Socio-cultural Skills Research Articles

Генезис высшей школы: личностно-ценностная парадигма

The development of the personal-value paradigm in the Russian higher education during reforms and counter-reforms is considered. The role of the scientific community in the process of developing and implementing a personal-value concept is revealed. Special attention is paid to the organization of the personalistic educational process in autonomous universities. According to the author, the personality-value model of higher education is the most effective in the humanitarian higher education. The personalist axiology of education determined the goals, forms and methods and ways of learning scientific truth, with the active involvement of students in the process of research work, which contributes to the development of their creative personalities. Constant updating of the didactic complex: goals, content, forms and methods of teaching implies the need to build an educational process adequate to the advanced level of achievements in the evolution of science. Society as a customer forms a university focused on obtaining the socio-cultural skills necessary for the progress of science and education. The personality-alienated model levels the axiology of science and higher education and focuses on the criteria of usefulness and competence, which significantly reduces the level of qualification of graduates. There is a conflict of ambitendent innovation processes: the personality-alienated model leads to an authoritarian trend in education, while at the same time, the super-valuable technologization of the educational process aimed at the formation of narrow specialists is carried out in higher education.

Tribal Children in Odisha and their right to Education in the Home Language

Focused on the socio-economic background of tribal students in the 142 ashram schools of Koraput district in Odisha, this article explores the educational environment and quality of education for tribal children in India. As their educational performance is largely unsatisfactory, the primary causes behind low educational achievements are explored. It is found that the educational processes largely disregard the socio-cultural characteristics and linguistic skills that tribal students bring to the classroom. Specifically, tribal children experience serious language difficulties during the initial years of schooling. The practice of using the dominant state language, Odia, as the sole/dominant medium of instruction in all ashram schools, rather than the children’s mother tongue, appears to leave young learners illiterate in their mother tongue and also fosters low achievement levels in the dominant language.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПОЛІКУЛЬТУРНОЇ ОСВІТИ У ПРОЦЕСІ АДАПТАЦІЇ ІНОЗЕМНОГО СТУДЕНТА

ntroduction. The article deals with the es-sential characteristics of multicultural education, which should be applied to the modern methods of foreign stu-dent adaptive preparation, who interacts with the repre-sentatives of the new cultural environment. Purpose. To explore the features of multicultural edu-cation aimed at foreign student’s preparing for practical activities of academic and social nature. Results. It is revealed that multicultural education is manifests in the peculiarities of persons, connections who are the representatives of different linguistic, ethnic or national groups. The concept of global thinking, that char-acterized by the ability of a foreign student to practically apply the existing socio-cultural skills and interpersonal activity, is considered. On the analysis of the researchers findings, the own interpretation of the concepts of «multi-cultural education» and «technology of multicultural educa-tion» is given.Conclusion. On the base of theoretical study, we con-cluded that multicultural education provides the need of adaptation process in the ways that will ensure the full activity of the individual in the academic and social envi-ronments: the preparation of linguistic, cultural and psy-chological character. In addition, the adaptation involves the development of global thinking principles, through which a foreign student is able to use the formed interper-sonal and sociocultural skills in a specific situations of interaction with representatives of another society. In this connection, it is possible to distinguish the main manifes-tations of multicultural education, which should be used in the process of acculturation preparation, such as: the use, with the practical information giving on the character-istics of other cultures, of practical elements, among which the audiovisual means may be used; the students' cultur-al knowledge developing in the way to ensure a uniform interpretation of the actions of other cultures representa-tives and will allow to prepare the foreign students for activities in the host country's cultural space; the practical consolidation of the acquired knowledge both through the cross-adaptation (with the interaction of different cultural groups during the preparation phase), and at the time of the formation of adaptation tasks that will provide a con-nection between the academic and social contacts of the individual.

Лев Петражицкий и аутодидактика в высшей школе

We considered the formation and development of autodidactics in the Russian higher school at the beginning of the 20th century during the reform of the educational process, which introduced a subject system of education instead of the previously existing course. We revealed the role of L.I. Petrazhitsky in the development and implementation of the concept of autodidactics. We paid special attention to the organization of the educational process in autonomous universities. In humanitarian education, the personalist-axiological model of higher education is most effective. The traditional axiology of education determined the goals and methods of knowing scientific truth, while immersing students in the process of scientific research contributes to the development of their creative personalities. The need to be adequate to the level of achievements of the evolution of science involves the constant updating of the didactic complex: goals, content, forms and methods of learning. However, the customer of educational services forms a quasi-university focused on obtaining socio-cultural skills supposedly useful for the consumer of educational services. Such a model leads to the transformation of the scientific axiology of higher education and focuses on the criteria of utility and competence, which requires a different qualification, a different intellectual potential. There is a conflict of ambitendent innovative processes: autonomy opposes the authoritarian trend in education, while the higher school is technologizing the educational process aimed at forming narrow specialists.

