CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN FOREIN LANGUAGE TEACHING: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The issue of cross-cultural competence in many professional spheres acquires particular importance as an inevitable factor of modern life. Awareness of specific national cultural codes and traditions provides more space for all sorts of interaction – innovative professional, scientific, educational, business, etc. Thus, the objective of the publication involves analysis of theoretical and methodological principles of cross-cultural competence formation in foreign-language teaching and description of the diagnostic and instructive potential of testing to enhance the quality of teaching оf this competence. The basic methodology of research is founded on the cognitive, comparative and cultural approaches to the problem in question. The process of analysis proper combines classifying and analytical-synthetic methods. The novelty of the research is determined by stating the role of testing as an effective tool of cross-cultural competence formation, since publications in the related area practically overlook the instructional value of testing. Practical application of the research may be done by introducing the given recommendations on the improvement of language teaching and testing procedures in the practices of various sites of international testing and serve as guidelines in designing special courses for university students of different fields of study planning to take an international language exam.