Intercultural communicative competence in ESP research: A Scientometric Mapping of global trends, theoretical clusters, and pedagogical gaps (2003–2023)

Abstract

As professional communication becomes increasingly globalised, systematic understanding of the intersection between intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) remains limited. This study maps ICC-ESP research from 2003 to 2023 in order to identify publication trends, theoretical orientations, and pedagogical gaps. Using co-citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence mapping, and burst detection with VOSviewer and Bibliometrix, the study analysed 387 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. The findings indicate three predominant thematic clusters: ICC in business and medical settings (45%), theoretical adaptations of the Byram framework (28%), and technology-mediated virtual exchange (18%). The results show a highly skewed distribution across domains: Business and Medical ESP account for 76% of the corpus, whereas Engineering, Legal, and Agricultural ESP remain under-represented. The corpus also shows a marked geographical imbalance, with a large majority of publications produced in high-income countries and limited representation from the Global South. The study further identifies a persistent theory-practice gap, reflected in the limited availability of validated assessment instruments and longitudinal pedagogical interventions. The study offers a systematic account of the domain coverage and geographical distribution of ICC-ESP research and examines the shift from deficit-oriented framings towards translanguaging and postcolonial approaches. It also considers implications for pedagogical practice in under-researched professional domains.