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The aim of our research was to find out, to what extent are university students of humanities at the University of Presov theoretically prepared for intercultural communication. The research was conducted at three faculties of this university: Greek-Catholic Theological Faculty, Faculty of Orthodox Theology and Faculty of Education. We have chosen the quantitative method of survey, which consisted of twelve questions related to topics of family and reproductive health in Islam. We have formulated three research hypotheses. We assumed, that students will have better knowledge of traditional conception of marriage and family in Islam than of current attitudes of Muslims towards questions connected to admissibility of using the methods of assisted reproduction, genetic engineering in the case of elimination of the chromozome, which is the carrier of genetically transmitted disease, or of admissibility of the interruption. This assumption has been confirmed. The second hypothesis about Muhammad´s attitude towards feminine infanticide has not been confirmed, and therefore it has not been shown, that students are prone to agree with the claim, that the answer to this question of it´s performance is upon personal decision of the father. The third hypothesis on the usage of the methods of assisted reproduction, genetic engineering in humans and interruptions, claimed, that the results would show those concepts, which are normally rooted in our culture and that say, that religious faith excludes, respectively does not accept helping humans by the scientific progress, has been confirmed. Our research was based on the project Bioethics of Reproductive Health in Islam: Basis, Discussion and Challenges, VEGA num. 1/0585/18, which is unique both regarding contemporary Slovak research, its past research and that of overall European context. The research on the topic of theoretical preparedness for intercultural communication has been conducted by us at five Slovak public universities. In this article we present the results of one of these. Our research has an ambition to point out, that there is deficiency of theoretical recourses and knowledge, that are inevitable for building intercultural competencies and pursuance of intercultural communication in university students of humanities, hence those, which should be an example for the whole academic community. In the conclusion we critically evaluate the causes of this situation and offer some suggestions for its improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes a study of intercultural communication in Latvia. The objective of the research was to study the most problematic issues of intercultural communication in Latvia. The three stages of research (with an interval after every four years) used the critical incident method or critical incident technique from 2004 to 2018. The critical incident technique was used as a qualitative method for the situation analysis. The dominant incidents were those where language choice was central. The results were analysed by using the language choice model in Latvia [9], adapted from H. Giles, N. Coupland [2]. During the first stage of the research (2004–2006) partners from other EU member states, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Sweden also participated. Unlike Latvia, in other countries immigrants most often experienced critical incidents when encountering the traditions and culture of the host country, but in Latvia native inhabitants most frequently experienced critical situations in intercultural communication when they used the official state language (Latvian) to communicate with members of other ethnic groups. The second (2010–2012) and the third (2016–2018) stages of the research were carried out only in Latvia. The article discusses the results of critical incidents among the Latvian group. The results of the research of the actual choice of communication language in Latvia provide a new insight into integration processes in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contributions have taken into account positive and negative effects of globalization and have drawn on current knowledge in the academic field of intercultural awareness and intercultural communication. They have been theoretically rooted in the specific definition of culture which has been compared to an iceberg: (1) one part of culture (values and assumption) is beneath the surface; (2) another part of culture (observable behaviors) of the culture is visible. The first part of the paper has highlighted German scientific discourses that have been negatively marked by the superior attitude of many German intellectuals to Czech nation and language. The second part of the paper has pointed to the importance of variables that have been introduced by the numerous specialists in intercultural studies such as Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars; e.g. power distance, uncertainty avoidance, particularism versus universalism and individualism versus collectivism. For example, research results have pointed to the fact that Germans had to cope with Czech collectivist tendencies, indirect style of communication, higher power distance between employers and employees, favoritism and different standards of personal space. The secondary data have been complemented by the most interesting excerpts from several interviews with the economically active Germans who have been involved in the Czech–German cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is devoted to the description of psycholinguistic features of Chinese students, the purpose of which is the successful implementation of intercultural communication in the process of teaching them Russian as a foreign language at the pre-University stage of training. At the pre-University stage, many foreigners face problems of adaptation due to the huge difference in national consciousness, cultural traditions and rules of conduct. To help foreign students to adapt to a different language and socio-cultural environment, the teacher needs to have an idea of the psycholinguistic features of representatives of different nationalities. Such accounting contributes to the efficiency of the process of teaching Russian as a foreign language and obtaining better results. The authors consider in the article the question of the rational and emotional aspects in the mind of Chinese, forms of expression of emotions, the national character traits and behavior scenarios, the characteristics of verbal and non-verbal communication of Chinese learners. In order to maintain the motivation of Chinese students in mastering the Russian language and optimize learning, it is important to take into account national features of Chinese students. Successful intercultural communication will make learning more harmonious, motivated and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is devoted to the description of the ethnopsycholinguistic features of Vietnamese students, the study of their national and cultural specifics and language consciousness. Vietnamese language, like any other language, is associated with various forms of public consciousness that contain a large ethnic component. The authors study Vietnamese culture through the Vietnamese language consciousness, through the prism of the Vietnamese language, which, in