Development of students’ polycultural and ethnocultural competences in the system of language education as a demand of globalizing world

Abstract

The study examines the increasing role of the process of the growing demand of globalizing world for the development of polycultural and ethnocultural competences of students as a means of preparing them for global (not international) successful cooperation in different economic spheres in the conditions of a growing global market and as a means of avoiding intercultural conflicts. The requirements for the education system lie in the field of searching and suggesting new approaches and technologies to solve this task. The present paper is devoted to the theoretical and experimental study of different models that integrate knowledge and skills lying in such aspects of cognitive linguistics as the analysis of universal cultural concepts. Three new ideas are proposed by the authors: reference to the ideas of applying cognitive linguistics in a broader sphere of language education – for technical university students; reference to the interpretation of universal cultural concepts both from the viewpoint of their similarities in different cultures (for the development of polycultural competence) and differences (for the development of ethnocultural competence); reference to internet resources (forums and chats) for the investigation of the peripheral layer of cultural concepts. The findings reveal a growth in various types of competences necessary for global communication and cooperation.