Content I introduction II main body The role of educational technologies in learning Why is sociocultural learning important ? The development of socio-cultural competency of students III. Conclusion Problematic quest Glossary Reference

WHY IS SOCIOCULTURAL LEARNING IMPORTANT ?
Vygotsky wrote his work "Thinking and Speaking" in 1934, and he died a while later at the age of 37 from tuberculosis. It is important to mention that his work was forbidden by Stalin in the Soviet Union for almost 20 years till Stalin died in 1953. So, it was several decades after his death that his work became widely known and appreciated in the West. In fact, the first significant and most comprehensive book, till then, concerning his work and theories was published in 1978 by Harvard University Press. This book was edited by a group of outstanding Vygotsky’s scholars and it was only then that Vygotsky’s most significant writings were translated into English and became well known in the West.

The Sociocultural Learning Theory is based upon the idea that a learner's environment plays a pivotal role in his/her learning development. According to Vygotsky the learning process actually involves three key themes: culture, language, and the “zone of proximal development”.

The 3 Key Themes of The Sociocultural Learning Theory Culture

Vygotsky suggested that cultures are actually formed through the use of tools and symbols, and that this key distinction is what differentiates the human race from that of animals. Intelligence is achieved when a learner can “internalize” the tools that are being provided in the culture itself. When the tools of a culture evolve and emerge, the learners’ ability to grow as individuals and increase their knowledge base is broadened. As such, according to the Sociocultural Learning Theory, it's important for instructors to understand the human mind from a historical point of view as well as a cultural one.

Language
According to the Sociocultural Learning Theory, language is a direct result of the symbols and tools that emerge within a culture. An individual is able to learn language through a variety of social events, scenarios and processes, which all result in the acquisition of language. This aspect of the Sociocultural Learning Theory relies upon the idea that learners go through three stages of speech development. First, they must engage in the social environment, which is known as “social speech” and begins at the age of 2. Next, they will learn about “private speech”, which occurs when learners voice their thoughts aloud, and begins at the age of 3. The last is “inner speech”, which takes the form of ideas that remain within our minds and directly impact our behavior or thoughts, and begins at the age of 7.

Zone of Proximal Development

This is the “gap” or distance that exists between a learner's possible educational development, which is determined through problem solving activities, and the development that actually takes place. This is assessed when learners are asked to engage in problem solving tasks under the supervision of an instructor. Their responses and capabilities are then compared to that of their peers. This assessment is based upon a spectrum, wherein what learners are capable of doing without any assistance is at one end of the spectrum, and what they can do while being assisted is at the other. In essence, the zone allows instructors to learn what a student is not yet capable of doing or has not yet learned, but can be taught with the proper instruction.

Applying The Sociocultural Learning Theory

The Sociocultural Learning Theory also takes into account how learners are impacted by their peers, and how social scenarios impact their ability to acquire information. As such, instructors who apply the Sociocultural Learning Theory in their instructional design can also become aware of how learners may directly impact one another, as well as how cultural “norms” can influence a learner's learning behavior. They can then create an eLearning course plan that integrates the principles of Sociocultural Learning, in order to enhance the effectiveness of the curriculum.

When considering theories of learning, LIDT professionals should also consider sociocultural perspectives and the role that culture, interaction, and collaboration have on quality learning. Modern social learning theories stem from the work of Russian psychologist Vygotsky, who produced his ideas between 1924 and 1934 as a reaction to existing conflicting approaches in psychology .

Vygotsky’s ideas are most recognized for identifying the role social interactions and culture play in the development of higher-order thinking skills, and it is especially valuable for the insights it provides about the dynamic “interdependence between individual and social processes in the construction of knowledge”. Vygotsky’s views are often considered primarily as developmental theories, focusing on qualitative changes in behavior over time as attempts to explain unseen processes of development of thought, language, and higher-order thinking skills. Although Vygotsky’s intent was  mainly to understand higher psychological processes in children, his ideas have many implications and practical applications for learners of all ages.

Interpretations of Vygotsky’s and other sociocultural scholars’ work have led to diverse perspectives and a variety of new approaches to education. Today, sociocultural theory and related approaches are widely recognized and accepted in psychology and education and are especially valued in the field of applied linguistics because of its underlying notion that language and thought are connected. Sociocultural theory is also becoming increasingly influential in the field of instructional design. In this chapter, we first review some of the fundamental principles of sociocultural theory of learning. We then suggest design implications for learning, teaching, and education in general. Following, we consider how sociocultural theories of learning should influence instructional design.

