Intercultural literacy 

This entry explores the notion of intercultural literacy—a lifelong process which involves competencies enabling cross-cultural understanding and positive experiences between people from diverse backgrounds. Intercultural literacy is not merely about acquiring factual knowledge of various cultures; it also entails developing empathy and the capacity to see the world from multiple perspectives (also known as ethnorelativism). It requires active listening, open-mindedness, and the willingness to suspend judgement while engaging with people from other cultural backgrounds. In an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, intercultural literacy is essential for successful cross-cultural collaboration in a variety of contexts—both formal and informal—especially in education, healthcare, business, and diplomacy. To this end, the development of intercultural competencies is widely promoted by educational institutions as part of their internationalisation strategies. Furthermore, actively promoting intercultural literacy can lead to more equitable and harmonious communities. This entry shows that computer-assisted language learning, in addition to face-to-face encounters, offers unprecedented opportunities for learners to build sustainable dialogues and achieve a sense of belonging to a larger global community.