A STUDY OF INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

Berkimbayev K.M., Kudabayeva P.A.

International Kazakh-Turkish University H.A.Yasawi, Turkestan city

The development of the modern information society is unthinkable without globalization, integration, innovation and ever-increasing intercultural interaction. These processes relate to all spheres of human life-consumer, cultural, scientific, political, economic, etc. Throughout our lives we are faced with different cultures, they could be neighbors, colleagues or acquaintances.

However, contact with them can be difficult because of the differences in the perception of the world, cultural differences, language barriers. This situation requires the development of tolerance and empathy, the ability to adapt quickly and have the flexibility of thinking, in order to successfully build communication and effective interaction. All this can be a general term "intercultural competence".

The desire to understand the definition of intercultural competence has led us to the following questions: What is the place of intercultural competence among other professional competences? How is it determined? And what is?

The analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature allows us to judge that the various aspects of intercultural competence of trainees personality were studied and presented in the theoretical writings (A. V. Annenkova, V.G. Apal’kov, K. E. Bezukladnikov, R. R. Bikiteeva, G.V. Elizarova, O. Leontovich, A. U. Muratov, O.G. Oberemko, L. P. Pavlova, M. V. Plekhanova, I. L. Pluzhnik, Y. A. Sinitsina, E. R. Khakimov, A. Artamonova, A. E. Fantini, G. Ellis, E. Jung, T. Nakayama, T. B. Rogers, Y. Sarkees, G. Triandis and others).

The concepts of foreign researchers, revealing the specificity of the process of intercultural competence formation (M. Bennet, G. Chen, D. K. Deardorff, K. Knapp, J. M. Knight, C. Kramsch, A. Moosmüller, and others). A positive attitude towards cultural differences studied L. I. Korneeva, E.I. Passov, V.V. Safonova, A. N. Utekhhina, B. Coltrane, C. K. Kikoski, E. Peterson and others, the skills of interpersonal interaction within the native and foreign culture N. D. Galskova, N. I. Gezz, G. S. Denisov, M. R. Radovel, V М. Safonova, P. V. Sysoev, J. Barkman, D. Carbaugh, K. Cushner, G. Fischer.

Based on the analysis of sources on the problem under consideration, it can be argued that intercultural competence has an important place in the structure of the core competencies. V.V. Safonova defines intercultural competence as part of communicative competence of linguistic identity [1, p. 62].

Intercultural competence, according to N. D. Galskova, N. I. Gezz, there is the ability that allows the individual to realize himself in the dialogue of cultures, i.e. in terms of intercultural communication. Its formation is carried out in relation to the development of foreign language code and in the development of cultural experience, in which you can isolate the relationship of man to himself, to the world, as well as the experience of creative activity [2, p. 46]. K. Knapp defines intercultural competence from the point of view of the linguistic approach as the ability to understand people of other cultures, as representatives of their own culture.

Also there is no consensus about the concept of intercultural competence among the scientists. The definition given in the textbook of A.P. Sadokhin is often used in domestic science: Intercultural competence is a complex of knowledge and skills that allow the individual in the process of intercultural communication to adequately assess the communicative situation effectively use verbal and nonverbal means, to put into practice the communicative intention and check up the results of communication with feedback [3, p. 78].

S. I. Garmaeva, exploring the characteristics of the formation of intercultural competence of students of non-linguistic universities by means of modern information and communication technologies, suggests that intercultural competence is the possession by students of a specific body of knowledge about the culture of the target language, ensuring cultural interaction [4, p. 96].

A.P. Sadokhin believes that intercultural competence means to understand, to appreciate and respect the contributing factors of culture and influence the perception, thought, review, and act as their own and other people, and, on this basis, the ability to build up a new scheme. This is evident in intercultural understanding, in communicative and behavioral adaptation to the behavior of representatives of other cultures, and to build new patterns of behavior based on the values and norms of different cultures [3, p. 78].

It is necessary to connect their own and others' cultural identity and in the result of exchange of good examples of action and schemes of decision to go to a new synthesis of actions. According to A. C. Novitskaya [3, p. 59], intercultural competence implies the ability to exist and to effectively carry out professional activity in multicultural world.

S. I. Garmaeva proposes to combine "competence" and "competency" in the concept of "intercultural competence", defining it as difficult personal education, including knowledge of native and foreign culture, ability and skills of practical application of their knowledge, as well as a set of personality traits that contribute to the implementation of these knowledge, skills, and, finally, the practical experience of their use in the course of interaction with representatives of other cultures [4, p. 51].

M. C. Plekhanova in her definition of intercultural competence uses the same key words (knowledge, skills, personality) [4, p. 23]. Let’s consider what foreign scientists had meant by intercultural competence. According to Moosmüller A., intercultural competence suggests that a specialist should have a complex of social skills and abilities with which he can successfully communicate with partners from other cultures, both in domestic and in a professional context [5, p. 43].

On the company's website Kwintessential, there are some definitions developed by recognized Western scholars and experts:

- “This simple definition, however, implies the ability to effectively and appropriately interact with members of another linguistic culture with their features" (Dr Alvino E. Fantini) [5, p. 102].

