Abstract:

This paper introduces the fact that contemporary social networking platforms have become an effective way for foreign language learning. It elaborates on the importance of mastering compliments to improve foreign language learners’ intercultural communication skills and how to use social networking platforms to upgrade their intercultural communication skills in the process of teaching Russian.

With the development of Internet and the popularization of mobile Internet, communication for modern people is no longer limited to the past face-to-face manner. Despite their virtual status, social networking provides a very real social environment by making itself the place for issuing messages and share opinions. In other words, social networking platforms of a particular language are language database of communication in this language. For foreign language learners, browsing and using the social networking platform of the target country is particularly important for improving intercultural communication skills.

From a pragmatic perspective, compliment is understood as positive comments about a person or object. As a common social linguistic phenomenon, it is an important part of Russian everyday verbal communication and also a widely used form of speech etiquette. The acquisition and use of compliments are important indicator of the intercultural communication skills of learners of Russian as foreign language. Compliments are also widely found in the comments on videos or posts on social networking, as expression of praise.

The relevance of the study is divided in two parts. First, in the context of pandemic, opportunities for language and cultural exchange activities with native speakers are decreased, and remote foreign language learning has a negative impact on improving intercultural communication skills. Second, traditional Russian language teaching in China usually takes compliments from classic literature as teaching corpus, while contemporary Russian compliments have mutated to a certain extent – Many new words emerge and are used in the expressions of compliments on social networking.

Therefore, in this particular background of pandemic, using social networking as platforms to study how to apply compliments like a native speaker and how to respond is not only the most effective way to understand native speakers’ expression habits and discourse norms but also comes in handy in averting linguistic errors so that the intercultural communication skills can be bettered.

Keywords:

Social networks, Compliments, Intercultural communication, Teaching Russian.