Plurilingual and pluricultural competence in online intercultural encounters: the role of multicultural identity and cultural intelligence

This study explored plurilingual and pluricultural competence (PPC), multicultural identity configuration and cultural intelligence in learners of English as a lingua franca with different self-reported pluricultural identities, plurilingual backgrounds, and English levels. Using data from 304 students from six different higher educational institutions in Chile, Israel, Germany, France, and Spain, analyses examined (a) differences in PPC scores between students based on their self-identification regarding having a pluricultural background and growing up plurilingual, (b) the relationship between multicultural identity configuration and PPC in students who identified as pluricultural (PC), (c) the relationship between cultural intelligence and PPC in students who identified as non-pluricultural (NPC), and (d) PPC scores across different self-reported English proficiency levels. This study found a strong correlation between a self-identified pluricultural background and PPC scores, noting that pluricultural identity, not plurilingual background alone, was the more prominent associated factor among students who generally showed higher PPC when identifying as plurilingual/pluricultural. PPC was exclusively correlated with an integrated multicultural identity. NPC students' PPC correlated positively with the metacognitive, motivational, and behavioural dimensions of cultural intelligence, but not cognitive cultural intelligence. Additionally, students who reported C1 and C2 English levels had significantly higher PPC scores than those at a B1 level.