The formation of intercultural competence of secondary school students

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The formation of intercultural competence of secondary school students

Iryna Barantsova

Melitopol Bohdan Khmelnitsky State Pedagogical University

Resume:

Based on the analysis, the article considers different views of researchers on this concept. The author gives his own opinion on the socio-cultural significance of intercultural competence for Ukrainian society in the effective construction of intercultural dialogue. Aspects of the formation of intercultural competence of high school students are substantiated. An analysis of a number of studies in this area has shown that the structure of intercultural competence is divided into several components. From the standpoint of sociology, intercultural competence is divided into socio-perceptual, communicative and interactive components. These components are interconnected and interdependent, the development of one component leads to the development of another. The article emphasizes that the education of universal values is the main task of educational work, with a special role in educating tolerance among students, personal and spiritual development, coexistence and acceptance of pluralism of cultures from the standpoint of the idea "we are all different but equal".

Key words:

intercultural competence; intercultural communication; formation of intercultural competence; high school students; socio-cultural space.

Анотація:

Баранцова Ірина. Формування міжкультурної компетентності учнів середньої школи.

У статті проаналізовано погляди вчених на поняття «міжкультурна компетентність». Розкрито позицію її авторів щодо соціокультурного значення міжкультурної компетентності для українського суспільства в аспекті побудови ефективного діалогу культур. Обґрунтовано необхідність формування міжкультурної компетентності учнів середньої школи.

На підставі аналізу наукової літератури, зокрема соціологічної, визначено структуру міжкультурної компетентності, у якій можна виділити такі взаємопов'язанітавзаємозалежні компоненти, як соціально-перцептивний, комунікативнийтаінтерактивний.

Показано, що розвиток одного з компонентів сприяє розвитку іншого.

У контексті дослідження акцентовано на основному завданні освітньої та виховної роботи - вихованні загальнолюдських цінностей. Водночас особлива увага має приділятися особистісному та духовному розвитку учнів, вихованню в них толерантності, співіснуванню з іншими та прийняттю плюралізму культур з позиції «усі ми різні, але рівні».

Ключові слова:

міжкультурнакомпетентність; міжкультурна комунікація; формування міжкультурноїкомпетентності; учні середньої школи; соціокультурний простір. intercultural competence ukrainian society

Setting of the problem

In the modern era of globalization, the ability of an individual to successfully interact with representatives of different cultures plays a very important role. This is due to the fact that humanity does not want to be limited to communication within one socio-cultural space and thus there is a need to go beyond the boundaries of this space (territorial, ethnic, religious, political, historical, etc.). This basis made it possible to single out one of the main tasks of a holistic pedagogical process - the creation of an environment, the allocation and observance of conditions for the effective formation of intercultural communication, tolerant intercultural communication with representatives of other ethnic groups.

Analysis of the research publications

The introduction of the concept of “intercultural communication” dates back to 1954, when it was first used in the work of G. Treiger, and E. Hall “Culture and Communication. Analysis Model”(Furmanova, 2011). However, the main period of the global study of this definition falls on the 90s of the XX century.

The analysis of psychological and pedagogical research has shown that the concepts of “intercultural communication” and “intercultural competence” are interconnected.

Intercultural competence is understood as the ability of a person to “productive interaction with the carrier of other cultures, and, consequently, the language” (ibid). According to J. Banks, intercultural competence is knowledge, practical skills and attitudes necessary for use in a diverse cultural environment (2006). Intercultural competencies are a combination of at least three components: social experience, learning and self-reflection (ibid). The general concept of intercultural communication implies the interaction of subjects, groups and even organizations that belong to different cultures. It is important to understand and realize the significance of cultural differences, skillfully and adequately take them into account in the process of intercultural communication (ibid).

The principles of tolerant intercultural interaction include:

- “understanding the cultural basis of the values of representatives of different nationalities;

- respect for the religion of representatives of various religions;

- recognition of the right of representatives of other cultures to differ from you” (Nikolaeva, 2010).

K. Knapp and A. Knapp-Potthoff (1990) consider intercultural competence as “.. the relationship of an individual with another culture, overcoming ethnocultural centrism and a certain complex of analytical and strategic abilities that expands the interpretive spectrum of an individual in the process of interpersonal interaction with representatives of another culture”.

According to A. Thomas (1993), intercultural competence is “.. an expression of the ability to understand, respect, appreciate and productively use the conditions and factors of perception, judgment, awareness and action in relation to oneself and other people in conditions of mutual adaptation. The boundaries of this ability can vary from manifestations of tolerance to incompatible concepts, to the development of forms of communication and cooperation based on joint actions, and to the creation of a viable model of orientation in the world, perception and structure of the world”.