- “The knowledge of others; knowledge of self; skills to interpret and communication; skills of finding and/or interaction; evaluation of "other" values, beliefs, and behavior; and the relativization of himself" (Dr Darla Deardorff) [6, p. 89].

- “In order to survive in today's complicated world, people need to understand different culture. Understanding another culture helps people to adapt to an unfamiliar environment in which they occur, to live and work with other people, who are representatives of different cultures. Adaptation and a positive attitude towards to different culture encourages people to play an active role in diverse societies. Thus, the acquisition of intercultural competence, which is the ability to change their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour in such a way as to be open and flexible to other cultures, has become a critical issue for people trying to survive in the globalized society of the 21st century" (Niki Davis) [7, p. 68].

Many authors engaged in research in this field, consider not so much intercultural competence as intercultural competence and a number of similarities with her competences (intercultural, ethno-cultural, multicultural, and others)

R. R. Bikiteeva, defining intercultural competence, adds motives and values to the knowledge and skills and emphasizes its developmental function [8, p. 12]. Juliana Roth and Galina Kopteltseva defines an intercultural competence as “a stable capacity for effective and adequate communication with representatives of other cultures” [5, p. 14]. Khakimov E. R., describing intercultural competence as "the awareness of the individual in culture of other Nations", adds that it is "the ability to solve professional tasks that are associated with the ethnic identity of the people" [6, p. 65].

G. E. Potorochina, using knowledge, skills and abilities in the definition of intercultural competences, puts on the first place "the ability and willingness to dialogue of cultures" on its base [3, p. 95]. So T.V. Poshtareva defines "ethnic and cultural competence" as a personality trait, mentioning again the knowledge, skills and abilities, promoting inter-ethnic understanding and collaboration [4, p. 36]. T. A. Kolosovskaya, in her definition of "cross-cultural competence" is close to the definition of A. Y. Muratova, with the only difference that it does not mention knowledge of their own culture [1, p. 35].

L. A. Gorodetskaya allocates knowledge of the norms, rules and traditions of their own linguistic and cultural community in a separate notion of "intercultural competence", which together with cross-cultural or intercultural competence is included in the concept of "linguistic and cultural competence [2, 44]. L. Y. Danilov, defining multicultural competence approaches to intercultural competence of R. R. Bikiteeva [8, p. 12-13]. O. V. Huhlaeva, G. S. Denisova, M. R. Radovel and M. M. Volmer, unanimously describe "multicultural social competence as the ability to understand people of different cultures and interact with them [6, p. 122].

Part of the research aimed at studying patterns of intercultural competence. In the study of O.V. Vassil’kova [9, p.13], the intercultural competence is understood as a complex category, which structure consists of linguistic, cognitive, and affective components when defining the role of linguistic governing the use of text as a unit of communication in general and intercultural dialogue, in particular. Intercultural competence is formed in the process of mastering a special kind of communication - intercultural communication.

According to A. Schmid [5, p.22] intercultural competence is: 1) a fundamental acceptance of people who are different from others outside their own culture; 2) the ability to interact with them in a truly constructive manner that is free from negative attitudes (e.g., prejudice, indifference, aggression and so on); 3) the ability to create a synthesis, something that is not "my" or "your", but true, that would not be possible, if we had not combined our different views and approaches.

Thus, the analysis of various sources shows that intercultural competence is treated in research in different ways. Some researchers consider it as the ability of people of different sex and age peacefully and without mutual discrimination to exist in the same society, and others as the ability to participate in alien to this culture, others as identity, uniting knowledge and patterns of behavior, which are based on the principles of diversity of thought and awareness of cultural processes. In this regard, G. Fisher [7, p. 24] defines intercultural competence as a certain quality of personality, based on a sober awareness of world history and readiness for action.

List of references

1. Safonova, V.V. The Study of languages of international communication in the context of dialogue of cultures. - Voronezh: Origins, 2006.

2. Gal’skova, N. D., Gezz, N. I. The theory of teaching foreign languages. Linguodidactics and methodology / N. D. Halskov and N.I. Gezz. - M.: Publishing house “Academy”, 2007.

3. Sadokhin A.P. Intercultural competence: The Training Manual. М.: 2009.

4. Garmaeva, S. I. Formation of intercultural competence of students of non-linguistic universities by means of modern information and communication technologies: Chita, 2008.

5. Fantini, A. E. Exploring intercultural competence: A construct proposal. Paper presented at the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, Arlington, VA., 2000.

6. Deardorff, D. K. Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in Intercultural Education, 10, 2006.

7. Fischer G. E-mail in foreign language teaching. Towards the creation of virtual classrooms. Tübingen, Germany: Stauffenburg Medien, 2008.

8. Bikiteeva P. P. The Formation of intercultural competence of the student: personal-semantic aspect. - Orenburg, 2007.

9. Vassil’kova O. V. Intercultural competence as a component of educational competence of students of non-linguistic University // The Formation of foreign language competence of students of non-linguistic universities: Materials of Regional scientific-practical conference. April 18-19, 2012, Izhevsk; 2012.