turn, is considered as a form of fixing the culture and describe the verbal and non-verbal ways that the ethnocultural information is transmitted (language - consciousness - ethnos). The main task of the work was to describe the structure of the linguistic consciousness of Vietnamese students using the method of associative experiment, as it allows making the linguistic consciousness of native speakers visible. A large number of Vietnamese students at our university allowed us to conduct the associative experiment. For an associative experiment, words denoting emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, love, hate, fear, envy, jealousy and hope were taken. According to the ethics of the study, the principle of anonymity was observed during the experiment. As a result of the analysis of the questionnaires, some psycholinguistic features of the mentality of Vietnamese students were identified, which were confirmed by Vietnamese proverbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active perception and assimilation of a wide Western European, Eastern European and American cultural context is one of the most important developmental trends in Latvian literary process. Translations of Russian literature into Latvian are not very demanded, though they are rather significant. Yevgeny Vodolazkin (b. 1964), Doctor of Philology, expert in Old Russian culture, author of several novels, collections of essays and literary travelogues, is among the most popular and widely read writers. “Laurus” (2012) and “The Aviator” (2016), the two most popular novels by the writer, were translated into Latvian a year after their Russian publication. Both novels became available to the Latvian reader thanks to Māra Poļakova (b. 1974), talented translator, expert in the field of cultural history and theology, owner of Latvia’s major award for translation of literary texts (2010). In one of her interviews devoted to the craft of translation, M. Poļakova described the process of translation as a creative communication with a close person, a friend, and she characterised literary translation as a form of intercultural communication. The article analyses the history of the translations of Y. Vodolazkin’s novels into Latvian, the dialectics of the perception of these two novels by readers in Latvia, as well as the scientific reception of the writer’s oeuvre in Latvia. The aim of the present study is to find out the reasons for the Latvian readership’s interest in Y. Vodolazkin’s oeuvre and the role of the pragmatic function of the translations of Y. Vodolazkin’s novels into Latvian in producing communicative effect, as well as to study the means of rendering the meaning of the content, the emotional expressiveness and the verbal structure reproduction of the original text. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines elements from the methods of cultural anthropology, comparative philological analysis, sociolinguistics, component and contextual analysis. The translation of Y. Vodolazkin’s novels “Laurus” and “The Aviator” into Latvian caused a rather intensive discussion among the reading public in social networks and among literary critics because of the topical issues presented in them. The novel “Laurus” attracted the attention particularly by its specific interpretation of the relationships between the Middle Ages and the Modernity and the personal responsibility of man for what is happening around him. “The Aviator” is a book that deals with an issue, which is very painful for Latvia – repression in the USSR. The internal discussion of the death threat to personality and the possibility of its revival through repentance turned out to be fundamentally important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contributions have taken into consideration positive and negative effects of globalization and have drawn on current knowledge in the academic field of intercultural awareness and intercultural communication. They have been theoretically rooted in the definition of culture which has been compared to an iceberg: (1) one part of culture (values and assumption) is beneath the surface; (2) another part of culture (observable behaviours ) of the culture is visible. The first part of the contribution has highlighted British scientific discourses that have been negatively marked by the superior attitude of many British intellectuals to the Czech nation and language. The second part of the article has pointed to the importance of variables that have been introduced by numerous specialists in intercultural studies such as Edward Hall, Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars; e.g. collectivism versus individualism, high versus low context culture, power distance, particularism and territoriality. For example, research results have pointed to the fact that British persons have had to cope with Czech collectivist tendencies, indirect style of communication, higher power distance between employers and employees, favoritism and different standards of personal space. The results of the desk research have been illustrated and complemented by the excerpts of interviews with those economically active Brits who have been involved in the Czech–British cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercultural communication terms based on analysis of some research works done in the field of linguistic and cultural studies. A thesaurus-type dictionary was chosen for the description and presentation of the basic Intercultural Communication (ICC) concepts. The structure of the dictionary entry allows presenting the described system of terms as a semantic system of items which are organized by regular semantic relations. Lexicographic description consists of two parts: - The first part gives information about the term as a lexeme. There is information about number, and meaning of the term. In addition, there are also examples with the term, i.e. quotations from linguistic works that define the main features of the term. The second part of the dictionary entry presents the term as a member of the term system. For that reason the author applies the model of the thesaurus, i.e. some of the main semantic relations (thesaurus functions), e.g. synonyms, quasi-synonyms, correlatives, hypernym-hyponym, whole-part, etc., are explicitly presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to conceptualize the verbal-conceptual apparatus of intercultural communication on the basis of the works of the outstanding German linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt. Some of the works in full translation for the first time saw the light in Russian in the collection published for the 250th anniversary of the great linguist. The main attention is paid to the spiritual component of V. von Humboldt's researches, as many factors that ensure the success of intercultural communication as the interaction of carriers of different mentalities are due to the specifics of the historically formed spiritual sphere. Emphasizing the special importance of the concept of" spirit "and derivative phrases" spiritual force"," spirit of the people"," language as the activity of the spirit "in the works" on the difference of the structure of human languages and its impact on the spiritual development of mankind"," Fragments of the monograph about the Basques "Introduction to the General study of