Intercultural communication in the context of teaching a foreign language to students of non-linguistic fields

Бюллетень науки и практики / Bulletin of Science and Practice

UDC 37.022                                        

The relevance of the problems of intercultural communication in our country today is evidenced by numerous facts of institutional changes taking place in the structures of higher education in the Kyrgyz Republic. Here are just some of them as examples. So, two years ago, the Ministry of Education of the Kyrgyz Republic changed the name of the field of study from "Foreign languages" to "Linguistics and intercultural communication". Cultural studies were allocated to the scientific specialty of the Higher Attestation Commission of Kyrgyzstan and specialized Scientific councils were created to defend candidate and doctoral dissertations in cultural studies. In 2014, a new structural unit was created at Osh State University — the Institute of Philology, Journalism, and Intercultural Communication. Based on the above examples, the conclusion suggests that, despite the attribution of issues of intercultural interactions to the category of eternal problems that have worried mankind since time immemorial, it is today that the problems of communication between people and questions about ways to find mutual understanding between residents of different countries and representatives of different cultures are of particular importance.

On the other hand, the process of modernization of higher education in the context of global trends in academic mobility and globalization makes it increasingly relevant to apply a competencebased approach in the system of professionally oriented training of future university graduates. In this regard, the definition of "key, basic competencies" is put forward as the central concept.[1] The purpose of competence-based training is to bridge the gap between training and future professional activities of young professionals who should be ready to implement the acquired set of general professional and general cultural competencies (MIC and OK) in professional activities, teamwork, competition in the labor market, etc. For example, a graduate of a master's program in the discipline "A foreign language in professional communication" must be ready to communicate orally and in writing in Russian and a foreign language (English)languages for solve the tasks of professional activity (OPK-1) [2].

The professional competitiveness of a future university graduate, as one of the indicators of the quality of the higher education system, means not only the ability to successfully adapt professionally, taking into account the specifics of a particular professional field of activity but also personal adaptation, taking into account cultural, social, linguistic, national norms and traditions of society. Thus, the concept of professionalism is not limited to the characteristics of highly skilled labor and includes the personal characteristics of a person. Therefore, to acquire professionally significant qualities, a future graduate of a university of non-linguistic areas of training needs to develop appropriate individual abilities and humanitarian qualities. The analysis of various theoretical and experimental models allowed us to identify the main components of the concept of the "professional competence of a student of a non-linguistic university".

As an example, we will give only some of them, the direct development of which can and should be facilitated by subjects of the humanities cycle, in particular, foreign language classes for students of non-linguistic areas of training:

• - communicative competence and professional communication [3];

• - the concept of linguistic personality and secondary linguistic personality [4];

• - intercultural communicative competence [5, 6].

Intercultural communication as a theoretical concept implies communication and communication between representatives of different cultures, which implies both direct contact between people and indirect forms of communication, including language, speech, writing, and electronic communication. In other words, intercultural communication is a set of different forms of relationships and communication between individuals and groups belonging to different cultures. The linguistic complexity of the problems of intercultural communication is evidenced by the fact that the very concept of the ICC is sometimes referred to as "cross-cultural communication" (from the English "cross-cultural"), which indicates an insufficient linguistic or translation culture of those who use this designation. As a scientific discipline,

The ICC is in the process of formation and has two characteristic features: firstly, its applied nature, which is due to the very purpose of the ICC - to facilitate communication between representatives of different cultures, and reduce conflict potential; secondly, its interdisciplinarity, since the ICC is studied at the interdisciplinary level as a correlation of sciences such as cultural studies, psychology, linguistics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology and ecology of communication media.

Initially, the so-called classical understanding of culture as a stable system of conscious and unconscious rules, norms, and values was used to describe the ICC. However, at present, the dynamic understanding of culture as a way of life, a system of behavior, and the norms of a social group dominates (for example, youth culture, generational culture, and organizational culture). The structural approach to the study of language as a component of culture has been replaced by cognitive and functional-pragmatic methods. Due to the anthropocentric orientation in modern linguistics, attention is focused on all the circumstances of the formation, development, and functioning of linguistic units, including the circumstances of the social plan, i.e. on all the features of the culture and subculture reflected in the language.

The modern interpretation of the concept of culture does not imply strict stability of the cultural system, but on the contrary, asserts that culture as a system can change and modify depending on historical, social, political, and other situations. The concept of the ICC was originally introduced in the 1950s by the American cultural anthropologist Edward Hall (1914-2009), who worked on the development of a program for the adaptation of American diplomats for the US Department of State, he was the author of numerous works on theoretical and practical aspects of intercultural interaction. He was the first to formulate the seemingly obvious law of the ICC: "Communication is about a lot more than simple words." ("Communication is much more than just words" - the author's translation) [8].

