Intercultural Communication at the University: Historical Experience and Challenges of Our Time

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of intercultural communication at the university in the perspective of the past and present. The authors reveal the historical aspect of the introduction of intercultural communication into the academic life of universities. It is emphasized that the problem of intercultural communication in the educational process, in the everyday life of students becomes acute and relevant in the conditions of internationalization of education, the increase in the number of foreign students in universities. The experience of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University on the creation of the system of academic adaptation of foreign students is generalized. The article is based on modern educational technologies and intercultural communication ideas. It is shown that the modern university in the space of intercultural communication occupies a special place. In order to increase the effectiveness of intercultural communication, it is offered to focus universities on the formation of students, including foreign, intercultural competence. It is shown that such competence should be raised in specially organized forms and situations of intercultural communication. The expediency of the development and implementation of educational programs outside of educational actions, which promote the promotion of tolerance in the educational environment through the activation of intercultural communication and readiness to use their modern forms and types, is substantiated.