language" and other authors justify the presence in them of the concepts of language mentality, as well as the time context, as the most important categories of the theory of intercultural communication. The article actualizes the works of von Humboldt on linguistics, the ideas of which were developed in the works of linguists of the second half of the twentieth century in the theory of intercultural communication and cognitive linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement of English language competence in professional communication can be a great challenge for both teachers and students. This scientific paper aims to showcase the effective implementation of project-based technologies in the formation of appropriate mastery of professional language proficiency among students of architectural and building specialities (on the basis of English language) through simulated professional situations. The application of project-based methods as a powerful technique for the development of intercultural communication proves to be effective in motivating and engaging students to meet future profession requirements. The advantages of project-based technologies for students of construction and architectural specialities are conditioned by their specific character, which underlies current practice-oriented techniques and interaction in terms of intercultural professional environment. The potential of project-based methods in the formation of a professional language (architectural) portfolio of students is experimentally confirmed through effective implementation of project-based methods such as "Brainstorming" method and methodical techniques of "Development of Critical Thinking" technology. The positive outcome is demonstrated by study results of an experimental group of students throughout one academic year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization is one of the major trends of today's world, and at the same time a challenge, not only to the tourism industry, but also to tourism education. The modern civilization model is focused on overcoming intercultural barriers, national, language and cultural boundaries, on integration of the best national cultural achievements. The aim of this paper is to discuss the necessity of building intercultural competence for the effective performance of tourism employees in a multicultural environment. The fact that the new educational paradigm implies changes in strategy and content not only of contemporary language teaching, but also of humanities in general, is underlined. An important result of these changes is the integration of the elements of culture in the educational process. Based on the studied literature, this paper presents a model for exploring the effects of educational program on the formation of intercultural competence and its role on the effective performance of front line staff in tourist services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgency of the investigated problem is due to the constantly increasing role of game in study of different disciplines, including foreign language. Despite of the obvious attractiveness of gaming techniques, they are not used enough in foreign language lessons as the full-fledged teaching aids. This article is devoted to the analysis of innovative and active training method - gaming activity in English language teaching for special purposes in higher educational establishments. The article is aimed at a critical analysis of existing classifications of gaming techniques used in foreign language classes, and at the discussion the use of gaming methods in teaching foreign languages at a higher school. Several types of teaching games are described in this research and some particular recommendations are suggested for successful gaming management. The leading approach to the study of this problem is the analysis of game as a complex socio-cultural phenomenon from various philosophical-cultural, psychological and methodological positions. The main results of the article are: (1) Teaching games serve a specific purpose and can be classified according to the level of language proficiency of the intended audience, the methods of organization, pedagogical goals. (2) Gaming methods help students to understand the motives of their study, their roles in the game and in life, to formulate goals and programs of their own independent activity and to foresee its immediate results. (3) The use of gaming methods allows to artificially recreate the situations of communication, immerse the learner in conditions of intercultural communication, create the conditions of the need for communication in a foreign language, make the learning process more attractive and interesting. (4) Such method as a business game is aimed at the professionally oriented foreign language communication and is successfully used in teaching of bachelor-technologists. The authors offer specific topics for organizing and conducting role-playing games with students in the field of preparation "Food technology". Article materials can be useful for lecturers, graduate students and scientists, for all, who is interested in pedagogies and linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While analyzing various models of socialization and construction of self, it is argued in favour of Milton Bennett's developmental model of intercultural sensitivity and the importance of intercultural communicative competence. Classical developmental models elaborated by authors such as Sigmund Freud, Lawrence Kohlberg, Peter Berger and, Thomas Luckmann emphasize the relevance of primary and secondary socialization; some of them also considered defence mechanisms against alternative cultural and symbolic worlds. On the other hand, Milton Bennett's scale, or developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS), describes different responses to cultural differences. Under the circumstances of globalization the most important contribution to developmental theories and intercultural communication has been the original thesis that an individual can move from an ethnocentric phase to an ethnorelative one. The ethnocentric phase has been characterised by several stages, such as denial of difference (the individual becomes aware of difference between cultures), defence against difference (the person is introduced to similarities between cultures), and minimization of difference (the person understands the importance of intercultural difference); the ethnorelative phase is determined by acceptance of difference (the individual becomes aware of other cultures), adaptation to difference, and integration of difference (individual develops empathy towards the other culture). Apart from the comparison to classical models, the introduction and the conclusion point to alternative perspectives on cultural differences that have been presented by authors such as Edward Hall, Geert Hofstede, and Fons Trompenaars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaches to teaching English for Academic Purposes in a particular discourse vary from elaborating and creating academic grammar and syntax structures, reading, translating and analyzing academic and scientific papers, listening to conference presentations and university lectures as well as discussing academic and scientific subjects with peers and experts. However, none of the enlisted