In our opinion, the undoubted contribution of the founder of the MCC theory was that Edward Hall distinguished the concepts that he called monochronous and polychronous time, to which directly opposite cultures belong, and also divided world cultures into two types and, accordingly, introduced the concepts of highly and low contextualized communications. Representatives of monochron cultures are characterized by a pattern of behavior when one thing is performed per unit of time and the importance of schedules, the accuracy of meeting times, and punctuality are of particular importance. In representatives of polychronous cultures, on the contrary, human relationships and interactions are evaluated much higher than the accuracy of the schedule and the planned event. As for low-contextualized and high-contextualized communications, where the line of separation runs according to the degree of contextualization of representatives of different cultures regarding the content of the proposed situation: in low-contextualized cultures, the listener knows very little about the situation, he needs extensive additional information since he expects more content from communication. Representatives of low-contextualized communication cultures include, for example, Americans, Germans, Scandinavians, as well as other northern Europeans. Conversely, in a highly contextualized culture, the listener is already "contextualized", he does not need background information and a lot of additional information. For him, the content of the situation determines the content of what will happen as a result of the communication process. It can be noted that representatives of highly contextualized communication cultures are the French, Japanese, Arabs, and, in particular, Russians. A clear evidence of the difference between the behavioral characteristics of representatives of low-contextualized communication cultures and highly contextualized communication cultures is the statistical fact that American contacts last on average 10 times longer than French ones. “We specialize in identifying the nonverbal components of intercultural communication – the unspoken signals and assumptions that flow from human psychology and national character, elements critical to success in business." ("We specialize in defining the non-verbal components of intercultural communication - unspoken signals and assumptions that arise from human psychology and its national character, elements that are crucial for business success") (translated by the author) [9].

Spending time concentrating on work, and committing to deadlines (the English concept of “deadline” and the corresponding lacuna in the Russian language for its equivalent are noteworthy), they are low-contextualized, need additional information, are devoted to work, committed to plans, follow the rule of non-interference in other people's lives (the notorious English concept of “privacy” and the absence of an equivalent lexical unit in Russian), show respect for private property, and finally, get used to short-term relationships. The contrast of the standards of behavior of representatives of polychronic cultural communications consists in the following set of facts about them: they do a lot of things at the same time, they are very distracted, they are often distracted, they believe that the goal can be achieved if possible, they are highly contextualized, already have extensive background information, are devoted to people and human relationships, change plans quickly and easily, care more about those with whom they are closely related, the attitude to money is reduced to the fact that they borrow and lend often and easily, and as for personal relationships, then they have a tendency and an inner urge to create lifelong relationships [10].

The above indicates the multidimensional nature of cultural differences between representatives of different ethnic groups, which creates multiple cultural obstacles in communication. To overcome cultural and linguistic barriers, the help of specialists, including foreign language teachers, is required. The connection between language and intercultural communication is obvious: language serves communication, and language is the main, most explicit, most official, and socially recognized of all types of communicative behavior. There are many examples in the world reflecting the influence of socio-cultural national traits on the formation and development of language and vice versa. For example, everyone knows the reverent attitude of representatives of the German nation to details and trifles. It is also reflected in the German language, which is rich in spelling and grammar rules, including declension of official parts of speech. In addition, traces of a typically German careful attitude to small things can also be found in the way the educational process is organized in German schools: penmanship lessons were included in the school curriculum until recently! It was only in the 90s of the twentieth century that reforms abolishing penmanship began in some federal states of Germany, and after that, there was a transition to simplified forms of writing letters that more closely resemble printed ones. After a short time, the fact of a decrease in the assembly quality of German cars occurred and was noted by statisticians and consumers. Is it accidental? According to experts, the reasons for this should be sought, including school reform and reform of the German language.

If we consider language acquisition, both native and foreign, then the cultural component turns out to be part of the language. Modern development requires creative knowledge and experience from each teacher individually. This puts a lot of responsibility on foreign language teachers in their place. Educating free-thinking students and teaching them creativity leads to a closer connection between student and teacher [11]. At the same time, the cultural component is not just some kind of cultural information, it is an integral property of language. That is, the whole world is divided into "friends", united by a common language and culture of people, and "strangers". The ancient Greeks and Romans called all people of other countries and cultures "barbarians" (English barbarian). This word is onomatopoeic and is directly related to a non-native language: foreign languages were perceived by people in the past as indistinct and unpleasant "barbar" [12]. According to experts, the influence of culture extends to students' expectations and attitudes toward the learning process and its goals.

