Professor Agnes Weiyun He presented a transformative framework for understanding intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in her June 3 seminar at The Education University of Hong Kong. Grounded in conversation analysis, she reconceptualised ICC not as an individual trait but as a co-constructed phenomenon emerging through real-time dialogue, where interactional competence (IC1) and intercultural competence (IC2) dynamically index each other.

The seminar illuminated how observable IC1 practices—such as turn-taking patterns in Chinese second language (CSL) role-play—reveal deeper IC2 sensibilities. Some CSL learners were high-scoring as they demonstrated proactive cultural attunement by expanding interactions beyond required responses—initiating follow-up questions and collaboratively constructing dialogue (e.g., "Oh really? Who do you know here?" after a peer’s statement), while low-scoring peers offered minimal responses ("Ah hard"), exposing limited perspective-taking. Similarly, Chinese heritage language (CHL) interactions showcased identity negotiations: teenagers deflected Mandarin exchanges with grandparents ("I’m not hungry") yet engaged in Mandarin when asserting academic autonomy ("I’m taking Chinese history cus I want to"), illustrating how language choices embody cultural positioning.

Professor He introduced five interconnected ICC dimensions observable through conversation: sequential management of conversational flow, categorial navigation of identities, emotional rapport-building, logical reasoning display, and moral positioning. She emphasized emic validation—assessing competence through participants’ own interactional meaning-making rather than external rubrics.

Pedagogically, Professor He argued for moving beyond teaching cultural facts toward designing activities where linguistic and intercultural skills co-evolve. She advocated role-plays requiring learners to negotiate cultural boundaries through stance-taking and repair practices. The seminar concluded by positioning digital ethnography as a vital tool for scaling ICC research, echoing Nobel laureate in Literature—Toni Morrison’s enduring axiom that language constitutes the measure of human experience, Nobel laureate in Literature. Attendees engaged in a robust discussion on assessing ICC’s emotional dimension in digital spaces.