activities is possible without regular, systematic and laborious vocabulary building, self-discipline and new academic words accumulation. English academic vocabulary is supposed to be learnt directly from the appropriate academic and scientific sources as well as indirectly via reading literary texts optionally incorporated into the Academic English curriculum. The English Romantic essay being a familiar, close and intimate genre remains the genre which was created by the former university graduates able to speak and write Latin, well acquainted with the rhetoric, inspired by any minute daily emotions or serious political shifts and reforms. Romantic essayists reflected and portrayed life streamlines imprinting short instances of friendly conversations and longer periods of university years in their essays. W.Hazlitt, Ch.Lamb, L.Hunt, T.L.Peacock, T.de Quincey, W.Scott created a unique atmosphere of the epoch with their essays. The first scientific explorations, geographic discoveries, public libraries foundation, British economic growth and world expansion, English, Scottish, Irish most cherished customs and traditions, philosophical, political, educational and cultural problems - everything was mirrored by the skillful and talented Romantic essayists' quill. A relatively short length of the essays, their coherence, integrity, completeness and unity could serve a good example for writing practice in the course of English for Academic Purposes. Students can be motivated to read the specimens comparing the essays published in periodicals with the contemporary internet online blogs whose authors derive their subjects from the current Internet readers' curiosity and enquiries, which in Romanticism could be associated with the authors' own subjective views and public interest. Mastering Academic English by students of Engineering Academy or Institute of Physics and Technology is a complicated and long-term goal and it should involve a lot of reading. Why it should not be Romanticism authors? Each of them possessed style, brilliantly used English mixing it with rare but exquisite jewels of Latin and Greek, treasured the national language, literature and culture heritage, which in its turn can be re-searched, restored and renovated in the contemporary global academic/scientific discourses for intercultural, cross-cultural, multicultural and transcultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing intercultural communication competencies in the process of teaching business communication at multicultural workplaces requires competent planning and execution of training programs. This is to enable participants to become efficient users of language and skills in international contexts. Therefore, a variety of ways to develop their international skills and competencies during their studies need to be employed in classrooms. This especially applies to the in-house corporate training settings where needs and wants of trainees are diverse and requirements are strict. To facilitate communication and cultural adaptation, both the theory of cultures and practical assignments as well as contacts with people from other cultures are required. Intercultural communication competence can be best taught through a practical approach by sharing cultural knowledge and using methods of experiential learning and reflection. Experiential learning also involves attitudes and emotions and is based on the idea of learning by doing and through active participation. The underlying assumption is that people learn best from their own experiences. There is a wide range of teaching methods available for intercultural learning. E.g. discussion, case study, critical incidents, films and videos, role plays, self-assessment, reflection, simulations and games, computer-based tasks. However, if the goal is to learn intercultural effectiveness, sensitivity, creating intercultural relationships, and performance in multicultural environment, the respective method of teaching should be selected to achieve the desired goal and outcome. The expected outcomes should be knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be a more effective communicator in a new environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the assessment of the process of formation of global and professional intercultural competency as a special type of intercultural competency and its impact on some successful models of modern professional and business communication models. On the basis of historical and comparative analysis of the research of the leading scholars in this sphere the author makes the hypothesis about necessity of new treatments of this notion from the point of view of global business and professional communication. In recent years, professional intercultural communication has experienced dramatic changes due to a combination of social mega trends, that is, the process of globalization, great advances in communication technologies and rapid emergence of new types of business structures. It is stated that it is important to study the current socio - cultural context and new business communication in the global community in the form of special practices and genres of interaction. In order to discuss the components of global communicative competence in business communication the author discusses the major elements included in global communicative competence from the standpoint of the most successful common models of professional intercultural and business communication, interprets basic research on communicative competence and the concept of English lingua franca. The non - sufficient study of the role of the English language as lingua franca for global communicators is mentioned. Basing on the statement of mutual integration of global intercultural competency, language competency and business know-how the author concludes about the necessity of presence of some specific skills for effective business intercultural communication. The significance of formation of sustainable global intercultural competence for international business communication can hardly be overestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper outlines approaches to worldview researching language education in on-line environments and survey research that has been conducted to date. Is it worthwhile to use the Internet in Practical Philosophy of Language Education? How does Philosophy of Language Education use change in on-line environments? What are the best ways to incorporate e-mail or the World Wide Web into the classroom? We can use several approaches to learn and research about such issues. One is to talk to fellow lecturers and professors. Another is to try practical things out in the classroom and see how they work. And another is to conduct and share scientific-theoretical research. The paper first briefly addresses some general questions of approach that relate to some educational and academic researches of philosophical issues. Then it looks in more detail at particular approaches to researching the on-line classroom. Research conducts to better understand the research role and responsibility of the Internet in Philosophy of online language education and learning generally involves five overlapping areas: linguistic features of language teaching, interaction between practical and theoretical problems, attitude, and context and language impact. Finally, the