Fundamental principles of sociocultural perspectives on learning.

Three themes are often identified with Vygotsky’s ideas of sociocultural learning: (1) human development and learning originate in social, historical, and cultural interactions, (2) use of psychological tools, particularly language, mediate development of higher mental functions, and (3) learning occurs within the Zone of Proximal Development. While we discuss these ideas separately, they are closely interrelated, non-hierarchical, and connected.

Human development and learning originate in social, historical, and cultural interactions. Vygotsky contended that thinking has social origins, social interactions play a critical role especially in the development of higher order thinking skills, and cognitive development cannot be fully understood without considering the social and historical context within which it is embedded. He explained, “Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)”.  It is through working with others on a variety of tasks that a learner adopts socially shared experiences and associated effects and acquires useful strategies and knowledge.

Rogoff refers to this process as guided participation, where a learner actively acquires new culturally valuable skills and capabilities through a meaningful, collaborative activity with an assisting, more experienced other. It is critical to notice that these culturally mediated functions are viewed as being embedded in sociocultural activities rather than being self-contained. Development is a “transformation of participation in a sociocultural activity” not a transmission of discrete cultural knowledge or skills.  The processes of guided participation reveal the Vygotskian view of cognitive development “as the transformation of socially shared activities into internalized processes,” or an act of enculturation, thus rejecting the Cartesian dichotomy between the internal and the external.

This Vygotskian notion of social learning stands in contrast to more popular Piaget’s ideas of cognitive development, which assume that development through certain stages is biologically determined, originates in the individual, and precedes cognitive complexity. This difference in assumptions has significant implications to the design and development of learning experiences. If we believe as Piaget did that development precedes learning, then we will make sure that new concepts and problems are not introduced until learners have developed innate capabilities to understand them. On the other hand, if we believe as Vygotsky did that learning drives development and that development occurs as we learn a variety of concepts and principles, recognizing their applicability to new tasks and new situations, then our instructional design will look very different. We will ensure that instructional activities are structured in ways that promote individual student learning and development. We will know that it is the process of learning that enables achievement of higher levels of development, which in turn affects “readiness to learn a new concept”. In essence:

Learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment and with his peers learning is not development; however, properly organized learning results in mental development and sets in motion a variety of developmental processes that would be impossible apart from learning. Thus learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human, psychological functions .

Another implication based on Vygotskian views of learning is recognizing that there are individual differences as well as cross-cultural differences in learning and development. As instructional designers, we should be more sensitive to diversity in learners and recognize that a large amount of research has been done on white, middle-class individuals associated with Western tradition, and the resulting understanding of development and learning often incorrectly assumes universality. Recognizing that “ideal thinking and behavior may differ for different cultures” and that “different historical and cultural circumstances may encourage different developmental routes to any given developmental endpoint” may prevent incorrect universalist views of all individuals and allow for environments that value diversity as a resource.

Use of psychological tools, particularly language, mediate development of higher mental functions. Another important aspect of Vygotsky’s views on learning is the significance of language in the learning process. Vygotsky reasoned that social structures determine people’s working conditions and interactions with others, which in turn shape their cognition, beliefs, attitudes, and perception of reality and that social and individual work is mediated by tools and signs, or semiotics, such as language, systems of counting, conventional signs, and works of art. He suggested that the use of tools, or semiotic mediation, facilitates co-construction of knowledge and mediates both social and individual functioning. These semiotic means play an important role in development and learning through appropriation, a process of an individual’s adopting these socially available psychological tools to assist future independent problem solving.This means that children and learners do not need to reinvent already existing tools in order to be able to use them. They only need to be introduced to how a particular tool is used, then they can use it across a variety of situations solving new problems.

Vygotsky viewed language as the ultimate collection of symbols and tools that emerge within a culture. It is potentially the greatest tool at our disposal, a form of a symbolic mediation that plays two critical roles in development: to communicate with others and to construct meaning.

Learning occurs within the zone of proximal development. Probably the most widely applied sociocultural concept in the design of learning experiences is the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Vygotsky defined ZPD as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. He believed that learning should be matched with an individual’s developmental level and that in order to understand the connection between development and learning, it is necessary to distinguish the actual and the potential levels of development. Learning and development are best understood when the focus is on processes rather than their products. He considered the ZPD to be a better and more dynamic indicator of cognitive development since it reflects what the learner is in the process of learning as compared to merely measuring what the learner can accomplish independently, reflecting what has been already learned.

