Cognitive principles of implementing pluricentric knowledge and their linguistic and cultural specificity into the practice of teaching German

Abstract

This article is devoted to the consideration of cognitive principles that justify the concept of introducing knowledge about ethnic variants of the German language into the educational process. The presented problem is relevant in connection with the need of modern society in personnel possessing cross-cultural communication skills, including the use of relevant language structures reflecting language variability. The dynamics of national language contacts encourages the development of methodological foundations for teaching linguistic and cultural differences at the lexical level. The stated topic involves consideration of the mental processes that determine the assimilation of language knowledge and their use in communication. The aim of the work is to formulate the cognitive principles of pluricentric knowledge assimilation in the framework of the intercultural competence formation. In the linguistic part of the work, the methods of comparative and conceptual analysis are used in the study of factual material. The didactic component of the study is based on the awareness of the learning process from the standpoint of cognitive processes responsible for the processing and assimilation of various types of information. The use of logical methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as the method of observation implemented in the course of experimental work, made it possible to create a pluricentrically-oriented concept of teaching German. The pluricentricity of the German language is realized in the existence of the Austrian and Swiss national variants. As a result of the study, the cognitive principles of introducing knowledge about German language variants into the educational process were formulated: consideration of the importance of the transition from the sensory stage of cognition to the rational one and the need for the formation of individual cognitive models and strategies that optimize the assimilation of territorial differences. The set of exercises and tasks developed in the course of the experimental work includes language, adaptive and real speech exercises and tasks aimed at the formation of cross-cultural competence within the framework of the development of lexical skills.