Negotiating intercultural competence in English language teaching in Islamic higher education settings in East Java

The increasing demand for intercultural competence in English language teaching raises important questions about how lecturers in religious higher education negotiate cultural diversity, moral principles, and global communicative expectations. Although intercultural competence has been discussed in mainstream ELT scholarship, it is under-researched in Islamic higher education and often considered as a potential source of cultural tension. The objective of this study is to investigate the integration of intercultural competence with cultural, moral, and religious values in the teaching practices of English lecturers of three Islamic higher education institutions in East Java. A qualitative design was employed to collect data through in-depth semi-structured interviews of three lecturers who taught intercultural-oriented courses. The data were analyzed interpretatively, between the lecturers’ accounts and conceptual frameworks regarding intercultural competence. Findings indicate that lecturers were not just transmitting intercultural concepts but were involved in complex pedagogical negotiation. They practiced the protection of local and Islamic values, cultivation of openness, and selective engagement with global perspectives. The study also reveals that the incorporation of intercultural competence was influenced by linguistic backgrounds, cultural assumptions, institutional constraints and socio-political concerns. The findings have implications for curriculum design, lecturer professional development, and institutional support in the Islamic higher education.