The formation of primary school pupils’ intercultural communicative competence grounds during their learning the German language

Abstract

The article substantiates the expediency, outlines the goals and objectives, determines the peculiarities of the formation of junior pupils’ intercultural communicative competence in accordance with nature conforming, communicative, play foreign language teaching method at the first, adaptive (in the first and second forms) and second, reorganization (the third and forth forms) primary school stages. The main goal of the intercultural communicative competence formation of pupils at the first stage is the sensitization of children to a new language and culture and the awakening of their interest in comparing native and other cultures. The purpose of foreign language intercultural learning at the second stage is to form pupils’ abilities to analyze a new culture in comparison with their native one and to understand the ways of integrating the native and other cultures in order to enrich their life experience. The author argues that the application of the nature conforming, communicative, play method can significantly increase the efficiency and improve the quality of intercultural education of younger pupils during their learning the German language. The article describes communicative play techniques which are advisable to apply at each stage of intercultural foreign language learning in accordance with age characteristics and abilities of primary school pupils, e. g. didactic bilingual rhymes, didactic fairy games, educational drama plays of the teacher and pupils with the doll that serves as a representative of the native speakers and communicates only in German, educational plot story about the friendship of a German boy and a Ukrainian girl. The article also demonstrates different methodological examples from Ukrainian course books of the German language for primary comprehensive schools.