THE DEVELOPMENT OF GENERAL CULTURAL AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCIES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN CONDITIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INTERNATIONALIZATION

Abstract

The topicality of the article has been justified by the influence of the education internationalization processes on the implementation of qualitative and quantitative changes within the educational policy of universities. The concept of “internationalization of higher education” is interpreted as a process of integration of educational, scientific research and administrative activities of higher educational establishments into the world educational area. Attention has been drawn to the fact that the process of higher education internationalization covers not only international activities, but also the content of education, types and technologies of learning and teaching, the control over educational activity, the management of higher educational establishments. The main directions of higher education internationalization at Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University have been considered: complex cooperation with the leading foreign universities; implementation of international educational standards; realization of students and teachers’ mobility programs; joint scientific research projects and communicative events. The positive aspects of internationalization of higher education for the formation of the key educational competencies, in particular general cultural and communicative ones, have been highlighted. The emphasis has been put on the close interaction of general cultural and foreign language communicative competencies through the necessity of applying linguistic knowledge in the dialogue of cultures. The article reveals the importance of international academic mobility which enables the participation of students and teachers in a variety of educational and scientific research programs. It has been noted that academic mobility gives students the opportunity to learn about the cultural heritage of other countries and to improve their knowledge of foreign languages. The article concludes that the process of higher education internationalization opens new prospects for the students who are becoming active participants at the global market of educational services.