APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF THE PROBLEM OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Abstract. The article examines the approaches of foreign and domestic researchers to the study of the peculiarities of communication between people of different nationalities, ethnic groups, and cultures. Common definitions of the following concepts are presented: communication, culture, and cross-cultural communication. Cross-cultural communication is one of the most popular types of social interaction and plays an important role in the modern social situation. Cross-cultural communication is traditionally understood as the study and practice of communication in various cultural contexts. Effective intercultural communication is based on the recognition and respect of cultural differences, aimed at achieving mutual adaptation. The analysis of modern Russian theoretical works on intercultural communication has shown that most theoretical approaches to intercultural communication are based on the study of the identity of the participants of communication, the features of adaptation, and the results of interaction. There are also integral theories and the direct process of the development of intercultural communication is studied. The importance of studying cross-cultural communicative competence is noted. Cross-cultural competence refers to a set of behaviors, values, and strategies that can be developed at the individual level or at the organization level. At the individual level, cultural competence requires three key concepts: cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, and cross-cultural skills. The development of the problem of the effectiveness of cross-cultural communication allowed the researchers to determine the success of cross-cultural interaction through the high accuracy of the understanding of the interlocutors of each other, as well as through the ability to determine the reasons for the behavior or statements of the communication partner. The relevance of the study of cross-cultural communication increases due to the increase in the number of foreign employees in large companies. In the context of globalization, large companies and universities are increasingly inviting qualified specialists and students from other countries to work. Finding competent professionals who are able to adapt to a different cultural environment and at the same time successfully apply their skills that increase the company’s success at the international level is a very urgent task. Special attention is paid to the importance of cultural characteristics, which in some situations can be crucial for achieving success in the format of international cooperation. It is noted that the lack of knowledge about cross-cultural communication in business relationships can offend potential or current customers, alienate employees working in other places around the world, and negatively affect the company’s performance. The article provides a number of practical recommendations that practitioners and researchers of intercultural communication propose to implement in the process of organizing work or study in order to improve the effectiveness of intercultural communication and facilitate the adaptation of people of different cultures to each other. Among the proposed recommendations, a special place is occupied by actions related to raising awareness of employees and students about the cultural specifics of their colleagues, training in effective listening skills, working with the attitudes of managers and teachers when organizing joint work of students or employees belonging to different cultures. Keywords: intercultural communication, culture, work activities, learning, students