CC BY
10
УДК 177
Keller D. Y.
The Siberian Transport University (STU) Novosibirsk, Russian Federation Soldatova J. Y.
The Siberian Transport University (STU) Novosibirsk, Russian Federation Scientific adviser: Lomanova A. G.
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION. MULTICULTURAL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AS A WAY TO ASSIST YOUNG PEOPLE IN MASTERING THE SKILLS OF INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION Abstract: This article examines the concept of «intercultural communication». The problems of intercultural communication are considered and the components of intercultural competence are identified. The article underlines the role of multicultural education and multicultural educational environment and gives the definitions of these terms.
Key words: intercultural competence, intercultural communication, multicultural educational environment, multicultural education.
Migration processes involve people of various nationalities brought up in different cultural traditions and who speak different languages. Participants in migration processes are trying to understand representatives of host cultures. The inclusion of cultures in a dialogue and achievement of mutual understanding becomes possible due to people's openness to intercultural communicati on, their willingness to perceive differences of ethnic groups not as shortcomings, but as a condition of diversity. Therefore, it is very important to respect the other people's opinions, as well as to find ways of communicative interaction based on tolerance. However, the new global community faces such social phenomena as inequality in starting opportunities, fundamental differences in the culture and lifestyle of western and Eastern countries, the fading of many traditions, customs, as well as styles of behavior.
Therefore, in the context of globalization, the recognition of a different culture becomes an important problem. Through the education system, the knowledge of the world and your place in this world, the cognition and knowledge of «other persons» is conceptualized. The idea of other ethnic groups and their cultures is an organic component of national identity. Being based on this, the intercultural communication appears to be an important system-forming element of modern civilization.
Let's examine this phenomenon - «intercultural communication» The concept of «intercultural communication» is derived from the two concepts: «culture» and «communication».
We should take into account that any culture is an integrity which differs from others due to religious, national-state borders or a set of ethnic features.
When representatives of different cultures meet, each of them acts in accordance with his/her cultural norms. The classical definition is given in «Language and Culture» by E.M. Vereshchagin and V.G. Kostomarova, where intercultural communication is understood as equal cultural interaction between representatives of various linguistic and cultural communities, taking into account their originality and identity, which leads to the need to identify the common features based on a comparison of cultures and helps to overcome communication barriers.
The problem of intercultural communication is not reduced only to a language misunderstanding. Knowledge of an opponent's native language is of course a very important for cultural communication. But the main reason for misunderstanding is not the difference in languages, but the difference in the national consciousness of the communicants.
It is worth noting that the comprehension of images of another culture occurs either through the search of similar images of the culture or through the search of differences in the images of both cultures. Overcoming communicative obstacles can take place only if intercultural competence is achieved. The formation of intercultural competence requires the systematization of the factors contributing to overcoming communicative disruptions caused by differences in the cultural environment of countries (attitudes to the own history, social organization of communicants together with its components, such as blood relationship , self-consciousness, internal and external group, etc.).
According to the Bayram model several components of intercultural competence are distinguished:
1) The relations between representatives of different cultures with a high level of intercultural competencies should be based on openness and curiosity, the ability to abandon prejudices about the native culture and culture of other country.
2) The knowledge component includes awareness of social groups, their characteristics and practical activities in their own country and the country of the communication partner, about the general processes of social and personal interaction.
3) The talent to interpret and correlate which consists which of a person's ability to interpret a document or an event of other culture, and correlate it with the happenings of his own culture
4) The ability to master new information concerning culture and cultural practices, the ability to operate with knowledge, relationships and skills in realtime communication and interaction.
5) The critical awareness of culture or political education which means the ability to critically and on the base of certain criteria to evaluate the world-outlook, activities and results of these activities inherent in their own and other cultures.
Thus, intercultural competence is an important component appearing as a solution to various communicative problems between people from different cultures. It implies understanding the national characteristics of partners and the
ability to establish effective contacts with them.