differences among the interface used in various forms of computer-mediated intercultural communication also effect language use. A number of worldview studies have pointed to the special characteristics of Internet-based chat, such as brevity, abbreviation, and use of paralinguistic cues found in text produced with chat software such as Internet Relay Chat, but these linguistic characteristics are generally found less frequently in communication via e-mail or Daedalus Inter Change. The author of the paper hopes that the references cited in this work provide a useful starting point for readers interested in conducting worldview research on on-line learning. Worldview research studies in the area of the Internet will likely yield not general conclusions but rather specific insights into the impact of using particular online activities in particular circumstances. An accumulation of such specific insights over time, however, may allow us as teachers to continually improve our understanding of the cognitive role of the Internet in Philosophy of language education and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of cultural concepts on the material of the Yakut language. It deals with the analysis of binary concepts: LIFE / DEATH, GOOD / EVIL, LOVE / HATRED. These are basic cultural concepts that classify the world. In this case we focus on the relations between language and culture according to approaches "language as a cultural resource" (Duranti Alessandro, 1997) and "language as a general cultural phenomenon" (Marcel Danesi, 2004). Words and its meanings, collocations and sentences, phraseology and texts give a base the study of thought and culture. These points of view explain the purpose of the article. To find out the formation of concepts we have set the following tasks: -provide cognitive response following binary concepts in the Yakut language: life / death, good / evil, love / hatred, friend / foe; - identify the universal and national features in these concepts and their representations; - identify the main meanings inherent in the etymology verbalized his tokens to describe their dynamics in the structure of the concept. Analysis of the basic concepts allows a deeper insight into the language picture of the world Sakha, to reveal features of his world view. The results can contribute to solving urgent problems of cultural linguistics, intercultural communication and cognitive linguistics. The practical significance of this project lies in the fact that collect and systematize the material will serve as a basis for further research concepts of the spiritual (internal) human world as a way of constructing linguistic reality and the representation of the ethnic picture of the world that are currently of particular importance in the world of the humanities. The novelty of the research is determined not by the Yakut language in terms of its foothold in the world picture. The results can be used in comparative studies comparative cultural concepts, as well as in the preparation of dictionaries concepts Yakut language, as well as comparative studies of comparative concepts. The results have theoretical and practical significance not only in the Yakut linguistics, but also in the Turkic and Altaic as a whole. The object of the research is a set of intangible elements in the binary concepts of life / death, good / evil, love / hatred, friend / foe. Subject of research - the manifestation of the universal and national-specific features in these concepts. The material of the study is based on literary texts, folklore and ethnographic sources: myths, epics, tales, legends, and good wishes. Artistic text is seen as a specific national content of the picture of the world as a source of ethno-cultural information, which presents the features of the national language, and especially the people of world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers language variety or multilingualism of the modern globalized world space in the terms of local and global components of the inter cultural communication as vectors aiming to opposite directions from the point of view of different and often clashing scientific and historical approaches. The use of historical and comparative analysis allows the author to understand that most scholars claim that such turbulence occurs because the peoples as the carriers of different national cultures and languages as culture elements interact actively performing their unique social role. That is why the author treats the study of multilingualism as closely connected with the research of problems of nations, national identity and national states. The functioning of local cultural values in the terms of globalization and collision of national identity and socio- cultural integration vector are analyzed. The author signifies the importance of the language as the main instrument of inter cultural communication. The hypothesis about the necessity of some uniting sociocultural component for different nations and ethnic groups is put forward. The author analyses historical, political and cultural reasons of strengthening the role of the English language in globalization process and information society formation stressing that English as the conductor of English culture has taken the dominating position in the world environment and has given access to scientific and technological achievements denoting new notions, objects and phenomena in all spheres of life. The conclusion about influence of the English language on new inter cultural communication models formation and new approaches to teaching foreign languages is made; in the terms of the language variety the importance of careful language planning and effective and reasonable national language policies in the context of global cultural interaction is stated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors address the current issue of communicative barriers in intercultural social practice that reveals hidden conceptual horizons of the mass and individual consciousness, implicitly represented in the humanitarian discourse, the teaching practice and the choice of communication. The paper deals with the borders of the semantic barriers in intercultural communication connected to the intellectual style and ethic context. The research on human communication barriers in the dynamic conditions of modern society is connected to the orientation of the individual in the information field and represents an interdisciplinary problem that connects different fields of science unified by the cognitive paradigm in the analysis of culture, cogitation and behavior. This work uses the methods of socio-cognitive and comparative analysis with the addition of hermeneutics principles. This allows us to view different meaning generation scenarios by connecting the cultural forms of behavior to the discourse based on the vision of the context model. The authors represent the macro-cultural level of research on intellectual style typology. The paper analyzes the features of employing different intellectual styles in the framework of the humanitarian discourse. The authors describe the specific traits of Western and Eastern intellectual styles. The authors highlight the fact that implicitly expressed conceptual and ethic barriers in intercultural communication are created unconsciously not only by the framework of using