Abstract:

This paper investigates developing socio-cultural competence while learning a foreign language. In the endeavour to preserve unique national identity in terms of globalisation people lack cultural awareness and sensitivity which could result in cross- cultural misunderstanding and communication failures. It was hypothesized that authentic socio-cultural texts can help students learn more about other cultures, customs and traditions, understand people from different backgrounds. Eighty-nine students participated, and a twelve-item pragmatic test was also used for this study. The survey method applied shows a high level of students’ commitment to reading socio-cultural texts. Selection criteria of authentic texts and didactic possibilities of applying them to develop sociocultural competence are contextualized in learning a foreign language. The study is aimed at suggesting some ways of improving and supplementing current educational programmes, developing a set of tasks to form socio-cultural competence due to reading authentic texts. The findings are based on a case study of national teaching materials and study aids. The paper results can be of great value for researchers dealing with linguistic studies, teachers of the English language and students.

Keywords:

Socio-cultural competence, teaching materials, cultural awareness, authentic texts, survey method, communication.