Pedagogical Conditions and Structural and Functional Model of Development of Socio-Cultural Competence of Future Foreign Language Bachelors Based on Interdisciplinary Integration

The newest educational space is characterized by a focus on a competency-based approach to training qualified specialists, which indicates that they have mastered not only theoretical but also practical competencies in the context of interdisciplinary integration. The purpose of the study is to identify and substantiate the pedagogical conditions for the formation of socio-cultural competence of future philologists on the basis of interdisciplinary integration with the subsequent definition of a structural and functional model. In the course of the study, general scientific research methods were used, in particular, methods of analysis and synthesis to develop a theoretical framework, as well as modeling and systematization to develop a structural and functional model. The article highlights the pedagogical conditions and structural components of the structural-functional model of the formation of socio-cultural competence of future bachelors of foreign languages on the basis of interdisciplinary integration. The author's own interpretation of the concept of "pedagogical conditions" is proposed, which includes ensuring students' motivation to master the socio-cultural context of a foreign language and the culture of another people; actualization of interdisciplinary socio-cultural information in the content of professional disciplines; expanding the range of socio-cultural skills of future bachelors of foreign languages through the use of interdisciplinary communicative and cognitive cases; pedagogical support and organization of extracurricular cultural training of future bachelors of foreign languages. It has been found that the structural-functional model is characterized by integrity, openness, invariance, variability and mobility. The practical significance of the research lies in further empirical study of the functioning of the structural-functional model of formation of socio-cultural competence of future bachelors of foreign languages.

Identifying points of convergence between trained and ‘natural’ interpreters for public services

This paper reviews the implications of the role assumed by community interpreters and the linguistic and paralinguistic features of the profession. It reflects on bilingualism and interpreting capacity, comparing the different attitudes observed in several research studies between trained and natural interpreters, the latter being bilingual mediators with no specific training who are frequently called on to interpret in a range of contexts. In particular, the current study covers areas of convergence between the standard profile of trained interpreters and a non-normative approach that prioritises sociocultural skills and understands mediation as the most effective path to reach successful communication. A qualitative analysis of interviews pertaining to court and medical interpreting in Spain is employed to understand what guides interpreters’ decisions, thus contributing to a broader view of daily practice. Findings suggest that role prescriptions are not necessarily incongruent with many of the non-formal, mediating procedures on which natural interpreting is based, and that a flexible active approach based on empathy and critical skills should be encouraged and developed as part of student training.

The use of blog technology to develop sociocultural skills of university students at the German lessons

The use of blog technology to develop sociocultural skills of university students at the German lessons

Üniversitelerin "Çeviri ve Yorum" Bölümü Öğrencilerinin Beceri, Sosyal ve Kültürel Gelişimin bir Koşulu Olarak Web Forumu

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Специальное предупреждение насильственных преступлений, совершенных несовершеннолетними и молодежью по мотиву национальной ненависти

The problem of special prevention of the violent crimes committed by minors and youth on the national hatred grounds is considered in article. Law enforcement agencies have a special role in the solution of the matter because they carry out the large quantities of work on special prevention of crimes committed by minors and youth. Acquisition of sociocultural skills by minors and youth directed to elimination of long term habits and stereotypes of antisocial behavior among youth is one of the most perspective measures of prevention the violent crimes committed by minors and youth on the national hatred grounds. The author pays attention to necessity of the earlier bringing legal information to minors, taking into account features of group dynamics. Modern information technologies (for example, the complex automated information-analytical system “Safe City”, which allows ensuring safety on city streets) are also more effective in preventing crime among minors and youth than traditional methods of preventing teenage and youth crime, as these categories most often commit violent crimes in the streets.

The Impact of Culture and Intercultural Competence on the Performance of Students in Translation

The 21st century witnessed the emergence of Translation Studies, which include linguistics, comparative literature, sociology, semiotics, and communication. Translation Studies is also an interdisciplinary field that deals with the study of the theory, the description and application of translation, and cultural translation. Cultural Translation, which encompasses postcolonial translation studies, cultural gaps, and cultural manipulation, requires training the students of translation in the areas of social anthropology to help them achieve cultural and intercultural competence. Therefore, the purpose of the current quasi-experimental study was to provide the students with new translation training to help them understand the role of culture in translation. Examining the relationship between translation, linguistics, education, and social anthropology showed a shift in the purpose of translation from transferring information into a task of transmitting culture. Such a shift necessitates training the students to acquire socio-cultural skills by engaging them in discussions and dialogues about the culture of the original texts. The current study was an attempt to help students perceive the relationship between translation and culture to understand that some texts, specifically literary texts, do not only involve mastering two languages syntactically and semantically, but they also require communicative skills to analyze the social anthropological aspects of the texts, including culture, religion, and ideological and political issues. Therefore, this study applied the recent collaborative pedagogy for translation, which is based on improving social and cultural skills, for providing the students with the strategies for enhancing their professional practices within a social-constructivist educational environment. Moreover, emphasizing the concept of cultural turn in the work of polysystems in translation, the significance of this study lies in analyzing a number of theories to examine the relationship between translation, linguistics, and social anthropology and their impact on students’ culture and intercultural competence.

