INTERCULTURAL СOMPETENCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPECIALISTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF MODERN FOREIGN CONCEPTS

Abstract

The article identifies the prerequisites for the emergence of intercultural communication as a subject of research, points to the priority objectives of studies in the field of intercultural communication in the European community. It considers the issue of formation of intercultural competence as a necessary factor for the process of communication between representatives of different cultures while training professionals of a new generation. The content of the concept of “intercultural communication” is revealed, the problematic issues of its formation in the process of mastering a foreign language are analyzed in the article. Knowledge of foreign languages helps to relieve psychological barriers, to be more confident while communicating with foreign partners, and be more compatible in modern world. It has been found that certain problems associated with involvement in different cultures are likely to occur when communicating with representatives of different cultures. Communication between people of different cultures is complicated not only by different languages, but also by the fact that this process is influenced by different cultural standards.

The relevance of the concept of “intercultural competence” is substantiated, various views of Western scholars on the essence and structure of the concept of “intercultural competence” are presented in the article. The authors suggest models of intercultural competence which show that intercultural competence of future professionals is an integral part of their professional activity. Different views on the formation of a personality of a mediator between cultures are considered. The definitions of “mediator of cultures”, “bilingual personality”, “secondary linguistic personality” are given. Within the concept of “secondary linguistic personality” attention is paid to its special model, which is formed in the process of mastering a second foreign language. The article focuses on the analysis of characteristic features of a mediator of cultures.