Abstract
This study explores how universities can innovate the cultivation model of compound English talents serving international communication in northern China. Based on theories of intercultural communicative competence, global competence, and higher-education curriculum reform, the paper constructs a structural equation model (SEM) to examine the relationships among curriculum integration, platform support for practice, and digital multimodal literacy and international communication readiness. A questionnaire survey was administered to 462 students enrolled in English, Business English, Translation, and international communication programs at 5 universities in northern China, of whom 438 provided valid responses for analysis. The results show that curriculum integration positively predicts intercultural communicative competence, and digital multimodal literacy and practice-platform support can significantly enhance strategic communication self-efficacy. Intercultural communicative competence, strategic communication self-efficacy, and digital multimodal literacy all have significant positive effects on international communication readiness. Besides, curriculum integration and practice-platform support influence readiness both directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of intercultural competence and communication self-efficacy. The final SEM shows good fit (χ²/df = 2.26, CFI = .946, TLI = .938, RMSEA = .054, SRMR = .047). The results imply that compound English talent cultivation for international communication should go beyond conventional language-skill training and should be a coordinated curriculum model integrating interdisciplinary perspectives, authentic practice, digital communication competence, and an audience-oriented storytelling approach. This paper provides empirical evidence for the current discussion of foreign language education reform. It offers policy implications for application-oriented universities seeking to strengthen their international communication capacity in the era of digital media and global competition.