Vygotsky argued that productive interactions align instruction toward the ZPD, and providing instruction and guidance within the ZPD allows a learner to develop skills and strategies they will eventually apply on their own in other situations. This highlights the importance of instructional decisions related to types and quality of interactions in designing effective learning experiences. Whether these interactions occur with a more experienced other or another learner with similar skills, there should always be a degree of common understanding about the task, described as intersubjectivity., The partners should have a sense of shared authority over the process, and they should actively collaborate to co-construct understanding. It is important to notice that ZPD should be viewed broadly as “any situation in which some activity is leading individuals beyond their current level of functioning,” applicable not only to instructional activities but to play, work, and many other activities.

The notion of instructional scaffolding is closely related to the idea of ZPD. Scaffolding is the set of tools or actions that help a learner successfully complete a task within ZPD. Scaffoldings typically include a mutual and dynamic nature of interaction where both the learner and the one providing the scaffold influence each other and adjust their behavior as they collaborate. The types and the extent of supports provided in a learning experience are based on performance, and the scaffold is gradually phased out. The expert motivates and guides the learner by providing just enough assistance, modeling, and highlighting critical features of the task as well as continually evaluating and adjusting supports as needed. Additionally, providing opportunities for reflection as part of the learning experience further promotes more complex, meaningful, and lasting learning experiences. In the case of digital learning experiences, scaffolds are not necessarily provided by individuals, but may be embedded into the experience.

Ideas such as ZPD and scaffolding bring to light a fundamentally different view of an instructor who serves more as a facilitator of learning rather than a fount of knowledge. Likewise, the learner takes on more responsibilities such as determining their learning goals, becoming a resource of knowledge for peers, and actively collaborating in the learning process. This shift in roles promotes individualized, differentiated, and learner-centered types of instruction, and when accompanied with effective pedagogical practices, it has a potential to become a powerful alternative for reforming current educational systems and creating environments where many different individuals develop deep understanding of important subjects.

Summary of sociocultural theory.

Sociocultural theory has several widely recognized strengths. First, it emphasizes the broader social, cultural, and historical context of any human activity. It does not view individuals as isolated entity rather, it provides a richer perspective, focusing on the fluid boundary between self and others. It portrays the dynamic of a learner acquiring knowledge and skills from the society and then in turn shaping their environment. Second, sociocultural theory is sensitive to individual and cross-cultural diversity. In contrast to many other universalist theories, sociocultural theory acknowledges both differences in individuals within a culture and differences in individuals across cultures. It recognizes that “different historical and cultural circumstances may encourage different developmental routes to any given developmental endpoint” depending on particular social or physical circumstances and tools available. Finally, sociocultural theory greatly contributes to our theoretical understanding of cognitive development by integrating the notion of learning and development. The idea of learning driving development rather than being determined by a developmental level of the learner fundamentally changes our understanding of the learning process and has significant instructional and educational implications.

There are also limitations to the sociocultural perspective. The first limitation is related to Vygotsky’s premature death, as many of his theories remained incomplete. Furthermore, his work was largely unknown until fairly recently due to political reasons and issues with translation. The second major limitation is associated with the vagueness of the ZPD. Individuals may have wide or narrow zones, which may be both desirable and undesirable, depending on the circumstances. Knowing only the width of the zone “does not provide an accurate picture of [the learner’s]learning, ability, style of learning, and current level of development compared to other children of the same age and degree of motivation”. Additionally, there is little known about whether a child’s zone is comparable across different learning domains, with different individuals, and whether the size of the zone changes over time. here is also not a common metric scale to measure ZPD. Finally, Rogoff pointed out that Vygotsky’s theories may not be as relevant to all cultures as originally thought. She provides an example of scaffolding being heavily dependent on verbal instruction and thus not equally effective in all cultures for all types of learning.

The notion of social origins of learning, the interrelationship of language and thought, and the Zone of Proximal Development are Vygotsky’s most important contributions. However, the practical applications of sociocultural theory are also significant that emphasize creating learner-centered instructional environments where learning by discovery, inquiry, active problem solving, and critical thinking are fostered through collaboration with experts and peers in communities of learners and encourage self-directed lifelong learning habits. Presenting authentic and cognitively challenging tasks within a context of collaborative activities, scaffolding learner’s efforts by providing a structure and support to accomplish complex tasks, and providing opportunities for authentic and dynamic assessment are all important aspects of this approach. Sociocultural principles can be applied in effective and meaningful ways to design instruction across the curriculum for learners of different ages and variety of skills, and they can be effectively integrated using a wide range of technologies and learning environments. The challenge remains for educators and instructional designers to elevate our practices from efficient, systemic approaches for teaching and instructional design to a focus on individual learners and effective pedagogical practices to develop empowered learners ready to successfully negotiate the rapidly changing era of information. Technology is at our fingertips it is up to us to competently implement its unique affordances to promote new ways to educate and support deep, meaningful, and self-directed learning. Grounding our practices in sociocultural theory can significantly aid our efforts.