a specific language and style typical for a certain culture and subculture, but also by concrete methodological and cognitive provisions in this subject area. The authors show that the semantic barrier in intercultural communication depends on the process of personal identification. At the mass consciousness level this barrier hides in the irrational dialogue between the person and the symbolics. The transgression from the cultural semantics dictate to the existential level of understanding in search for the meaning is not fully controlled by one's mind or community. In conclusion, the authors highlight the new perspectives in the study of intercultural communication problems offered by the systematic research on semantic barriers in the humanitarian discourse space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the main research results of the needs of the Russian tourist destinations in the development of friendly projects. Since 2014 there have been significant structural changes in the structure of inbound tourism in Russia. The greatest growth often shows the tourist flows from the countries of the Asian and Pacific region. Practice of information search, choice, and behaviour in the visit of tourists from these regions are different from the habits of the Russian and European tourists. It is obvious that behavioural characteristics are determined with cultural and religious values and norms. In these circumstances, the ability of destinations to offer the tourist product which would be not only interesting but also comfortable, safe, and which would not violate the religious and cultural values, as well as would be relevant to the spiritual needs, becomes one of the key competitive factors and the significant advantage. The authors analyse the successful experience of China friendly and Halal friendly Standard, which are built on the factor of intercultural communication. These programs, as Russian experience demonstrates, are aimed solely at the adaptation of tourist services to the needs of tourists in cultural diversity terms. Taking into account the world experience, it's necessary to develop such additional program items. It means to inform the local community about the cultural and religious peculiarities in the tourists' behaviour, as well as to inform travelling tourists about cultural and religious peculiarities of Russia and its individual regions. The authors present the basis of new friendly-projects development, as well as the forecast of the number of tourism industry participants of these projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of today' s world seems to be borderless. Peoples and their cultures are mixing in time and space with great complexity of the results, facing transcultural experiences of various levels. The question is what happens to a cultural element when it difusses to a completely new environment. To what degree it keeps its context or loses most of it, if not all, and what the factors shaping the process are. The article deals with the aspect of physicality and its role in transcultural processes and intercultural communication. It introduces the phenomenon of cultural internationalisation with the aim to emphasize its importance and quality differences compared to transnational and globalising tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the need to respond the threat of civilization challenges and globalization trends for Kazakhstan and its future that directly affect the nature and content of cultural policy. The globalization and cultural dynamics processes, as practice shows, does not lead to the formation of a single world culture. Modern culture remains as diversity of distinctive cultures in dialogue and interaction with each other. Assessment of risks, threats and challenges in the cultural area has been implemented in focus through the optics (the prism) of such problematic issues as: the cultural brand and historical heritage, country and culture security, information technology and mental terrorism, poverty and spiritual destitution, intercultural communication and the transfer of alien cultural codes. Also there studied the Kazakh society's modern culture, which is characterized by an increasing number of destructive phenomena manifestations. Destructive phenomena of contemporary reality, is usually identified with the expression of extreme views, actions, intolerance, aggression, violence. There is the clash of interests and social conflicts, social inequity, conflicts of cultural differences, lack of implementation of personal people, ignorance, psychological imbalance, fanaticism, political instability and others at the heart of many of these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization trends in today's world are leading to an intensification in migration processes and intercultural interaction. They are influenced by information society technologies, which guide interpersonal and intercultural communication through the virtual information space. The study of the socio-cultural specificity of the functioning of social networks as a new paradigm of social community and their impact on the transformation of the social structure has been initiated by new social practices and normative orientations and possibilities of social control over them. The effectiveness of the communication network as a universal sociocultural mechanism is the result of the coming into existence and functioning of culture in relation to social parameters. The use of information and communication technologies makes bridging intercultural boundaries much easier. As the overall number of Internet users has increased, so has not only the social significance of the networks, but also the numerous problems associated with personal self-identification in these communities, social practices, normative values and possibilities of social control over them. In these circumstances, the model of cultural identification and self-identification is not just transforming, but there are also new trends outlining themselves in the representation of the "cultural core". From here one can identify the major trends for development of cultural differentiation processes and for overcoming cultural boundaries in virtual space, which can both lead to intercultural dialogue and to the destruction of the "cultural kernel". