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The search for factors and determinants of effective foreign (second) language acquisition (FLA/SLA) is an interdisciplinary problem that is becoming more and more practically important in the modern globalising world. The purpose of this study is to examine and compare the correlation between personality traits and the foreign language proficiency (FLP) level among students of various university specialties. The total sample includes 241 first- and second-year undergraduate students (74% females), of which 128 students (82.5% females) study at the Linguistics Department and 113 students (64% females) belong to other departments. All the students learn English as a primary foreign language (FL). The Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Agreeableness) were measured by the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Russian adaptation by S. Biryukov and M. Bodunov). In testing the foreign language proficiency levels, we used the traditional Academic Performance Index (semester Final Grades in English) and assessments of the foreign language proficiency levels made by English teachers in relation to their students according to the Foreign Language Proficiency Scale (10 indices and the total score) developed by the authors. To process the data in the R software environment, version 3.5.2, the methods of descriptive statistics, Cronbachs alpha and Macdonalds omega coefficients, Spearmans rank correlation analysis and Wilcoxons T -test were used. The findings of our research showed that FLP is most closely related to Openness in linguistics students and to Conscientiousness in non-linguistics students. These facts should be taken into account by the developers of programmes for psychological and pedagogical support of the FL learning process in Russian universities.

The article is devoted to the study of intercultural competence (ICC) as a psychological phenomenon including the analysis of its models, factors, and profiles. The results of an empirical study in two major multinational Russian universities (388 students, of which 254 young women and 134 young men) are presented. The aim of the study was to identify the typological profiles of the ICC and their characteristics in relation to personality traits. ICC was studied based on the “Dynamic model of intercultural sensitivity” by M. Bennet. The author’s modification of the “Scale of intercultural sensitivity” by O.E. Khuhlaev and M.Y. Chibisova in the adaptation of Y.A. Lopashenko was used for the ICC diagnostics. Personality traits were considered in the framework of the Five-Factor Model (P. Costa and R. McCrae) and were measured by a short form of the “Five-Factor Questionnaire” in Russian adaptation by M.V. Bodunov and S.D. Biryukov. We identified four ICC profiles of students provisionally called “ethnocentrists”, “negativists”, “undecided (ambivalent)”, and “ethnorelativists”. It is shown that the profiles differ not only in the correlation between the severity of parameters of the ICC, but also in personality traits. The results can be used for the design of ICC development and formation programs, based on the identified psychological specifics of ICC profiles.

The paper presents the results of a full-scale interview with Russian language teachers that teach Russian as a foreign language at the preparatory departments at multinational universities. The research findings identified the basic psychological and linguistic features that are typical for the Russian language acquisition by the students from different regions of the world (Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Arab countries).