Language and intercultural communication

The article examines the issues of language and intercultural communication in the theory and practice of teaching foreign languages. Knowledge of any foreign language, in this case, English, is the key to the culture of the people who speak this language. The author emphasises the mutual influence and interpenetration of cultures as the reason for the predisposition of different peoples to communicate, the language teaching, combined with familiarization with the historical and ethnographic features of the country can and should become a powerful means of mutual understanding between peoples. The emphasis is on the fact that representatives of different linguistic cultures react differently to the same situations depending on their cultural affiliation. The article notes that the study of culture, history, realities and traditions contributes to the education of a positive attitude towards the culture of the people-a native speaker of a foreign language. There is a constant comparison of elements of culture and everyday life of the native country and the countries of the studied language, so we form the concept of the role of language as an element of the culture of the people and the need to use it as a means of effective communication.