METHODOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF THE 5K MODEL FOR DEVELOPING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Abstract

The article examines the methodological potential of the 5K model for developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in university students learning English. The analysis is deliberately conceptual rather than experimental: no claims of measured effectiveness are made. The 5K configuration used in the paper comprises Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, and Connected-Culture. Through comparative conceptual analysis, the five components are mapped onto established ICC constructs in the work of M. Byram, D. K. Deardorff, C. Kramsch, and the CEFR Companion Volume. The analysis shows that the 5K model can serve as a task-design framework when each component is operationalized through observable intercultural actions: interpreting cultural evidence, generating alternative communicative strategies, negotiating meaning collaboratively, selecting linguistically and sociopragmatically appropriate forms, and mediating between cultural perspectives. The paper proposes a five-stage instructional sequence—analysis, alternative generation, collaborative negotiation, communicative performance, and intercultural reflection—and specifies task types and assessment indicators for each stage.