Theory and Practice of Intercultural Communication in Language Teacher Training and Translator Training

Abstract

Intercultural communication as an academic subject was introduced into linguistic Bachelor and Master education in Russia about twenty years ago. Unlike various aspects of linguistics, English studies, British and American literature which have been part and parcel of the curriculum in foreign language departments for many decades, this subject is new both to teachers and students. Its appearance in the curriculum is due to Russia's entering the global educational environment. This subject as central theoretical component of training specialists in foreign languages requires practical manuals with reference to new educational standards. Intercultural communication as a field of study is so wide that it requires the efforts of specialists in linguistics, psychology, cultural anthropology, etc. It is but natural that teaching intercultural communication in universities is limited mostly to contrastive insights into communication between representatives of two linguo-culturesthose of Russia and the country/countries of a foreign language (mostly English). This paper discusses various ways and means of developing intercultural competence, practiced in Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education. The paper also presents the results of regular anonymous questionnaires among our students dealing with teaching intercultural communication. The authors conclude that theory of intercultural communication is firmly rooted as the subject that forms young people's cultural awareness. Our experience shows that students are genuinely interested in the subject, mostly because of its possible application to their future profession.

A new release of MOPAC incorporating the INDO/S semiempirical model with CI excited states

“…To show that the INDO/CIS/COSMO method yields reasonable accuracy for solvatochromic shifts, we focus on a set of 24 donor-acceptor-substituted polyenes for which experimental absorption spectra are available in both toluene and ethanol (Figure 4a). [74][75][76] The solvatochromic shifts in this series of molecules depends strongly on the details of the molecular structure. In donor-acceptorsubstituted polyenes, the absorption energy reaches a minimum near the cyanine limit when approximately half an electron has transferred from the donor to the acceptor.…”

Adaptation of International Students: Challenges and Solutions

“…Our study is concerned with ways and means of adapting international students to higher education in a Russian university. One of several adjustment problems mentioned in previous research is that of the language of instruction (Kulinich, Makeeva & Savitskaya 2019). The better students' command of the language, the better are their chances to feel secure in the classroom and everyday life.…”

Professional Preferences of Translators/Interpreters-to-be: Survey Results

“…The program is concluded with oral and written exams and thesis presentation. The graduates are fluent speakers of at least two foreign languages, ready to organize cross-cultural communication in different spheres and exploit various types, techniques, and technologies of translation (Kulinich, Makeeva, & Savitskaya, 2019).…”