Facilitating Intercultural Communicative Competence of Adult Learners in the Context of Higher Education Internationalisation

Abstract

The article is aimed at the assessment of the educational needs of the active older adults, studying their motives to learn English. The hypothesis of the research is that effective formation of the intercultural communicative competence in active older adults is carried out on the basis of the specially developed educational programme "Foreign language (English)" and the communicative-oriented approach in teaching within the framework of lifelong learning. In order to achieve the purpose of the research, a set of scientific methods was used: analysis, synthesis, comparing, generalisation, questioning, testing and interviewing. Respondents were 64 active older adults who were the students of the Centre of education and social activity for elderly people "Second Youth". The majority of respondents (51%) showed the increasing level of intercultural communicative competence after the completion of the English language course for ten months. The application of the suggested in the article model will improve the level of English competence, the motivation for learning English, the ability to communicate and interact in the intercultural environment, formation of positive and tolerant perception of intercultural features, the general level of self-confidence, as well as satisfaction of the need for extending communication with other people.

A Study on the Integration of Business English Teaching and Intercultural Communication Skills Cultivation Model Based on Intelligent Algorithm

“…e reduction of cultural categories will affect theory and language knowledge, as well as the formation of cultural awareness and the cultivation of communication skills between different cultures [20]. (2) Excessive emphasis on independent education of language and business knowledge, lack of intercultural integration [21]. In the current business English education, cultural knowledge is not organically combined with English and business knowledge.…”

Enhancing Foreign Language Learning Approaches to Promote Healthy Aging: A Systematic Review

“…The findings of this review indicate that learning a foreign language can bring several benefits to older people, such as subjective satisfaction (Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pfenninger & Kliesch, 2023 ; Pikhart & Klimova, 2020 ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ), enhanced cognitive skills (Grossmann et al, 2023 ; Grossmann et al, 2021 ), and motivation why to study a foreign language (Pfenninger & Kliesch, 2023 ; Sandal et al, 2019 ). Similar findings were confirmed by other research studies.…”

“…Four articles of the eight selected originated in the Czech Republic (Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pikhart & Klimova, 2020 ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ). The five remaining studies are from Austria, Germany, Ukraine, and the USA (Grossmann et al, 2023 ; Grossmann et al, 2021 ; Hertzog et al, 2020 ; Pfenninger & Kliesch, 2023 ; Sandal et al, 2019 ). The key topics of these studies were the motives behind seniors’ interest in acquiring a second language at a later age as well as the effects of FLL on the quality of life of older people.…”

“…The number of participants in the sample ranged from 60 to 205 participants. Most studies (Grossmann et al, 2021 ; Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pfenninger & Kliesch, 2023 ; Pikhart & Klimova, 2020 ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ) used experimental groups, except for two studies (Grossmann et al, 2023 ; Hertzog et al, 2020 ; Sandal et al, 2019 ), which conducted controlled trials. In addition, three articles compared experimental groups between the Czech Republic and Poland (Klimova et al, 2021a , 2021b ; Pikhart et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Two control groups; the first one consisted of 102 young adults, aged between 19 and 23 years. The second control group consisted of 102 subjects older than 55 years, similar in age to the experimental group Questionnaire survey The findings showed that FLL improved the older participants’ welfare, despite their learning outcomes The L2 acquisition can improve a senior’s quality of life Sandal et al, ( 2019 ) Ukraine To examine the motives by which older people start to learn English as well as their educational needs Experimental research was conducted with 64 active older adults, aged 60 to 89 years old, who were the students of the centre of education and social activity for elderly people “second youth” Online test, Statistical analysis, survey method, interviews, and questioning The results show the importance of different practices when teaching older adults to increase educational efficiency Teaching materials and methods should be adapted to the elderly’s educational needs …”