FORMS AND METHODS OF INTERCULTURAL TRAINING

Abstract

The article is devoted to the research of training methods as an effective means of forming intercultural communicative competence in the process of teaching a course of intercultural communication. Intercultural competence is seen as the ability to understand, respect, appreciate, and productively use the cultural conditioning of perceptions and activities of oneself and others. The essence and complex structure of intercultural competence, components of its cognitive, affective and behavioral components are studied. Intercultural training is considered as specially designed activity that aims to have a positive impact on the attitudes, knowledge and activities of participants in relation to successful interaction with people with other cultural orientations. The main characteristics of general cultural and culture-specific, informative and empirical types of intercultural trainings are analyzed. The close relationship between communication and culture and new approaches to the organization of intercultural training are determined. Instructive, interactive and collaborative methods of teaching intercultural communication are systematized, which allow mastering such concepts as culture, intercultural interaction, ethnocentrism, stereotype, etc. not only on the cognitive, but also on the emotional-affective and behavioral levels. Such training methods as critical incident, positive incident, storytelling, simulation games and role-playing exercises are considered. The main goal of these exercises is to learn to understand and practice intercultural contacts from a self-critical perspective as an opportunity for successful interaction. Conducting simulation and role-playing exercises allow acquiring such competencies as tolerance of various interests, flexibility, empathy, impartiality, low level of ethnocentrism, and respect for other cultures. Intercultural trainings are able to form the ability to cooperate, negotiate, build relationships with representatives of other cultures, as well as serve as a motivating factor for initiating further intercultural projects.