Written language as a means of forming intercultural competence

Abstract

   The article is devoted to the preparation of international students for intercultural communication while developing writing skills in the classes of Russian as a foreign language (RFL). We explore the given problem based on the example of Chinese trainees with the First Certification Level of Russian. We believe, the most important task, when forming intercultural competence in international students, is the development of personal qualities necessary for intercultural communication. The complexity of the task is associated with the national and cultural features characteristic of the given students’ background and the need for them to adopt a new scale of values. The solution to this problem is facilitated by the use of the native and target culture information and its assessment from a universal human standpoint. Various types of written work are used in the classroom to reveal the creative potential of students, teaching them the ability to analyze, compare and express their own position. The article describes the use of individual electronic correspondence between the students and their teacher and analyzes the significance of this communication form. The article presents the results of the study, conducted in two groups of trainees with different training programs. We have come to the conclusion that by teaching international students written speech we promote the successful development of intercultural competence.