THE INTERCULTURAL POTENTIAL OF GERMAN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS (ELEMENTARY LEVEL)

Abstract

The article specifies the role of textbook and teacher’s activities when forming intercultural competences of students and determines the didactic potential of country-specific and culturological information contained in the German language textbooks for the elementary level of education (A1): “Im Klartext” and “Немецкий язык: шаг за шагом”. In the present study we analyzed the textbooks used in MGIMO University for teaching students German as a second foreign language in order to identify their potential for the development of intercultural competence, that is to identify in their content important information about the culture of the countries of the studied language, traditions, customs and realities. The authors present some types of didactic solutions used in German classes working with these textbooks. As a result of the study it is proved that the analyzed textbooks correspond to the modern trends of intercultural orientation, reflect the facts of another culture and create the potential to compare them with the facts of native culture.