Lapayeva P.I., Kuptikbayeva M.D.

L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan

 

Communicative competence formation of polylingual personality in modern polycultural conditions of Kazakhstan

 

Cтатья посвящена вопросу формирования полилингвальной личности cо сформированной коммуникативной компетенцией в условиях современной языковой ситуации Казахстана.

Ключевые слова: полилингвальная личность, языковая ситуация, языковая политика, триединство языков, полилингвальность, языковая личность, коммуникативная компетенция.

 

The article is devoted to the formation of polylingual personality with formed communicative competence in the conditions of modern language situation of Kazakhstan.

Key words: polylingual personality, linguistic situation, language policy, trinity of languages, multilingualism, linguistic personality, communicative competence.

 

Kazakhstan, remaining the multi- ethnic and poly-confessional state, endures today a complicated and controversial period of cultural and linguistic development, as evidenced by the prevailing linguistic situation, the characteristics of which are given in the Concept of the Language Policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

It should be noted that the core idea in almost all the documents in the field of linguistic policy is necessity of mastering several languages.

Multilingualism, as E. D. Suleymenova mentions, is the indisputable and essential characteristic of Kazakhstan language situation. It is created by active participation of Kazakh, Russian, English and other languages in it. The Kazakh, Russian and English language competences are natural requirement reflection of practical and professional possession of several languages for receiving real chances to take up more prestigious social and professional status in society. [2,117]

In this paper we dwell on the consideration of specialist’s communicative competence as a component of a unified socio-professional competence under the conditions of polylinguality.

Contemporary social and political realities of Kazakhstan as a sovereign state require language policy that meets the needs of multiethnic population and takes into account the linguistic, demographic and political situation.

Most boldly this problem in relation to a language situation of modern Kazakhstan is reflected in the Message of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev "New Kazakhstan in the new world" of 2009, where in order to ensure the competitiveness of the country and its citizens proposed phased implementation of the cultural project "Trinity of languages", according to which we need to develop the three languages: Kazakh as the state language, Russian as a language of international communication and English as the language of successful integration into the global economy. [4]

Trilingual education, and as a result, mastering foreign languages, will encourage students’ cultural interaction. Polylingual education is focused, organized, normalized triune process of training, education and the polylingual personality development based on the simultaneous acquisition of several languages as a "fragment" of socially significant human experience, embodied in language knowledge and skills, language and speech activities, as well as emotional and valuable respect to the languages and cultures. Polylingual personality - is an active speaker of several  languages [3, 83].

There is an advantage of multilingual education - students form all the components of intercultural communicative competence. Much attention is given to the general trends of the contemporary language situation in Kazakhstan: the revival of interest in the national languages, and national cultures, the desire to expand the social functions of the state language in various areas of communication.  [5].

This implies that polylingual personality is a multicultural personality. That is why a multicultural personality is defined as "an individual with a strong linguistic consciousness." [4]

Yu.N.Karaulov defines "the linguistic personality" as a combination of abilities and the characteristics of the person causing creation and reproduction by him of speech works, texts which differ with degree of structural and language complexity, depth and accuracy of reflection of the reality determined by a target orientation. The linguistic personality as an object of linguistic study is considered within an integrated approach.

The link between language and the individual consciousness of personality is fixed in the concept of linguistic personality. Any personality proves not only through substantive work, but through communication, which is impossible without language and speech. Human speech inevitably reflects his inner world, is a source of knowledge and his personality. Moreover, "it is obvious that a person can not be studied out of language ...", since it is difficult to understand a person, without hearing what he says. But it is also impossible to "consider language in isolation from person," as without speaking the language, he is nothing more than a system of signs. Hence, linguistic identity is a kind of full-scale presentation of personality, containing mental, social, and ethical, and other components, but refracted through its language, its discourse [1, 93].

L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University takes the I place in the General rating of the best versatile higher education institutions of Kazakhstan. Its multicultural space is formed, first, by a factor of a multinational student's contingent, secondly, trilingual education: Kazakh, Russian, and English. There are 11300 students of different nationalities studying in ENU. In the educational process almost all faculties introduce separate training courses of profile type which are read in English.

Multilingual education serves the basis of polylingual personality formation, whose level of development determines the positive personal self-realization of person in the modern conditions of social relations, its competitiveness and social mobility.

