Assessment of students’ proficiency in speech-behavioral strategies of professional intercultural communication

Modern foreign language education aims to prepare specialists capable of engaging in intercultural communication in professional spheres. However, there is a lack of well-developed criteria and assessment tools for evaluating individuals' ability and readiness for intercultural interaction. This study seeks to establish scientifically grounded criteria and indicators for assessing students' proficiency in speech-behavioral strategies in German within the multi-component structure of intercultural communicative competence. Developing an assessment system aligned with the learning objectives of the discipline «German (Second Foreign Language)» in non-linguistic universities is a relevant task. The results of this study can be applied to various academic disciplines related to intercultural communication training. The study employs methods of analyzing psychological, pedagogical, and methodological literature, as well as comparative pedagogical analysis and generalization of existing experience. The research is based on intercultural, axiological, and communicative-cognitive approaches, which provide a comprehensive perspective on the problem of assessing professional intercultural communication. The assessment of students’ proficiency in speech-behavioral strategies for professional intercultural communication includes three criteria: cognitive, pragmatic, and axiological, evaluated on a four-level scale within a 100-point system. The cognitive criterion is determined by students' knowledge of strategies and stages of communication, assessed through testing. The pragmatic criterion reflects the ability to apply this knowledge in intercultural interaction and is evaluated through both testing and role-playing activities. The axiological criterion includes personal qualities that facilitate effective interaction and is measured using an integrative questionnaire on intercultural competence. Thus, the proposed approach combines both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods. The novelty of the research lies in the integration of psychological-pedagogical and methodological tools to assess students’ level of speech-behavioral strategies in professional intercultural communication. The proposed approach considers both the activity-based aspect of learning and the personal development of students, making it practically significant for teaching foreign languages and academic disciplines related to intercultural communication training.