Design characteristics related to social perspectives of learning.

In this section major characteristics of sociocultural theory important to instructional design will be discussed. These include the focus on the individual learner and their context for learning and the use of effective pedagogies centered around collaborative practice and communities of learners.

Focus on the contextualized learner in social learning activities.

Sociocultural theory and related ideas provide a valuable contribution to a focus on the learner within their social, cultural, and historical context and also offer sound pedagogical solutions and strategies that facilitate development of critical thinking and lifelong learning. The American Psychological Association’s Learner-Centered Principles  stated the following about social interactions on individual learners: “In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have an opportunity for perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of cognitive, social, and moral development, as well as self-esteem.”

Most instructional design models take into consideration a common or isolated concept of the learner, but recently, a strong call has been issued for a complete shift in our education and instructional design approaches to reflect our society’s changing educational needs. More contemporary design approaches, such as Universal Design for Learning, recognize that every learner is unique and influenced by his or her  embedded context. These approaches strive to provide challenging and engaging curricula for diverse learners while also designing for the social influences that surround them.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCY OF STUDENTS

The concept of «socio-cultural competence» is regarded as the formation of skills to present the native culture and the culture of a foreign language in intercultural communication, the assimilation of the national and cultural component in the learning of a foreign language as a basic condition of students familiarizing to the culture of the target language country. There are the methodical principles of socio-cultural education, such as the principle of cultural conformity, the principle of cultural reflection, the principle of the dialogue of cultures.

Now it is generally recognized that a foreign language should be taught at the primary school. Social transformations taking place in the Republic of Kazakhstan established the certain conditions for restructuring processes in the education system. Education at the modern school is aimed to solve the following problems. First of all, schools must equip students’ strong and deep knowledge of the principles of science; secondly, it is obliged to prepare their graduates for their life. They form the most important skills necessary for inclusion in the various spheres of the social life.

Development of business and personal contacts, expanding and the strengthening economic and cultural ties between the peoples, put forward before the school to the fore the problem of the education, the main asset of which are universal culture and human values. This problem is directly related to the problem of understanding people to find common ways to implement progress. One of the possible solutions to this problem could be the humanization of education that is the communion of students to the cultural heritage and spiritual values of their people and other peoples of the world. A special role to this belongs to a foreign language, through which the direct and indirect foreign cultural dialogue and mother tongue, became one of the main things in the modern concept of education.

As an essential element of the culture of a people — the carrier of language and means of communication it to others, the foreign language contributes to the formation of personality and social adaptation to the ever-changing multicultural and poly-lingual world. The foreign language extends the linguistic, sociocultural horizons of students, fosters a culture of communication, and contributes to the overall speech development. This reflects the interaction of all language subjects contributing to build the foundations of students’ education.

The main objective of foreign language teaching at secondary schools and specialized foreign language secondary schools is the development of students’ individuality in close communication due to the teaching of the target language in the culture of the country contributing to desire in participation in intercultural communication.

The process of the socio-cultural competence and its formation is able to increase the motivation of students for studying of a foreign language that will enhance to the quality of their knowledge.

The unit of universal formation of knowledge component is a component of the concept as the basic unit of culture, as a unit of the conceptual system of the individual, reflecting the rank and the experience. Practice proves that an important role in the process of mastering the culture plays the mentality, because the culture is reflected by the human consciousness and only then fixed to a certain linguistic form or a structure. Mentality has another component-the cultural self-determination, which may include the aforementioned general situational characteristics. Cultural self-determination under the commonly is understood as a sense of identity of its place in the spectrum of cultures and purposeful activity to be included among themselves to a particular cultural group.

In this way the mastering of a foreign language culture involves learning not only cultures of the relevant factors, but also the specific mentality of native speakers. The main condition for the success of the process in the formation of the socio-cultural competence, as practice shows — is properly organized by the work with the regional studies materials. Today, cultural studies information can be obtained everywhere: from television programs, newspapers and magazines, per the Internet.