Informational returnees: deportation, digital media, and the making of a transnational cybertariat in the Mexican call center industry

In recent years, the US government has intensified the deportation of undocumented Mexican migrants, some of them with long life trajectories in the USA. With weak family networks in their communities of origin and sometimes none at all, many deportees choose to stay in cities along the US-Mexico border, joining the army of underpaid, low-skilled, and informal urban workers. Some take advantage of their transnational experience to earn a better income; within this context, the call center industry is an economic sector that profits from the language facility and sociocultural skills deported populations bring with them from their years spent living in the USA. This paper addresses the working conditions among call center workers in Mexico, with a focus in Tijuana City in the Mexican Northwest. In particular, I explore how migration, deportation, and call center labor produces what I call informational return, a process in which the convergence of culture, deportation, and digital media plays a key role in the constitution of a transnational digital worker.

An Investigation of the Social Network System Competencies of High School Students in Japan

We investigated the Social Network System (SNS) competencies of high school students in Japan. Student groups (from cities or regional areas) and the opinions of their teachers were compared. Twenty-five UNESCO criteria in three competency categories were selected. By two-way analysis of variance and paired-comparisons, we detected a significant difference in the opinions of students and teachers. Although the magnitude of the difference was small, by Dunnett’s multiple comparisons, the city and regional groups also differed from each other. Performance criteria items of risk awareness were valued the highest and most important in all groups; whereas technical skills and socio-cultural skills were reported as less proficient and less important by all groups. Classification of SNS-type was used, and the data of SNS sites with which the students were familiar and the mean values of related performance criteria items were applied to view the situation of students. By this approach, we confirmed that students are savvy in navigating socializing SNSs. Based on our findings, we propose important learning and societal-public activities relevant to SNSs.

Case study investigation of CMC with young language learners

By providing authentic experiences with the world outside the classroom, CMC seems to enhance the learning potential of conventional lessons (Pritchard et al. , 2010, p. 211). The assumption underlying the use of videoconferencing to teach and learn a second language is that it will help learners develop their oral and socio-cultural skills. However, when using CMC with young language learners, primary teachers’ relatively limited expertise both in the linguistic and technological fields represents some of the challenges they have to face. Following Pritchard et al. (Ibidem), who show that students who have experienced video-conferenced lessons have more confidence to experiment with language and, in general, produce language of a higher quality, our work examines the impact of CMC on students' communicative skills and teachers' actions in primary education. In this paper, we analyse a bi-national session that involves videoconferencing between young learners of French and English as a foreign language as they play a well-known game Cluedo. In our analysis, we first examine some of the constraints teachers have to face when using videoconferencing to teach an L2. Secondly, we present a few extracts that aim to probe the impact of CMC on the way students use both L1 and L2 and on its possible effect on the development of their linguistic repertoires.

Constructing Sociocultural Awareness from the EFL Classroom

This article reports an action research project carried out with a group of 24 undergraduate students in a private university in Ibagué, Colombia. The study aimed to characterize the development of university students’ sociocultural skills, to analyze their perceptions and to examine the teacher’s procedures and possible implications required to implement the Raising Cultural Consciousness Macrostrategy taken from the Postmethod Pedagogy. To reach these objectives a series of interconnected tasks were designed and implemented in three different stages. To collect the data, five data collection methods were used: the students’ artifacts, teacher’s field notes, questionnaires, video recordings and a focus group. The findings revealed that these university students became gradually aware of the importance of having the opportunity to develop tasks that allowed them to connect the English classroom with the local and global context. Furthermore, students suggested that this type of pedagogy should be an explicit component of the curricula of their professional programs. A review of the literature also showed that in our local context this kind of sociocultural study with a postmethod orientation is scarce, thus this study intends to bridge this gap in the Colombian ELT field

The development of students’ sociocultural competence in English at linguistic higher educational institutions