In its turn, student as a man of education should possess the following characteristics (I.A.Zimnyaya): not only preserve his/her own dignity but also the dignity of another person; an adequacy of behavior, a culture of social and professional interaction; an observance of ethnosociocultural traditions, customs, norms and etiquette in mono- and intercultural interaction. A willingness of using general cultural knowledge, an aspiration of a specialist to continue personal cultural development, value-semantic foundations understanding of the modern world and his/her country, all these aspects possess a value for a specialist. [6] These characteristics determine the overall unified socio-professional competence, they are interconnected and interdependent. A culture of social and intercultural interaction is of paramount importance since it affects the success of the activities carried out in an international environment.

Farther, we would like to focus on the definition of intercultural communicative competence. Intercultural communicative competence is an ability to reach an understanding with the representatives of different cultures on the basis of knowledge, understanding and respect for universal rules and conduct standards that constitute international communication etiquette even having a mediocre knowledge of foreign languages. Intercultural communicative competence enables the individual to enter into a relationship with other cultures - to take into account their cultural values, to tolerate the various manners of communication, styles of behavior, lifestyles, customs, traditions, etc.

The notion "communicative competence" was first introduced by N. Chomsky [7] for denoting the multicomponent ability of effective communication in target language. Modern Russian and Western researchers developing the idea of N. Chomsky distinguish the following components of communicative competence: linguistic (lexical and grammatical), discursive, sociolinguistic, sociocultural and strategic components.

Communicative competence provides an opportunity to realize cross-cultural communication. In turn, for effective intercultural communication future specialist must have formed intercultural communicative competence. Accordingly, in order to achieve mutual understanding with representatives of other cultures student must use in practice the knowledge of cultural rules and norms determining the success of intercultural interaction. Hence, intercultural communicative competence in the process of intercultural dialogue enables a person to select desired language and speech services in accordance with the social and cultural context, to create discourses, to use sociolinguistic means, to elect communication strategy and tactics allowable to achieve these goals that increases the efficiency of intercultural interaction.

In addition, all the components of communicative competence are interrelated and interdependent, for example, without such core competencies as linguistic and discursive competencies, functions of other competencies - intercultural, socio-cultural, socio-linguistic and strategic – can not be carried out.

In conditions of professional activity realization of a specialist in a foreign language basic communicative competences, such as linguistic and discursive competences, allow him/her to build his/her statements completely, logically, coherently, clearly, linguistically correctly and adequately understand the speech of others. Low formation level of linguistic and discursive competences negatively affects the quality of the ideas formulation and, as a result, the quality of work in progress and communication in cross-cultural conditions. Insufficient formation level of one of the competences can cause a reaction of rejection and alienation that is not conducive to productive activities performed by a specialist. Acquaintance with country’s socio-cultural realities and civilization values raises a level of the specialist’s overall culture, his polymathy and education and is directly related to his personal competence.

Communicative competence today obtains increasingly significant character, as it provides a framework for occupational mobility, familiarizes future specialist with standards of world achievements, creates conditions for professional fulfillment based on tolerance and communication.

For the above mentioned reasons, the multilingualism and polylingual education are the command of time, as the whole world is polytechnic and polylingual. Students of the Eurasian National University understand and share opinion that for achievement of a consent and mutual understanding between people, overcoming of interethnic communication difficulties, cross-cultural communication it is important to study languages and culture of people. In its turn, it is intercultural communicative competence that enables a person to select appropriate language and speech services in accordance with the social and cultural context, to create discourses, to use sociolinguistic means, to elect communication strategy and tactics allowable to achieve these goals that increases the efficiency of intercultural interaction.

 

References:

1.                      Караулов Ю.Н Язык и  личность. М.,1989. – С.3-8.

2.                      Сулейменова Э.Д. О казахстанской лингвистике: к десятилетию независимости Казахстана /Э.Д. Сулейменова // Вестник Казахского Национального университета им. Аль-Фараби (серия: филологическая). – 2001 - № 16 – С. 19 – 30. 

3.                     Сыродеева  А.А.  Поликультурное образование: Учебное - методическое пособие. - М.,2001.

4.                      www.baiterek.kz/index.php?journal=28&page=386. «Триединство языков».

5.                      www.edu.gov.kz. «Концепция развития иноязычного образования РК». - Алматы: КазУМОиМЯ, 2006 г.

6.                     Ирисханова К.М. Межкультурная коммуникативная компетенция и учебно-методический комплекс для вузов неязыковых специальностей. МГЛУ. 2007.

7.                     Adler P.S. Culture Shock and the Cross-cultural Learning Experience // Readings in Intercultural Education. Pittsburgh, 1972.