Effective intercultural communication requires linguistic skills and the ability to implement these skills successfully and appropriately in diverse cross-cultural settings. The responsibility of a language teacher is to prepare students to interact effectively with individuals of diverse cultural, linguistic, and national backgrounds. Therefore, an EFL teacher must thoroughly understand the role of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and the practice of fostering ICC in the classroom. In this regard, this study sought to understand the perceptions and practices of ICC among Indonesian pre-service EFL teachers. Using qualitative data from in-depth interviews and document analysis, pre-service teachers' voices and teaching practicum experiences are examined, analysed, and described. The findings of the study revealed that pre-service teachers had positive attitudes toward ICC. They generally supported the idea of creating and integrating ICC in English classrooms. Nevertheless, there appears to be a discrepancy between the pre-service teachers' perceptions of ICC and their actual practices during teaching practicum. The findings indicate that teacher education programs and classroom experiences only support the formation of theoretical areas and influence teachers' perceptions of ICC but do not develop the practical competencies required to perform ICC in teachers' pedagogical practices.
