Oksana Koleichyk,

Chernihiv State Institute of Economics and Management

Olena Mestharm

Chernihiv State Technological University

UKRAINE

The ways to develop intercultural competence in students

The paper below shows how to develop students' intercultural competence by promoting their intercultural skills and cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity to the foreign language (FL) and culture at tertiary level. It specifies the objectives of intercultural education, defines the components of intercultural competence and stages of its development, explores the assessment of intercultural competence.

English language teaching is based on the idea that the goal of the English language acquisition is communicative competence: the ability to use English language correctly and appropriately to accomplish communication goals. The desired outcome of the English language learning is the ability to communicate competently, not the ability to use the English language exactly as a native speaker does.

In learning any foreign language, a cultural focus is approached. Language and culture are inextricably linked. Culture is not something outside a person who learns. All people belong to and are moulded by a series of interlocking cultures, which influence the way we view the world, make decisions and interact with others.

Consequently, the primary goal of in teaching a language and culture inseparably is the promotion of intercultural\cross-cultural communication. It should be noted here that the terms "intercultural" and "cross-cultural" are interchangeable, and usually refer to the meeting of two cultures or two languages across the political boundaries of nation-states [4, 81]. In FL teaching a cross-cultural approach seeks ways to understand the other culture by learning his\her national language. Intercultural\cross-cultural communication which is the ultimate goal in teaching foreign languages is regarded as a dialogue between cultures of target and native language nations. Some scholars even make the dialogue between cultures and civilization a principle [8].

Objectives of intercultural education

The socio-cultural component gains special significance and runs through the whole of the Curriculum designed for the training of would-be teachers of English [3]. It aims to foster positive attitudes and feelings toward learning the target language and the culture of the English-speaking world. In view of that the main objectives of teaching provide that graduates should demonstrate ability to deal with socio-cultural aspects of communication in the target language situations and show sufficient insight into the cultures of the English-speaking peoples to incorporate cultural information in their professional activities.

Having laid the emphasis on communicative competence as the major objective in foreign language teaching, we should bear in mind that the latter includes three types of competence - communicative, linguistic and socio-cultural.

Let's dwell upon one of the principal goals of teaching - socio cultural competence, which includes sociolinguistic competence, socio cultural knowledge and intercultural (cross-cultural) skills. The term "socio cultural" (used in the Common European Framework) is often replaced by the term "intercultural" [2] which defines the notion of competence more precisely. In the following paper they are used in the similar meaning.

Sociolinguistic competence is considered an aspect of communicative language competence concerning the rules of style, directness, appropriateness and register. It also includes socio-pragmatic rules and conventions covering turn-taking and politeness conventions. Socio cultural knowledge is considered part of general competence (knowledge of the world). Intercultural (cross-cultural) skills include:

the ability to bring the culture of origin and the foreign culture into relations with each other;

cultural sensitivity and the ability to identify and use a variety of strategies for contact with those from other cultures;

capacity to fulfill the role of cultural intermediary between one's own culture and the foreign culture and to deal effectively with intercultural misunderstanding and conflict situations.

The process of intercultural acquisition should be organized so that it could enable students to gain a deeper insight into the historical, social and cultural background of English-speaking people' and develop a heightened understanding of the English-speaking peoples' culture'. The teacher should stimulate the students' willingness and readiness to explore various aspects of social and cultural life using the target language as a medium.

Intercultural acquisition is organized according to the specific features of each year of study, but one of the main objectives in all years should lie in molding students' intercultural and trans-cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity (the latter refers to knowing and respecting the norms of other culture). Increased understanding of culture will lead to greater respect, tolerance and acceptance of the other culture by students. As a result it will reinforce or even create an insider's view of the target culture.

Stages of Developing intercultural awareness

Language teaching is to be cultural oriented. Teachers of English should cultivate the kinds of classroom activities that foster cultural awareness along with language learning. In our view, there might be defined four stages of shaping students' cultural awareness: 1) information stage; 2) consciousness-raising stage; 3) practicing stage; 4) reinforcement stage.

In fact, to become a proficient language learner a student should have the ability to spot and realize similarities and differences between cultures of the target language and his own one.

By setting an example illustrating stage 1 we would like to furnish the Cultural Quiz here which is often given to the students of the third or fourth year of studying "Tourism". For the purpose of clarifying what the Ukrainian students feel about another distant' culture, what background and general knowledge they have, what they know about traditions and customs characteristic of the Middle East, we suggest their attention Cultural Quiz "Do you know the Arab World?" which was designed in the form of a multiple-choice test [6].

Assessment of Intercultural Competence

One of the most important issues here is the assessment of intercultural competence which, in view of some scholars, involves five elements: attitudes, knowledge, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, critical cultural awareness/political education [7].

The most difficult issue is assessing students' attitudes, weather they become tolerant or not towards other culture.

Assessment in terms of producing a record of learners' competence, and not in terms of tests and traditional examinations, may have take the shape of portfolio approach [1]. It will have three parts: the Passport, the Language Biography, the Dossier.

The Passport gives an overview of the individual's proficiency in different languages; in terms of skills and the common reference levels in the Common European Framework.

The Language Biography includes information on linguistic and cultural experience gained. The Dossier provides the selection of materials to illustrate achievements.

To our mind the introduced techniques and activities that promote cross-cultural awareness will enable students to get to know spoken English, will offer topics for discussion encouraging them to use the English language creatively. It will obviously be conductive to the achievements of the main teaching goal - intercultural communication, and no wonder as the comprehension of culture and the improvement of one's own nature is the essence of human existence.

REFERNCES

1. Byram, M. and Zarate, G. 1997. Definitions, objectives and assessment of socio cultural competence. In: M.Byram, G.Zarate and G.Neuner. Sociocultural Competence in Language and Teaching. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

2. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. - Council of Europe. Cambridge: CUP, 2001.

3. Curriculum for English Language Development in Universities and Institutes. (Draft 2)/2001, Kyiv: The British Council.

4. Kramsch C. Language and Culture. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. - 134p.

5. Olyinyk T. 2008. Teaching EFL to students: Cross-cultural Issues // Jendli A., Coombe, C., Troudi, S. (2008)/ Best Practice in English language teaching. Dubai: TESOL Arabia Publications, p. 113-136.

6. Сафонова В.В. Культуроведение в системе современного языкового образования//Иностр. языки в школе. - 2001. 3. - с. 17-24

7. Byram M. 2009. Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. - Retrieved from

http://iaet.dpb.dpu.dk/infodok/spogforum/Espr18/byram.htm