THE ROLE OF LINGUA-CULTURALOGICAL COMPETENCE IN TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Abstract. This article underscores the critical role of effective intercultural communication in our interconnected global landscape. It explores a contemporary competency-based approach in foreign language education, focusing on the lingua-culturalogical approach. This approach emphasizes the interconnectedness of language, culture, and effective communication, particularly through the semantic dimension. The concept of lingua-culturalogical competence is detailed, encompassing linguistics, cultural studies, and practical skills essential for intercultural communication. The article highlights the importance of recognizing the inherent link between culture and language, emphasizing the development of analytical skills to discern culturally significant elements in texts. The ultimate goal of an article is to cultivate lingua-culturalogical competence for a comprehensive understanding of language, culture, and effective intercultural communication.

Keywords: intercultural communication, competency-based approach, lingua-culturalogical approach, lingua-culturalogical competence, semantic dimension, analytical skills, foreign language education.

In our modern and increasingly interconnected global landscape, marked by a growing exchange of ideas and information, the importance of effective intercultural communication cannot be ignored. As individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds interact in various settings, language proficiency goes beyond mere linguistic skills; it involves a comprehension of the cultural nuances embedded in communication. It is widely recognized that achieving successful intercultural communication requires a profound understanding of the socio-spiritual and national-specific aspects of the communication partner's personality. Empirical evidence suggests that the expression of unique cultural traits in the speaker's language significantly contributes to facilitating mutual understanding during linguistic interactions. Therefore, it seems more productive to focus not only on language but also on the cultural context within the language, fostering a more comprehensive approach to developing lingua-culturalogical competence [1].

Expanding on the acknowledged significance of understanding socio-spiritual and national-specific aspects in successful intercultural communication, contemporary language teaching places particular emphasis on integrating the study of a foreign language with its corresponding national culture. To achieve this goal, a novel instructional methodology rooted in competency-based principles has been introduced in foreign language pedagogy. This modern competency-based approach, considered an innovative paradigm in education, aligns with the prevailing framework of educational standards in many developed nations. It intricately connects with the evolution in educational content design and quality monitoring systems, transitioning toward a competency-oriented framework. Additionally, the relevance of the competency-based approach is deeply ingrained in a specific cultural and educational context.

According to Taizova O.S., the competency-based approach introduces a new measure for assessing an individual's education, as traditional knowledge, skills, and abilities are insufficient in comprehensively evaluating the quality of education. In the realm of foreign language education, the central competency is identified as "intercultural-communicative competence," aimed at shaping a "subject of intercultural communication." Intercultural communicative competence is realized through a set of subcompetencies: cognitive, communicative, linguo-cultural, sociocultural, conceptual, and person-centered [1,p.68].

According to the Dictionary of English Language and Culture, “lingua-culturalogical competence” is defined as the ability to perform necessary tasks, highlighting that students should develop the capability to recognize and associate the semantic content of a language symbol with the motivational factors behind word choice in intercultural communication [2].

The concept of "lingua-culturalogical competence" is comprised of various elements, such as linguistics, cultural studies, and competence, all contributing to its intricate nature. Scholars like V.I. Teliya [3] and E.A. Dortman [4] emphasize that this competence involves the capability to comprehend the cultural-mental characteristics of language speakers, the national specificity of the linguistic worldview, and the national-cultural aspect of the meaning of linguistic units expressed through the cultural semantics of language signs. Furthermore, researchers like V. Vorobyov [5], L.A. Koneva and D.I. Bashurina [6] argue that lingua-culturalogical competence forms a knowledge system about culture and cultural values embedded in language. As stated by I.V. Kharchenkova, lingua-culturalogical competence can be defined as an organized set of knowledge about culture reflected in language. This includes preparedness for evaluative and symbolic understanding of linguistic phenomena, along with the development of analytical and communicative skills, evolving during the process of mastering ethno-cultural values and the conceptual sphere of the country whose language is under study [7].

The adoption of the lingua-culturalogical approach in language learning emphasizes the intricate connection among individuals, language, and culture as a system of values. This approach offers a distinctive avenue for personal growth by allowing students to internalize cross-cultural values, understand norms, appreciate traditions, and explore the creative heritage embedded in another lingua-culture, as manifested in its national language.

In foreign language instruction, the lingua-culturalogical approach places a strong focus on the semantic dimension. This perspective goes beyond the traditional emphasis on phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary in the language learning process. It involves mastering the foreign language through the cultural concepts it embodies, enabling learners to acquire interconnected ethno-cultural knowledge encompassing language, culture, and history. Consequently, this leads to the development of lingua-culturalogical competence, a specialized skill set crucial for practical application.

It becomes imperative to provide examples that illustrate this intricate interaction, fostering the development of the ability to discern culturally significant elements within texts, such as proverbs, idioms, and metaphors. The ultimate objective is to educate students to view language, both in its spoken and written forms, as "condensed expressions of the philosophy, history, and spiritual culture of the people as a whole."

In this context, there is a significant focus on developing analytical skills in students, specifically targeting the identification and understanding of culturally significant elements in foreign-language texts. The goal is to cultivate lingua-culturalogical competence, involving three key skill categories:

• cognitive-formative skills:

- identify and analyze nationally marked lexical units, omonyms and toponyms;

- understand hidden meanings in proverbs and idiomatic expressions;

- analyze stylistic devices to grasp national concepts and linguistic cultural mentality;

- determine cause-and-effect relationships in descriptions of cultural phenomena reflected in language;

• analytical-reflexive and axiological skills:

- accumulate lingua-culturalogical information in texts;

- discuss, comment on, and evaluate cultural phenomena expressed in texts;

- analyze cultural backgrounds in artistic works;

- identify and analyze value orientations, patterns, stereotypes of behavior, norms, and customs.

• creative-modeling skills:

- create communicative situations using vocabulary with cultural connotations;

- conduct dialogues and discussions to explore new lingua culturalogical information and speech behavior stereotypes;

- use language units with a national-cultural component of meaning in various communicative situations [4, p.309].

In conclusion, the fusion of language proficiency and cultural understanding,

known as lingua-culturalogical competence, is crucial in our interconnected world. The competency-based approach, emphasizing intercultural-communicative competence, revolutionizes language education. Lingua-culturalogical competence, with its cognitive, analytical, and creative aspects, enriches learners' ability to comprehend and navigate cultural nuances in foreign-language texts. This approach goes beyond traditional language learning, fostering a holistic appreciation of language as a mirror of a society's philosophy, history, and spiritual culture.