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the specifics issue of intercultural communication and presents partial results of qualitative empirical research which was conducted in the Czech Republic. The main objective of presented empirical research was to identify and describe the specifics of communication in intercultural context - on the example of Austrian expatriates living and working for more than six months in the Czech Republic and their counterparts who were working with them on daily basis. The sample consisted of 27 respondents. In the research investigation the method of oral questioning was used. The main results were the identification of differences in perception of intercultural environment towards effective communication. The received research results are going to be used for further research in the area of intercultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article emphasizes the role of teachers of humanities in formation of intercultural competence of students. Teaching young people intercultural communication skills should contribute to the development of ideas of human possibilities in the modern world and lay the foundation for respectful attitude towards people of different religion, nationality or tradition. The article also analyzes interactive forms of teaching intercultural communication including lectures with presentations, round tables and trainings. A special attention is paid to the importance of motivation, activeness, diverse experience and constructive feedback in the learning process. The professionalism of the teacher shows itself in a student-centered approach during the formation of learning skills as well as in the use of natural learning. The inter-ethnic learning groups are also one of the most important instruments that allow teaching students intercultural communicative competence. Friendly atmosphere of communication in these groups promote tolerance as a social value. The method described in the article provides a therapeutic effect both for students and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this exploratory study is to determine the relationship between the test takers' ethnic background and gender and the efficacy of oral proficiency testing. The methodology includes (1) theoretical analyses in testology, interdidactics, linguodidactics, cognitive science, psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, methods of teaching foreign languages in the aspect of the research problem; (2) interviewing the test takers, the test developers and the testers, didactic analyses of 60 videotapes of oral proficiency testing, as well as self-evaluation of the testees; (3) methods of statistical analysis, which was used to verify the findings. 60 native test-takers from Syria, Vietnam, Russia, males and females in each group equally, participated at the experimental research. The typical test tasks aimed at oral proficiency assessment, recommended by the State Russian as a Foreign Language Testing System and ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview, were used. Main results of this study are: (1) there is a strong and significant relationship between the test takers' ethnics and gender, on the one hand, and test performance, on the other hand; (2) certain types of the test tasks provoke the test takers' communicative failures, caused by gender and ethnic blockages, barriers and taboos on realization of discourse and behavioral strategies; (3) these communicative misfits may not be corrected or eliminated by didactic means, e.g. or special training, since they are determined by ethnic moral norms and standards. The results of the study may be implemented in the system of teaching foreign languages and language proficiency testing, they may be useful for the test developers, the test administrators and foreign language teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of intercultural communication is highly topical in connection with globalization. The intercultural communication affects much more than just the sphere of personal development, it also involves other spheres dealing with the specific connection between communication and culture. The intercultural communication comes to being based on the close relation between communication and culture where its sphere spreads by means of critical research. The scientific works aimed at intercultural communication result from various disciplines, in this work the attention is paid to the strategic communication and cooperation mainly. The relations and connections in communication between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Moldova can serve as an example of cultural identities being emerged by means of communication and affected by socioeconomic reality and historical intercultural experience. Europe has been going through significant changes for more than twenty years. These changes are political as well as economic. They were caused not only by the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and its heading towards democracy, but also the effort to make Europe united within the frame of the Union which would be an equal and economically powerful partner to the US as well as other world leading superpowers. The gradual globalization causes a double effect. On one hand it causes the difference between the rich and the poor due to the accumulation of finance and world capital in hands of supranational companies and their representatives, and the reducing function of borders. On the other hand, the increasing regionalization works as a defence against globalization, the meaning of regions and clusters is increasing. The paper aims to research historically as well as theoretically the issue of intercultural communication and its effects in the particular context of communication between the Czech Republic and the Republic of Moldova. The paper tries to present an overall view of development and theory of intercultural communication; it researches the contemporary form of Czech-Moldovan and Moldovan-Czech intercultural communication. The aim of the work is to specify the forms of development aid in the point of view of security promotion in the Republic of Moldova, the characteristics and description of a selected implemented project. The partial goal is making the list of projects of international development cooperation of the Czech Republic in the Republic of Moldova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas the concepts of human living is the fulfilment of needs, interests and values to achieve greater benefits, so the conflict is a natural part of human existence and communication, and it is therefore impossible to avoid all conflicts and their consequences. In intercultural context as well as in international relations, conflict is defined as the perceived or actual incompatibility of values, expectations, processes, or outcomes between two or more parties from different cultures. Intercultural conflict typically starts with misunderstanding and insufficient communication. In international relations can intercultural conflicts escalate to violent conflicts, accompanied by human casualties humanitarian crises and may cause enormous material, population and ecological damage. The goal of this article is to provide a basic synthetic theoretical analysis of intercultural conflicts, reasons of their inception and the ways for preventing intercultural international conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research into structural changes in national languages has been conducted on the basis of three languages (German, French and Russian). The results demonstrate that the expansion of anglicisms in the system of each language under consideration has been proved in all spheres of speech activity of national communities: from elementary verbal means to complex speech structures. While the English language penetrates the German and French languages more or less smoothly due to their common origin, the process of incorporation of anglicisms into the Russian language, that does not have "blood kinship" with English has a negative effect on the language structure integrity of the Russian language and contributes to the loss of its expressiveness. Thus, the process of penetration of anglicisms into national languages leads to obvious structural changes in the national languages, which has a negative effect on the whole