The reality of the modern world can be presented by two tendencies: on the one hand, the processes of globalization require the levelling of special, national and traditional features and developing universal forms of value orientations and on the other hand, by opening national borders each person gets an opportunity for multilateral development. The contradiction is sharpened by the fact that market-consumer relations, changing values, socio-economic inequality of regions, lack of solidarity in the social sphere often do not provide a safe environment for people.
Much attention in the works of both teachers and culturologists is given to such concepts as "multicultural education" and "multicultural educational environment", while the term "multicultural education" also receives a slightly different interpretation in the works of different researchers. If you try to identify the phenomenon under consideration, then multicultural education is the process of student's mastering the knowledge about the different cultures of their countries and the world, understanding common and special features in their own culture and the world one with the purpose of spiritual enrichment, the development of planetary consciousness, the forming of skills for interaction in multicultural context either in the Russian or in the world community. It is clear that multicultural education is an important and integral part of multicultural environment. In addition, it is obvious that multicultural environment as a phenomenon should rather be interpreted in an ontological sense, whereas multicultural education is an epistemological phenomenon.
Thus, from my point of view, the multicultural educational environment is the space, being in which a person acquires knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as empathy and tolerance towards representatives of other cultures and ethnicities.
It is worth noting that additional evidence is not needed to prove that it is the fact that multicultural education as a functionally realized multicultural educational environment begins to play an important role for survival and development not only in Russia but also all round the world in the conditions of global anthropogenic problems and ethnic disagreements [1, p.101].
For example, the report of the international Commission of UNESCO on the global strategies of the educational development in the XXI century stressed that one of the most important functions of the educational organizations is to teach people to live together, to help them transform the existing interdependence of nations and ethnic groups into conscious solidarity. Education should contribute to the fact that, on the one hand, a person will realize his roots and thus will be able to determine his place in the world, and, on the other hand, to inculcate in him a respect to other cultures [2, p.5].
Therefore, in order to function effectively, a multicultural educational environment must be built taking into account cultural, national and religious values of all its incoming cultures. Taking into account these factors will form an environment in which the mastering of intercultural communication skills will not be a forced necessity, but a sincere desire, because people realizing that in this environment they are understood, respectfully accepted with their ethnicity and
their language, with answering respect will treat another culture, of which a language is a part.
Multiculturalism is one of the qualitative characteristics of the modern world, so education in order to be effective, is not able to be non-multicultural. The effectiveness of multicultural education, its true effectiveness can be achieved only through competent, adequate intercultural communication. In this regard, the mastery of intercultural communication skills is beginning to play a special role.
Nowadays, the world information space, almost entirely having moved into the virtual sphere, has become almost the main way of communication among young people. As any phenomenon of reality the virtual world, of course, has its drawbacks, but its advantages are so great that all significant minuses at first glance seem insignificant. The Internet provides unhindered access to the values of national and world culture, as well as brings a wide range of communication opportunities beyond any borders. Social networks the harm of which is so fashionable to discuss in all sections of society, bring appreciable benefits. The young people as the most intellectually and spiritually mobile part of society easily come into contacts, including contacts with representatives of other cultures. Thus intercultural communication skills are formed. The possibilities of the Internet, as well as the ability of young people to easily enter into new relationships can and should be competently used by teachers within the multicultural educational environment.
The life experience of each of us will allow to recall many cases when young people entering into virtual relationships began to communicate closely, which gradually led to an interest in different cultures and caused a desire to learn different languages. Thus, it should be stated that the diversity of forms and intercultural nature allow to consider the virtual information space as an educational environment.
As a real example of how the virtual educational environment became a part of the multicultural educational one contributing to the formation of intercultural communication skills, is one of the village schools in the German district of the Altai Krai. The teachers organized a virtual acquaintance of the Russian schoolchildren with the students of the German city of Schwerin. First, the young people closely communicated only at German lessons. Six months later, the Altai schoolchildren significantly enriched their German and increased their interest in the subject. The communication between the Russian teachers and their German colleagues allowed to find out that the German students in turn began to show interest in learning the Russian language. At the moment, there is a close friendship between many of them.
Summing up, we can conclude that the multicultural educational environment, an important part of which today is the virtual information space, being pedagogically well organized can help young people to master the skills of intercultural communication.
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