If we consider intercultural competence in the socio-cultural aspect, we can see that the problem of interaction and mutual understanding between representatives of different cultures is becoming ever larger and makes more and more demands on individuals for personal characteristics. Namely, the requirements are not only for knowledge of a nonnative language at a high level, but also for knowledge of psychology, cultural characteristics, history, traditions, etc. A benevolent attitude towards culture is the duty of every citizen of Ukraine. Understanding other nations, tolerant and respectful attitude to their national values and traditions, at the same time preserving their cultural heritage for the next generation is a very important issue today.

In Ukraine, theneedfor intercultural communication is realized through the expansion of international relations,thedevelopment of international trade, the fullness of political, economic, social changes, as well as scientific and technological progress, scientific and cultural exchange with other countries. This can be done thanks to intercultural contacts and interlingual interaction.

In the international arena, Ukraine is recognized as a country pursuing a consistent domestic policy aimed at ensuring tolerance, interfaith and intercultural harmony between representatives of all nationalities living on the territory of Ukraine.

In addition, a special role is assigned to the program of interculturality. It represents a unique dialogue platform for intercultural communication of students representing different ethnic groups. Its work is aimed at preventing even the minimal manifestation of nationalism, awareness of the value and uniqueness of each people inhabiting the Ukrainian land, its culture.

In the education system of Ukraine, there is a model of "dual unity of language policy", which is based on the requirement to study the Ukrainian language as the state language. And, of course, knowledge of the English language plays an important role, because it occupies a dominant position throughout the world.

Thus, in Ukraine, intercultural competence is realized through the formation of tolerance, the desire for ethnic identity of representatives of different cultures, the acceptance and respect of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity and religion.

An analysis of a number of studies in this area showed that the structure of intercultural competence is distinguished by several components. From the standpoint of sociology, intercultural competence is divided into social-perceptual, communicative and interactive components. These components are interconnected and interdependent, the development of one of the components leads to the development of another (Ageeva, 2015).

The communicative component includes the ability of an individual to find contact with representatives of other cultures, language competence, the presence of a positive dynamics of attitude towards the language and culture of representatives of other cultures.

The individual psychological component can include the personal qualities of an individual, such as tolerance, respect for a communication partner, subjective experience, stress resistance, understanding and acceptance of differences in a “foreign” culture, minimizing the adaptation process.

The cognitive component of intercultural competence is considered through the thinking and knowledge, skills and communication skills of a person. Proficiency in two languages demonstrates versatility, intelligence, knowledge and is the result of intercultural competence.

The aim of the article is to substantiate the main aspects of formation of intercultural competence of secondary school students.

Methodology and research methods. During the study, the following methods were used: analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature on the research problem, a pedagogical experiment, a method for diagnosing the communicative attitude of V. Boyko.

The main part. In the aspect of our research, we adhere to a model that includes such components as communicative, individual psychological and cognitive.

The analysis of the educational work of Melitopol secondary schools showed that the work of the teaching staff on the formation of intercultural competence of students begins from the period of admission to schools and until its graduation. It should be noted that from the moment of graduation from school, the process of formation of intercultural competence does not end. This is a continuous process, and the emphasis in the formation of intercultural competence will be shifted towards selfeducation, self-improvement.

The education of universal values is the main task of educational work, while a special role is given to the education of tolerance among students, personal and spiritual development, coexistence and acceptance of the pluralism of cultures from the position "we are all different, but equal”.

The entire teaching staff (school administration, socio-psychological service, class teachers, and subject teachers) through class hours, socio- psychological trainings, thematic actions, conversations, challenges in social networks, parent meetings, pedagogical council, etc. implement this work. It can be said with confidence that the work on the formation of intercultural competence in the conditions of an educational institution has an integrated approach, because all subjects of the educational process (students, parents, and teachers) are involved in it.

In order to diagnose communicative competence, we used the technique of V. Boyko. At the same time, the main criterion of intercultural competence - tolerance - was taken into account. The study involved 32 students, of which 18 were girls and 14 were boys. The interpretation of the results shows that a larger percentage - 66% falls on the average level of development of tolerance among high school students, which manifests itself in communicative interaction with representatives of other ethnic groups. Based on this indicator, it can be assumed that educational work on the formation of intercultural competence in a secondary school gives positive results. However, the low level of tolerance formation was 25%, which indicates the need to continue purposeful work in the direction of reducing this level.

Our observations during pedagogical activities at school showed that in high school introversion is replaced by extraversion, increases the circle of communication and self-confidence, as well as interest in other people, so communicative activity is extremely important in shaping the personality of high school students. The main point of this age is self-consciousness, which L. Vygotsky defined as a social consciousness transferred inside (Nazarenko, 2010). According to “Psychological Dictionary” selfconsciousness is a person's awareness of himself as a person, his activities as a member of society, relationships with other people, character traits, own actions and deeds, motives, goals, mental, moral, physical qualities, etc. The high school student joins the system of relationships and interactions with other people (not only parents and teachers), and thus distinguishes himself as a personality, opposes himself to others, but also inextricably connects himself with others. All this is evidence of the development of his self-consciousness, the formation of “I-image” as an evaluative-cognitive system, as a level of self-consciousness at which a person achieves the most mature awareness of the essence of his personality, his orientation.

