Tasya Murti Larasati
191102011258
The Merdeka Belajar – Merdeka Kampus or MBKM program provides students with the opportunity to participate in activities outside of their program of study, and even outside of students’ university. This means that students who participate in the MBKM program typically have more intercultural experiences, which can impact their Intercultural Communicative Competence level compared to nonMBKM students. Intercultural Communicative Competence or ICC is the ability to communicate and interact effectively with people from different cultures. It is an important skill for students to have in today's globalized world. The purpose of this study was to find out the level of ICC of English as a Foreign Language or EFL students who participated and did not participate in the MBKM program. Additionally, it also examined the differences at the level of ICC of EFL students who participated and did not participate in the MBKM. This study measured the level of ICC in three dimensions: knowledge, skill, and attitude. This research used a qualitative case study approach, and two research instruments were used: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The study found that the majority of the ICC levels of students who participated in the MBKM program and students who did not participate in the MBKM program were at L3 or conscious competence, which is a high level of ICC. Although both groups are in L3, the majority of high-level ICC occurs in MBKM students, while the majority of lowlevel ICC occurs in non-MBKM students. In conclusion, when the ICC levels of MBKM and non-MBKM students from all dimensions were compared, the ICC level of MBKM students was still higher. In addition, the MBKM program has an influence on the development of students' ICC, especially in the dimension of attitude.
Keywords: EFL, Intercultural Communicative Competence, and MBKM.