Abstract:

The given article explores cross-cultural and intercultural communication theory and how to apply cultural awareness into teaching practice. The authors draw on the research of William Gudykunst and Geert Hofstede and consider how their findings can be used/applied in teaching English to bilingual Russian-speaking students from the Northern Caucasus region. The authors look into learners’ characteristics in terms of cultural dimensions as it was not sufficiently reflected in major theories of cross-culture communication, which introduces the novelty of the article.

The topicality of the paper can be attributed to the specifics of the RUDN University as a multilingual and multinational educational institution. Since the year 2000 when the military conflict in the Northern Caucasus region was resolved, an increased number of students from this area have been seeking to obtain higher education at Moscow universities. Lecturers and professors currently face the problem of adapting methods of teaching foreign languages to mixed-nationality groups so that regional and national identity was taken into account.

The authors make an attempt to formulate cultural characteristics of these ethnic groups according to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory and come up with recommendations of how to develop a wide range of language skills and to overcome linguistic difficulties.

Keywords:

Cultural dimensions, the Northern Caucasus region, cross-culture communication theories, mixed-nationality groups.