Relationship between cultural intelligence and pragmatic comprehension

Abstract

Cultural intelligence is supposed to be influential to the development of pragmatic comprehension as individuals with a higher cultural intelligence can more easily navigate and understand unfamiliar cultures and adjust their behaviors to perform effectively in culturally diverse situations. To assess the actual relationship between cultural intelligence and pragmatic comprehension ability, a study was conducted over 120 Iranian learners of English in the intensive English program of universities in the United States. Data were collected through a cultural intelligence scale and a pragmatic comprehension test. The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation indicated a strong positive relationship between level of cultural intelligence and pragmatic comprehension ability. Pedagogical implications of the findings suggested exploring target language culture and interacting with target language speakers for language learners who are on educational sojourns.