The Information Age has paved immense pathways for the emergence of technology, which led to eventually a complete digitalization of our communities. An ideal example of this advent is the continued growth of online video games (OVG) worldwide between youngsters and adults. To this end, our primary purpose was to understand and learn more about the diverse effects of online video games on EFL learners at the extent to which OVGs can be applied, as a new technique in academic settings. To go deeply through this research, we selected age and gender as variables to investigate their influence on EFL learners' communication skills and their intercultural communicative competence in online video games. We used a mixed-methods approach to collect relevant data for the current research study, including an online learners' questionnaire, interviews, and in-game observations. The results revealed that online video games became beneficial and useful for learners of English as a foreign language. They help improve communication skills and intercultural communication skills in educational settings. However, the list of conditions should be checked for learning and communication in online video games.

This paper unveils the relative merits of multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games in EFL educational settings for educational purposes, particularly rechecking the influence of League of Legends (LoL) on the EFL learners’ ICC. We have used Byram’s (1997) Model as a framework of assessment for thematic analysis, and both the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS), modified by Gozzoli and Gazzaroli (2018) and the Assessment of Intercultural Competence of Chinese College Students (AIC-CCS) by Wu et al. (2013) to ensure a consistent questionnaire. Our participants were 75 Algerian EFL learners (Males=86,7%, Females= 13,3%) from different educational levels, aged 20.08 (SD= 2.99). The results indicate a need to design a more convenient MOBA game as a replace for LoL, as well as adopting a flexible assessment continuous guidance to ensure appropriate ICC instruction.

Culture is a crucial facet in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. (TEFL) Hence, we shall in this paper discuss the theories underpinning this concept and how we can utilize these epistemological and ontological understandings to promote the TEFL field and the higher education task. Henceforward, we have answered the following question: How to move from the essentialist view of culture to the non-essentialist view of culture, and why it is essential to do so in 21st century English as a Foreign Language context? To answer the proposed question, we have discussed the essentialist and non-essentialist dichotomy of the culture concept and how both frameworks affect TEFL and intercultural language teaching (ILT) differently. In this regard, we aim to help EFL policymakers, EFL teachers, and students alike shift their attention towards the merits of adopting a non-essentialist understanding of the culture concept in the ILT. First, this article covers the theories of culture to understand this concept from different anthropological perspectives. Second, we relied on Byram’s Model (1997) critiques to demonstrate how a misunderstanding of culture as a concept can be damaging. Third, after critically discussing the relevant literature, we recommended an anti-culturalist perspective in the EFL context to improve the ILT experience. This article concludes with recommendations for EFL and ELT policymakers and EFL teachers and students alike. The proposals mainly focus on shifting the attention towards a non-culturalist approach towards culture.