Culturally Responsive ESP Materials for Psychology Students: Enhancing Intercultural Communicative Competence and Dialogic Classroom Interaction

Developing English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials that simultaneously enhance disciplinary language skills and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) remains a key challenge in higher education, particularly in teacher centered contexts. This study designed and evaluated a culturally responsive, ICC integrated ESP textbook tailored for Iranian EFL psychology students. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods quasi-experimental design, 60 undergraduates were randomly assigned to an experimental group using the new textbook and a control group using traditional psychology English materials. The 16-session intervention included systematic classroom observations, teacher and student surveys, and semi-structured interviews. Classroom observations revealed increased dialogic engagement, with students in the experimental group participating more actively, autonomously, and reflectively in collaborative discussions. Teachers and students perceived the textbook as culturally relevant and effective in fostering sustained intercultural awareness and dialogic interaction. These results suggest that integrating ICC-oriented and culturally responsive tasks into ESP materials can promote learner-centered classrooms and better equip psychology students with the communicative, reflective, and intercultural capacities required for academic and professional contexts. The study offers practical implications for ESP materials developers, curriculum designers, instructors, and learners seeking to move beyond language-focused instruction toward interaction-rich and culturally informed ESP pedagogy.