Formation of Students’ Intercultural Awareness when Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language

The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that intercultural communication in the current conditions is becoming more important than ever, and it requires two types of competence from younger generation: linguistic and socio-cultural competence. Improving the intercultural awareness of students is a key factor in the development of their socio-cultural competence, and it significantly changes the very nature of intercultural communication.

Aim. To present a systematic description of the concept of intercultural awareness formation, which encourages students to become proficient in a foreign language in educational, cognitive, developmental and pedagogic aspects.

The research methods were: analysis, synthesis, systematization, generalization of the results.

The scientific novelty / theoretical and/or practical significance. The research presents the concept of fostering students’ intercultural awareness as an innovative approach to teaching Russian as a major to Chinese students. The results of this research are already being applied in the classes with students in the teaching of Russian language at the Xi’an Petroleum University in lectures, educational programs, teaching aids and textbooks.

Results. The paper shows that intercultural awareness is one of the criteria for successful teaching of a foreign language, and it should be purposefully cultivated in the learning process.

Conclusion. The principles of introducing culture components in teaching Russian as a foreign language for intercultural awareness development are proposed. Factors related to social values, factors of the language environment and non-verbal factors linked with communicators in the development of cultural awareness of students are emphasized. The approaches to the planning of a foreign language lesson are shown. The paper offers methods of forming intercultural awareness in teaching Russian as a foreign language.

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