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The article deals with a critical discussion of intercultural competence (IC) and its correlation with reading. It bends itself to expound that English learners’ IC can be developed through reading. The principal objective of this article is to demonstrate a critical understanding of IC and to further contribute to language teachers’ awareness of IC and their practice in teaching reading to English language learners. This article is composed of three themed parts. The first part gives a brief review of different definitions of IC in the literature. The second part examines the development of IC through reading and various factors that influence this development. The final part includes a discussion of different perspectives that have emerged in the literature regarding IC and literacy education. The sticking point of the discussion is that whether students should be offered culturally modifeied texts to facilitate the development of IC. The author of this article gives a negative answer regarding this discussion and advocates the use of original texts in literacy education.
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