Teaching French in a multicultural environment: linguistic and cultural aspects

Abstract

The article is devoted to the specifi cs of teaching foreign languages to Chinese students in a Russian university. The purpose of the study is to identify and rationalize the linguistic and cultural features of teaching the French language and culture. According to a common point of view, representatives of diff erent cultures are characterized by diff erent forms of strategic thinking (Vyach.Vs. Ivanov, A.I. Kobzev, L. Levy-Bruhl, K. Lévi-Strauss, Yu.M. Lotman B.N. and others). Traditionally, several types of thinking are distinguished: a synthetic, eastern one, which is characterized by asymmetry, imagery, symbolism, and an analytical, western type of thinking (its features are logic, algorithmic, conceptual, systematic). These features infl uence the stereotypical scenarios of intercultural interaction, including the process of teaching foreign languages. The article analyzes some basic principles of educational and pedagogical communication in the Chinese cultural tradition and considers modern technologies for teaching foreign languages, refl ecting national educational traditions. Possible diffi culties for students are analyzed on the example of diff erences in the systems of French and Chinese at all structural levels (phonetic, lexical, morphological and syntactic). To conclude, it is necessary to take into account not only signifi cant diff erences in languages of diff erent structure in the learning process, but also the diff erence in methods of learning foreign languages, due to nationally specifi c features of speech behavior, cognitive strategies and culture in general.

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