Some issues regarding how secondary school pupils' and university students' (majoring in English, Chinese) intercultural competence, which are to be developed under conditions of the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19, are presented in the article. The authors review the literature on the education standards alongside some native and foreign scholars' definitions of the pedagogical phenomenon "competence." The purpose of the study is to analyze the model of competence under focus. We introduce some learning objectives aimed at developing secondary school pupils' and university students' intercultural competence. The problem's relevance is preconditioned by the expanded intercultural and interethnic ties within Ukraine and other countries, which are to be observed when dealing with representatives of different countries and considered when elaborating the competence-based framework for secondary school pupils and university students. The leading suggestions (findings) related to the study have been given: systematic formation of the intercultural competence of secondary school pupils and university students, improvement of the existing curricula, and syllabi's adaptation of the educational profession-oriented training programs intended future translators and teachers of foreign languages.