Abstract:

It is common knowledge that cultural background of a language speaker is reflected in his language use and behaviour, which needs to be considered when teaching a foreign language. Language is seen nowadays as a socio-cultural phenomenon, as a form of behaviour underpinned by the cognitive peculiarities and mental stereotypes that characterize each nation. Therefore we expect manifestations of these peculiarities emerge in communication with representatives of various cultures.

These stereotypes seen as dynamic rather than static psychological units of communication can both hinder and facilitate intercultural communication when they are triggered or ‘unpacked’ in the recipient’s mind. Only adequate understanding of cultural stereotypes can provide mutual comprehension of the message that is being expressed in a communicative situation and consequent achievement of a communicative goal.
Following the well-known statement made by A.A. Leontiev that the language embodies the culture, we can conclude that in foreign language teaching and learning the language encodes the behavior of the native speakers and their corresponding expectations of all other speakers. In this respect the main focus of attention should be on culturally specific situation-based patterns of behaviour, as students will find themselves in situations in which behaviour patterns and communication patterns familiar to them might prove inefficient and misleading for their interlocutor representing a different culture.

Therefore, in multilingual and multicultural classes these features become particularly important. While the ethnic aspect of communicative behaviour has been studied thoroughly, there has been little research into the religious component, which leads to the fact that it is rarely taken into account in teaching. Still, there is a range of topics that are included in language teaching syllabi (especially in some courses of English for Specific Purposes, or ESP), which appear controversial from a religious point of view. Practice shows that discussing these topics in class is likely to have minimal efficiency of language learning due to excessive emotional involvement of the learners.

One solution would be to avoid these topics altogether, however, there are contexts in which it is impossible. For example, in teaching ESP to students of Politics, International Relations, Intercultural Communication and some other specializations, it is essential for learners to be able to express their views on these matters.

In the paper we study the phenomenon of religion-based communicative behavior, its implications for language teaching and propose a series of techniques to control or mitigate its effects that can disruptive religion-specific communicative behaviour. This strategy was developed based on the findings of a survey conducted in various universities in Moscow (Russia) where there are groups of students that hold different religious views.

Keywords:

Communicative behaviour, religious beliefs, multilingual groups, action research, teaching techniques.