessary competencies for meaningful participation in the global discourse of art and design.

© 2025, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license