Ставропольский государственный университет

доц. O.O.Варнавская

доц. Е.Н.Хусаинова

Some problems of intercultural communication.

Modern development of a society has led to a new situation in the sphere of education. Thus it gave a positive effect in foreign language teaching. Today knowing of any foreign language is considered as the important factor of mutual understanding between peoples, and also as the integral tool of knowledge of national and cultural potential of foreign speakers.

The concept of the intercultural communication has been formulated in 1954 in E.Trejger’s and E.Holl’s work “Culture and communication. Model of the analysis” for the first time. In this work the intercultural communication was considered as the ideal purpose, which the person should achieve to adapt in the world around him better and more effective. A number of authors think of the intercultural communication as the adequate mutual understanding between individuals of different national cultures. In our opinion I.Haleeva has formulated the general definition of the intercultural communication. She determines that «it is a complex of specific processes of interaction between people, belonging to different cultures and languages».

Today supervisors regret that in practice of foreign languages teaching there are definite problems. Real purposes of the intercultural communication, social-cultural components of native and alien culture in foreign language teaching are not established.

In 1990s the new tendency in foreign language teaching was designated. Tutors declined to the necessity of cultural education by means of foreign language. Many authors come to a conclusion that the process of learning foreign language should be in close interaction with social-cultural component of alien country. Thus, we mean that students must learn both foreign language and modern life, traditions, culture of this country.

Let's note the basic purposes of social-cultural component in process of foreign language teaching. In our opinion the primary goal is to pay a great attention of the students to learning culture of the alien country and to the traditions and customs of the native country at the elementary stage of the educational process. There is no doubt that it is important to develop communicative culture of the students, their moral potential. The ethics of communication and different forms of self-expression in a society play a considerable role in the process of education.

At the same time there are some difficulties in teaching of the intercultural communication. In particular it is a barrier in understanding of foreign speaker in cultural aspect, because the specific picture of understanding of the native world is created at the student. The understanding and translating of idioms is an example of it. English proverbs and sayings are difficult for understanding by students. It is possible to get useful information about ethnic norms, rules of a social life and behavior in a society through the idioms reflecting positive or negative estimation of different features of character.

There is a big temptation to join the point of view of some scientists who think that the process of foreign language and culture teaching is in close interaction. But we believe that the first year students must learn the native culture and only after that the alien culture at foreign language.

It’s our considered opinion that it is necessary to take in account the native culture in the process of foreign language teaching. There are several reasons for it. Firstly, the using of the familiar information affects the understanding of the material in foreign language; secondly, it gives an additional opportunity for the students for self-expression by means of foreign language; finally, it raises the motivation of education on the whole. We are absolutely convinced that it is not complete list of advantages of using the components of native culture in a context of foreign communication for students at the lessons.

The organization of foreign social-cultural competence can be successful when the student realizes his own culture, national mentality, character. It is very important to know the features of interaction between alien and native cultures to choose the proper means and methods which provide the most effective formation of skills and knowledge of foreign communication.

N. Barishnikov believes that the combination of elements of native and alien culture is a necessary condition for achieving the purpose of foreign language teaching that is the development of intercultural competence at students. That is a problem. Any tutor of foreign language is not a native speaker. To learn the foreign culture we should stay in this country for a long time.

Therefore, the development of the intercultural competence at students has a formal character.

In our opinion, in speaking language education the actual problem of dialogue of cultures has appeared. It is a process where mutual understanding is shown and it becomes stronger, namely process of interaction between two individualities and two mentalities. To be good at foreign languages it is necessary to teach understanding various cultural aspects; to imagine the reality of foreign country, to sensitize in it; to define the opinion of native culture which was made by the representative of another culture; to see the constant and changeable moments in culture, i.e. traditions and innovations in various spheres of life; to understand ridiculous things in another culture; to accept new knowledge in another culture; to synthesize and generalize the personal experience in intercultural dialogue.

Thus, the development of skills to understand the culture of both native and alien country at students, as the precondition to mutual understanding, is possible only when various cultural contexts and the certain situations will be represented in literature.