system of the national language and undermines the national traditions of verbal communication approved and used by a national community. Substituting foreign verbal means, including word and word combinations, grammar rules, word order, for the native ones leads to weakening the immunity of the national language consciousness in general. Under the unreasonable expansion of anglicisms national cultural traditions are likely to sink into oblivion, as the language spoken by an ethnic community is the basis of its culture. It would be fair to say that the English language suffers the negative effect of this process as well. Its system is deteriorating because the meanings of English borrowings have to undergo changes too while adapting to the process of semantic assimilation of English lexis and constructions by other languages in accordance with the rules of word formation and grammar constructions of those languages. Thus, it is time to study and analyze the effects of globalization on national languages and cultures and to start elaborating legal acts in order to protect national languages at the governmental level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the period of globalization, the question of effective communication between people of different nations is essential to ensure that all parties emerge with the same understanding. Without the right approach, cultural differences can greatly affect governments, businesses, organisations and individuals. Intercultural communication is no longer an option, but a necessity; therefore there is a need to integrate intercultural communication in the university programmes and to give students the opportunity to develop their cross-cultural communication and international business communication skills through both theory and practice and to confront them to the reality of a professional environment. Professionals in multicultural corporations usually work in a team context and have to be familiar with terms such as team player, team skills, team building, and team performance that relate to the ability to cooperate with people in teams aiming at accomplishing professional projects, therefore effective communication within multicultural teams is a skill which is increasingly sought after by European companies and institutions. In global and intercultural world people must understand how people act in international, national, and local businesses. Cultures are different in organizations and if a company wants to do business internationally, it needs to have knowledge related to diverse management process. However, for example corporate Europe shares some common rules, like understanding the impact of risks, uncertainties, and conflicts, striving for steady growth, open boundaries, and cosmopolitan society. Comparative and so called intercultural studies are becoming increasingly more important in the global business environment and their results can be used in practical life. The valuable study of cultures by G.Hofstede and E.T.Hall have led to the culture dimensions, such as individualism versus collectivism, monochrony versus polychrony, masculinity versus femininity, high power distance versus low power distance, high uncertainty avoidance versus low uncertainty avoidance high context versus low context, high contact versus low contact, etc., whose ignorance can have a negative impact on social cohesion of the team. The article firstly attempts to summarize the most important views related to the theoretical background of multicultural team building and working in the specific conditions of the beginning of the 21st century, next presents advantages and disadvantages of multicultural teams, management of such teams, including conflict management, and finally evaluates working in multicultural teams within the project The Intensive Programme Effective Communication in Multicultural Teams approved in 2011 and held in March 2013 involves six higher education institutions which develop a common course module to be recognised in each of the curricula of the partner institutions - Université Jean Monnet de Saint-Etienne in France (the coordinator), Technische Hochschule Wildau in Germany, Fachhochschule Salzburg GmbH in Austria, University of Joensuu in Finland, The University of Tartu in Estonia, and School of Business Administration in Karviná, Silesian University in Opava, in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to present students' progress achieved during the development of a European project Erasmus Intensive Programme Effective Communication in Multicultural Teams approved in 2011 and finalized in March 2013. For the students participating in the IP, especially for Czech students , the course was the first opportunity to communicate with students coming from different culture background, where the teaching methods, approach to students, the extent of students' autonomy, different teaching methods, and also tolerance to ethnic diversity were different. To have feedback from the Czech participants of the IP course their tutors asked them for writing self-reflective learning diaries. They are the source of materials needed for evaluation of students' progress. The questionnaire involved 13 following questions.Here are some of them: What new culture-related issues did you learn? Which cultures represented in the course were similar to your home culture and which were different? What was the most difficult for you during the course? How did your knowledge of English improve? What new English words and phrases did you learn? Do you feel more ready to solve problems in the team in the future? Why, or why not? What was your position in the team? What were you responsible for? What was your relationship to other members of your team? Writing self-reflective learning diaries or journals enables students to express themselves without fear and embarrassment, and contributes to improve students' language skills. Moreover, it contributes to students' becoming more autonomous, take control of their own learning, and in this way become more self-motivated. Learning journals can involve reflective writing, dialogue and role plays writing. Reflective writing used within communication subjects mentioned above is related to writing about what and why they succeeded or failed at certain tasks, and about how they feel about their learning currently. The most important areas the students have to reflect on are learning process - teachers' methods and approach, learning progress, culture-related issues, process of the communication in the multicultural team, team dynamics and problems solving. The programme Erasmus IP involves intensive two weeks of working together in three subsequent years both of students and teachers from six different institutions and different disciplines in order to reflect and develop their communication skills while working in multicultural workgroups. The article firstly attempts to summarize the most important information related to assessing students' progress using self-reflective learning diaries within a European project, next presents a structured questionnaire as the basis of the feedback provided by Czech team students participating in the last round of the Erasmus IP programme held in Finnish Joensuu in February 2014 provided in their self-reflective diaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]