To be able to contribute to the motivation of students, the teacher should take into account the experience and expectations of students in choosing educational materials and teaching methods. Knowledge of cultural differences and their influences helps a foreign language teacher understand how and why teaching methods and teaching materials need to be varied. This refers to the field of intercultural communication, which should be used in teaching. Intercultural communication expands the teacher's views on learning, reduces prejudice, and helps to assess the appropriateness of learning. To understand other cultures and work with a wide range of students, teachers must develop their intercultural competence, and increase awareness of different cultures and the differences between them, as well as their own culture and relationships with their values and positions. A teacher needs to get rid of cultural stereotypes, notice individual differences, plan and implement training taking into account the expectations and experience of students, as well as be ready to change the usual teaching methods and teaching materials, consciously selecting them for a certain group of students [13].

The close connection between teaching a foreign language to students of non-linguistic fields of study and intercultural communication seems obvious. Each foreign language lesson in a non-linguistic university should represent a crossroads of cultures since each foreign word reflects a foreign world and a foreign culture. Today, the motives for learning foreign languages have changed, people, by and large, are not interested in either the theory or the history of the language, and knowledge of a foreign language is in demand exclusively functionally – for communication. Due to current trends, the main task of teachers is. A foreign language is seen in the maximum development of the student's communicative abilities. In order to successfully achieve the goals of teaching a foreign language at the present stage of society's development, in our opinion, it is necessary to implement the following: first, to study a foreign language against a broad background of the social, cultural, and political life of people who speak this language, that is, in close connection with the world and culture of the language being studied; Secondly, a foreign language teacher should become a specialist in intercultural communication, and Kyrgyz higher educational institutions within the framework of philological, linguistic and pedagogical directions should master the model of training a new type of teaching staff; Thirdly, it is necessary to create an environment of maximum real communication and actively use a foreign language in living, natural conditions, for example, to involve native speakers in conducting foreign language classes, invite foreign professors to lecture in a foreign language, work as volunteers at international events; Fourthly, to use new methods of teaching a foreign language along with new educational materials that necessarily reflect intercultural differences (however, it should be noted here that you should not rush from extreme to extreme and abandon proven methods); fifthly, a foreign language should be studied in inseparable unity with the culture of people who speak in this language, but, on the other hand, the teaching of a foreign language should be based on its comparison with the native language and culture. To sum up, we declare: that it is not a foreign language that should be studied, but the world of a foreign language, that is, the culture, lifestyle, mentality, and national character of people who speak this language. Knowing the meanings of individual words and the rules of grammar is not enough to use language as a means of communication.

We assume that the educational process should go in two directions simultaneously: the development of a foreign language as a linguistic phenomenon and the development of new subjects, phenomena that do not find analogy in the native culture of the student. Evidence of the restructuring of the educational process in the framework of teaching a foreign language is found both in the capital and in peripheral higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation. Thus, at the Southern Federal University, at the Faculty of Linguistics and Literature, teachers of a foreign language in the field of 550300 Pedagogical education, according to the goals and objectives of the discipline

The "Workshop on Intercultural Communication" should contribute to the development of the following general cultural competencies among students: be guided by ethical norms that imply rejection of ethnocentrism and respect for the originality of foreign language culture; possess the necessary international and contextual knowledge to overcome the influence of stereotypes and adapt to changing conditions; possess international etiquette in various situations of intercultural communication, etc.

The continuous improvement of the system and formative practices is due to the social changes taking place in society. The issue of improving the quality of education and the level of personal education remains a priority in the modern methodology of teaching a foreign language [14].

In conclusion, let's say that when considering the relationship and interrelation between the linguistic and cultural barrier, it is the second of them that turns out to be more dangerous and difficult to overcome, and students of non-linguistic areas of training especially face the problem of overcoming the cultural barrier in the implementation of active (productive) skills: speaking and writing.

To successfully master these skills and, as a result, to carry out effective intercultural and international communication, and as a result, for the successful development of professional communicative competence of the graduate university, teachers of foreign languages and students of foreign languages should realize that socio-cultural structures and units are at the heart of linguistic structures and units. By the way, this may explain the constant failures to create artificial languages: they are doomed to die since they do not have the culture of a native speaker behind them.