Issue 1, Year 1, January 2018

Table of Contents

The Competence of Understanding in Intercultural Communication (Language Parallels)

Author: Nelya Ivanova
Key words: Understanding, Competence, Intercultural Communication, Bulgarian, Russian, English, Chinese, Japanese
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to present the process of understanding in communication according to the paradigm of cognitive linguistics. The views of modern linguists on the understanding as a heuristic and predetermined specific work in the on-line mode of communication are summarized. The difference with the structuralist views on the essence of this process is pointed out. The role of the words as the activators of the understanding and as a cultural frame of our experience in the semantics of the language is mentioned. The mechanism of verbalization in the language, which is culturally defined and is relevant to intercultural communication, is presented by its different traits, semantic selectivity, length of the synonym/antonym rows, conceptual categories, grammatical categories, maxims of communications, types of texts, metaphors and comparisons, cultural concepts and style of communication. This review is illustrated with specific examples from Bulgarian, Russian, English, Japanese, and Chinese language in a comparative context. The specificity of intercultural communication as interpersonal communication is expressed through its value dimension. This important factor and its study through language is the essence of the competency of understanding in intercultural communication.

Application of the Integrated Process Model of Intercultural Competence in the Design of Survey Tools

Author: Diana Bebenova-Nikolova
Key words: Intercultural Competence, Integrated Process Model, Survey Questionnaire, In-Depth Interview Scenario, Multicultural Teams
Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to discuss the application of the Integrated Process Model of Intercultural Competence in designing a survey questionnaire and an in-depth interview scenario, which have been used in an empirical study to collect reliable statisitical and textual data on the process of acquiring intercultural competence in multicultural project teams. For this, the article first defines some terminology and explains why the dialectical approach to intercultural communication has been selected and incorporated in the Integrated Process Model of Intercultural Competence. Then it reveals how the same Model has been operationalized to design, validate and test the research tools to prove the reliability of the collected data. At this point, the paper presents some results from the empirical study on factors, influencing the process of acquiring intercultural competence and discusses them from the dialectical perspective. Finally it concludes that both the presented approach to designing of the survey tools, based on the Integrated Process Model and the tools themselves are important and useful as their application contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of intercultural communication and indicates how intercultural competence could be managed for better team effectiveness.

The Linguistic Peculiarities of a Fairy Tale Film as a Secondary Text

Authors: Vera Merkurjeva, Anna Shadrina
Key words: Secondary Text, Film Adaptation, Fairy Tale Film, Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Abstract: The present research focuses on the linguistic peculiarities of German fairy tales film adaptations as secondary texts. The global technological development, which resulted in the new way of information being perceived via technical means of communication and different media texts, including new types of secondary texts, such as film adaptation of literary works, explains the choice and the importance of this topic. Using the method of comparative analysis, we study the audio part of two different “Rapunzel” screen versions and one “Cinderella” screen adaptation. The analysis reveals the lexical means that change the genre and the style of fairy tales in the adaptations and correctly convert the original text of the story into a film text intended for children. The linguistic features of the source text preserved in the secondary text and providing the source material to the viewers are also specified. The results of the analysis may be used in further studying of secondary texts, their nature and structuring, and in the German stylistics courses.

Gaining Insight into Creative Writing

Author: Zhuzhuna Gumbaridze
Key words: Discovery, Generalizing Thinking, Imaginative Writing, Organization, Content
Abstract: The paper examines previously tested teaching material in the context of developing critical thinking skills through creative writing. The lesson plan was designed and prompted by the author’s experience for the EFL students in the English department at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University. Teachers are invited to examine the material presented in this paper to consider how it may be adapted to their own teaching environment. It discusses the significance of teaching creative writing so as to raise awareness of this important language skill and offers EFL teachers an opportunity to use the suggested lesson plan in their own classrooms. The emphasis in the paper is on both providing a general review of the purpose of teaching creative writing and presenting a practical and adaptable teaching material with its detailed procedure and description Accordingly, the paper begins with a general survey of the nature of teaching writing and goes on to present the practical material designed for EFL teachers.

Integration of Mobile Applications in the Language Teaching Process

Authors: Natia Katamadze, Lia Davitadze
Key words: ELT, Teaching, Smartphone, Apps, University Students, Classroom Activities
Abstract: The choice of the topic is motivated by the consistent use of digital technologies in all walks of life and the need for the transformation of higher education system in the Republic of Georgia with regard to the needs of the digital learners. The purpose of this article is to reveal the effectiveness of using mobile applications in teaching English as a foreign language. The article underlines the efficiency of the integration of information technology in foreign language teaching and learning process providing few classroom activities in which mobile applications are actively applied. The latter as one of the main information technology systems, were used to determine the efficiency of IT in foreign language teaching. Our aim is to present few apps and activities that can be useful.