The article deals with the problem of teaching sociocultural competence in the target language to students learning English for professional purposes. The point of the issue is that the most effective way of teaching creative, culturally determined social communication in the target language a more fruitful approach to teaching a sociocultural competence is based on taking into account the linguistic, speech, psychological and psycholinguistic difficulties experienced by Azerbaijani students who learn English for developing communicative purposes. Language learners’ attention should be concentrated on similarities and differences between two cultures and dynamic nature of social interaction. Teaching should be done to master language university students’ sociocultural skills in productive communicative skills. The teacher’s role will be to encourage and facilitate the application of individual learning in social settings, bringing groups of learners together to put them through their paces. One of the main components of a communicative competence as well as linguistic, discursive and strategic competences is a sociocultural competence. It should be noted that the formation of the sociocultural competence implies with the formation of verbal behavior norms, non-verbal behavior norms are adopted among the native speakers. One of the significant factors contributing to the success of communication is the use of participants of the target language. It should be noted that today at all stages of teaching English as a specialty the main attention is traditionally focused on teaching the language system despite the urgency and importance of the problem of the sociocultural component formation of the communicative competence.

Формирование социально-культурной квалификации в преподавании иностранных языков студентам

Формирование социально-культурной квалификации в преподавании иностранных языков студентам

‘Making the grade’: a grounded theory explaining the student experience of Asian and Middle-Eastern postgraduates in a British university

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was firstly to describe the experiences of international students living and studying in a UK university, to understand and explain their responses to those experiences and to make recommendations to stakeholders in the light of the findings. The research found that international students’ two biggest concerns are their English language skills and their detachment from domestic students. International students were surprised at the size of the challenges they faced and worked hard to bridge the gap between their academic and sociocultural skills and those needed in the UK. International students provided emotional, practical and academic support to each other, but the academic support they offered to each other was not always reliable. International students engaged in a process of identity change during which they gained the skills they needed to be academically successful. Recommendations in regard to the academic and pastoral support of international students are made.

Open- and closed-mindedness in cross-cultural adaptation: The roles of mindfulness and need for cognitive closure

Individuals who are high, relative to low, in mindfulness are more open when ascribing meanings to new experiences and more resilient under stress, suggesting that mindfulness may play an important role in cross-cultural adaptation. In contrast, those high in need for cognitive closure (NCC) seem to close one’s mind to new cross-cultural experiences. We tested these contrasting effects of mindfulness and NCC by examining Asian international students (n=233) who study at an Australian university using several measures of psychological and sociocultural adjustment. The study found that more mindful sojourners develop greater sociocultural skills and superior knowledge of a unique local culture. The role of need for cognitive closure (NCC)―closed-mindedness spurred by a desire for clear-cut understanding―was found primarily in the domain of psychological adjustment. The results highlight the importance of these dimensions of open- versus closed-mindedness during cross-cultural adaptation.

The system of exercises for forming future university English teachers’ socio-сultural competence by means of information research project

Abstract. Introduction. The on-line news articles of the British and American newspapers and magazines are viewed as an effective source of the latest socio-cultural information. They contain up-to-date social, cultural and linguistic data, which is essential for obtaining the socio- cultural knowledge and developing skills. The key thing in forming the socio-cultural competence of future University teachers of English is developing the system of exercisesaimed at forming a set of socio-cultural skills in reading and analyzing the news articles critically, building on intercultural tolerance. One of the most effective ways to do this is to develop a system of exercises for forming socio-cultural competence by means of Information Research Project. Purpose. To develop the list of the main components of the socio-cultural competence to be formed and assessed; to specify the stages of forming socio-cultural competence in accordance with the project work stages and project activities; to give the examples of the exercises, as well as their analysis. Methods. Reviewing the scientific studies on the most efficient ways to develop the system of exercises. Results. The article describes the system of exercises for forming the socio-cultural competence of future university English teachers’ by means of Information Research Project. Conclusion. As a recap, the given system of exercises meets the requirements of the process of forming sociocultural competence effectively.

‘Quo Vadimus?’ from a Cognitive Linguistic Perspective

Abstract In this article, I offer some comments on the general theme “The Study of Linguistic Sign Systems in the 21st Century” of this special issue of CSS and on the individual contributions therein. I comment on topics such as the shift from form to cognition in contemporary linguistics (Zhang & Yu), the faculty of language (Chomsky, Cowley), sign systems and their use by nonhuman organisms (Pable), the nature of the linguistic sign and its indeterminacy (Zhang & Yu, Pable, Liszka, and Cowley). One focus is the debate between “nativists” and “non-nativists”, i.e. the question whether the language faculty is inborn or explainable by non-specialized cognitive learning mechanisms. My own conception of language and communication, which is inspired by cognitive linguistics and contemporary pragmatics, regards language as a sign system of conventional form-meaning pairs. Successful human communication requires socio-cultural skills such as cooperative behavior and the ability to infer non-coded meanings.