Intercultural communications training and its role in the formation of cross-cultural competence of foreign language learners

Abstract

In preparing this article, the aim was to substantiate the methodological foundations for the development of intercultural communications training and to carry out its practical testing in the framework of teaching a Turkish language course for different students. The material for the applied research was the content of Gokkugagi Turkge Ders Kitabi, a modern textbook for students of non-linguistic specialties. The methodological foundations of the communications training were the traditional procedures of group work, such as exercises, reflection of experience, interactive modeling, simulation, group discussions. In the course of the study, the authors summarized the modern scientific and methodological foundations for the development of intercultural communications trainings. The characteristic of cross-language and cross-cultural training is given, the differences in their use in the formation of cross-cultural competence are revealed. A detailed analysis of the goals, objectives, and stages of cross-cultural competence training is carried out. The main components of cross-cultural competence, whose formation is the aim of intercultural communications trainings, are identified. Practical testing of the presented intercultural communications training in the framework of teaching a Turkish language course for different students was carried out. When designing tasks of communications training, a system of didactic requirements has been developed; compliance with them allows optimizing the learning process, making exercises more accessible to perform, stimulating the acquisition and consolidation of communication skills and abilities, removing the psychological barrier, and motivating students to take an active part in tasks. As part of the preparation of the intercultural training, a number of exercises were selected to train, develop and consolidate foreign language skills. At the same time, the basic criteria that should be used in the selection of training exercises were identified (situationality, saturation with information, time efficiency, and creation of conditions for foreign language communication in the context of professional interaction). The complex of communicative exercises of the intercultural training includes tasks of a professionally oriented nature that optimize the development of students' foreign-language communicative competence, their professionally significant skills. The work on the proposed set of exercises contributed to the enrichment of the developing, educating, organizing and educational potential of students and the improvement of their overall intercultural competence in general. Based on the experience of developing an intercultural communications training, the authors formulated methodological recommendations for conducting such trainings while teaching foreign languages.