Senior school age is the period most favorable for the development of moral and ideological attitudes, the system of worldviews. In this regard, we can assume that the worldview of high school students act as a kind of intellectual catalyst for the assimilation of the most socially and culturally significant achievements, cultural heritage, including the culture of another people.

In the senior school age the formation of cognitive processes continues, thought is finally combined with the word, as a result of which mental and other cognitive processes are regulated. Increased opportunities for cognition contribute to the rapid accumulation of knowledge. According to Piaget's theory of development, a sign of cognitive changes in a child during this period is the development of thinking at the level of formal operations, which includes thinking about possibilities, comparing reality with those events that may or may not happen (Bigych, 2013). This type of thinking, as Thomas emphasizes (1993), is necessary for abstract thinking, independent of the existing at a given time specific environmental conditions. As a result, high school students have the ability to plan, anticipate, and focus on the possible future in cognitive processes, which, in our opinion, affects the motivation to learn a foreign language.

The so-called “intellectual adulthood” is actively growing in high school students (Galskova, 2009): they strive to know something and be able to act in reality. This stimulates the development of cognitive activity, the content of which goes beyond the school curriculum (clubs, electives, sections, the Small Academy of Sciences, youth associations, etc.).

Compared to middle school students, high school students show more independence in classes, can prepare a report on any subject, use scientific publications, encyclopedic dictionaries, and compare information from different sources. Thus, learning acquires a special meaning and turns into selfeducation. We also want to emphasize that the cognitive activity of senior students is characterized by such skills and abilities as having sufficient information, application of learned material in new conditions, ability to integrate and synthesize information, ability to organize perception of information, reason, think critically, develop curiosity and cognitive interests.

Along with the development of abstract and generalizing thinking in high school students, there is a transition to higher levels of speech, vocabulary enrichment, the formation of a general culture of both oral and written speech. However, this age stage of development is not characterized by significant quantitative changes, and therefore Galskova (2009) calls it the age of “hidden” qualitative changes in the development of speech and thinking of the student. On the other hand, it is the age of active communicative development of speech.

In modern research (I. Zymniaya, V. Malakhova, A. Markova, G. Elizarova) the concepts of “speech age” and “communicative age” are used. The criterion for distinguishing speech age is the development of speech functions, and the main criterion of communicative age is a new formation in the system of communicative tasks and in the way of solving each of them. Elizarova (2005) defines speech age as a period that separates one qualitatively new stage in the development of speech from another.

From this point of view, in the senior school age from 14-15 years, the function of perspective selfregulation continues to develop and the generalizing function connected with production of new values appears, and in general, speech abilities, including foreign languages, appear already formed. A slightly different state of affairs emerges in relation to the communicative age. As mentioned above, senior students are characterized by a developed motivational sphere, formed a structure of selfawareness, and increased communication needs. Thus, the senior school age is a period of active communicative development, when the tasks of speech activity are differentiated influence, regulation of communication, exchange of meanings and self-expression.

According to our observations, this can be clearly seen in senior students. Their communicative development reflects not only progressive changes in the ability to build coherent utterances on the basis of sufficient vocabulary and knowledge of language rules, but also the development and relationship of all types of speech activity (speaking, listening, reading, writing); development of speech mechanisms; development of ways of formation and formulation of thought and their conscious differentiation for different conditions of communication, the role of communicative attitude in receptive types of speech activity (reading and listening) increases. However, at the same time, as pedagogical practice shows, in the organization of educational activity the character of that educational task which is put before the student, in particular, its psychological maintenance, operational structure, and practical orientation acquires importance. It is significant that there are positive changes in the development of high school students' ability to communicate with different partners in different situations, using adequate language tools and methods of influence.

The considered features of mental and speech- communicative development of senior pupils testify that it is a stage of qualitative changes. It brings the subject closer to the optimum of its capabilities and, in our opinion, is most favorable for the formation of intercultural competence as the ability to effectively use acquired knowledge and skills in various situations of foreign language communication, taking into account cultural, social and psychological contexts. Obviously, in the conditions of student's actualization of his own personal attitudes, consistent orientation of the educational process on the cognitive and social interests of high school students, their needs, desire to communicate, including in foreign language, the successful implementation of the strategic goal of learning intercultural communication can be achieved.

Conclusion

The fact that tolerance is the main criterion for intercultural communication is beyond doubt. In addition, the more representatives of different ethnic groups, cultures are in an educational institution, the higher will be tolerance, the more developed empathy and social susceptibility of other people. Our study is the starting point for finding new ways to improve the level of tolerance as an indicator of the development of communicative competence of representatives of different cultures.

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Information about the author: Barantsova Irina Oleksandrivna

nim.fil.mdpu@gmail.com Bohdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University 20 Hetmans'ka St., Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, 72312, Ukraine

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