The Influence of Cultural Competence on the Process of Learning Foreign Languages among Students of Higher Education Institutions in Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to clarify the influence of cultural competence on the process of learning foreign languages among students of higher education institutions of Ukraine. Methods include: analysis of relevant scientific literature; classification of the structure of cultural competence; classification of the process of learning foreign languages as a set of certain competencies; cluster analysis. The research results include the theoretical and methodological substantiation of, firstly, the essence and structure of cultural competence, and secondly, the characteristics of the process of learning foreign languages as a set of certain competencies. According to the author's definition, cultural competence is an integrative quality of a person, which involves knowledge of world and national cultural features, the ability to analyze and evaluate their manifestations, the ability to build interpersonal relations on the basis of tolerance and impartiality. It includes: essential aspect (knowledge and understanding of the general cultural foundation); value aspect (understanding of the situation in the context of cultural values and attitudes); activity aspect (setting and performing tasks within cultural reality); interpersonal aspect (adequate interaction in cultural context situations). Learning foreign languages involves mastering such types of competences as: linguistic competence (ability and willingness to use knowledge, skills and abilities of a phonetic, orthographic, orthographic, grammatical, lexical, semantic nature); socio-communicative competence (ability and willingness to use knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for effective use of language in a social context, in particular linguistic markers of social relations, rules of politeness, idiomatic expressions, registers of communication, dialect and accent); pragmatic competence (ability and willingness to use knowledge, skills and skills of a discursive and functional nature). The conclusions of the study confirm: a quarter of teachers believe that the influence of cultural competence on the study of foreign languages among students of higher education institutions of Ukraine is at a level lower than average; half of the teachers are of the opinion that such influence is characterized by an average level; the last quarter believes that the influence of cultural competence on learning foreign languages is characterized by a higher than average level. Thus, three quarters of modern teachers recognize the importance of involving the cultural foundation of a foreign language for its comprehensive mastery.