There is a question: what kind of material should be selected for the cultural minimum? With regard to specialized of foreign language secondary schools as the criteria for selection of background knowledge, the teacher uses the following materials which are aimed at:

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  Development of the ability to navigate the socio-cultural aspects of people’s life in the countries of the target language;
  
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  Improvement of skills and abilities to look for the ways out of the situation communicative failure due to socio-cultural interference in communication;
  
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  Mastering the way they represent their culture in a foreign language
  

As we know, the lack of the direct contact with native speakers in a study of the language reinforces the importance of the comprehensive foreign language and, therefore, more consistent supports on the sociocultural studying component of a foreign language teaching.

A number of studies on this issue provided the incentive definition and implementation of socio-cultural component to the content of foreign language teaching.

Mastering of a foreign language is inextricably linked with the mastering of a national culture which includes not only the assimilation of cultural knowledge (the facts of culture), but also the formation of the ability and willingness to understand the mentality of the target language carriers. Students gaining knowledge about the culture should be able to operate on the selected language material (background and non-equivalent vocabulary), to form the skills operated and selected knowledge of the country (it says about advantages and norms of behavior), as well as a minimum of the communicative and everyday behavior. The assimilation to the content of the national and cultural component in studying a foreign language seems to us the basic condition of familiarizing students to the culture of the country whose language they are studying, namely to introduce them to the people, traditions and customs of the country.

The tasks of socio-cultural education can be achieved if this type of studying is carried out taking into the account such methodological principles like Principle of Cultural Conformity and Spirituality, Principle of Dialogue among Cultures and Civilization, Principle of Problems’ Dominance of Cultural Studies Assignment, Principle of Cultural Variation, The Principle of Cultural Variability, Principle of Humanism, Principle of Cultural Reflection, Principle of Subjectivity.

Let’s consider some of them in details:

The Principle of Cultural Variability. Any self-determination of personality always means on choosing of a particular variant of the activity in several possibilities. Self-determination in the spectrum of cultures studied the native and foreign language communities for each type of culture is only possible through the introduction of students to some behaviors in the home country and in the country of the target language .

Our proposed principle of cultural variation specifies and complements the general Principle of Cultural Conformity. The main trust of this principle — to introduce students with kinds of culture for each specific type. At the secondary and senior stages of schooling, students should be able to get acquainted with the cultural diversity in virtually covers all the aspects of the culture in the country of the target language. As a textbook for 10–11 classes with in-depth studying of foreign languages in which implements the principle of cultural variability, may serve as a guide for the discipline «Culture Studies» «US Culture and Society» presented by researchers.

In this textbook, for example, studying the topic «Languages of the USA», students have the opportunity to become familiar with a wide range of linguistic diversity of the USA beginning with the linguistic diversity of the American Variant of the English language (African-American dialect) and ending of the other languages are widely used in communication of certain situations. At the same time students will become familiar with the language diversity of the USA which can not form a false stereotype and can be ready to accept the diversity as the norm.

The Principle of Cultural Reflection. Based on the psychological process of the self-identity there is another psychological process like reflection. Self-determination occurs as the result of a constant internal dialogue of the individual. As evidenced by many of the fundamental works of the famous scientists, as a result of this dialogue, everyone comes to the best understanding of himself. For the process of cultural selfdetermination of the personality through a foreign language, you need to as you explore material culture in the country of the target language to create the didactic-methodological terms with the fact that everybody can reflect on his own culture. In this way he will determine his place in the spectrum of the studied cultures, perceives human values as well as realizing his role and function in the global human processes. That’s why, through the cultural reflection, learners will be able to come to understand themselves as a cultural and historical subject, the subject of the dialogue of cultures with multi-group membership.

Thus, two proposed methodological principles of teaching culture-The Principle of Cultural Variability and The Principle of Cultural Reflection which clarify and broader in its didactic-filling methodological principles of teaching culture and create conditions for cultural self-determination of students in items of socio-cultural education.

Describing the essence socio-cultural education, it can not be avoided the question of the dialogue of cultures. The methodology of foreign language teaching, the principle of dialogue between cultures, originally existing in the vertical dimension was further developed and became more and include a horizontal dimension, when it comes into the contact of representatives of native cultures and the culture of the target language. This turn in the methodology scientifically influenced the proclamation of a new thesis about the cooperation of languages and cultures. However, it is possible to identify the concept in the dialogue of cultures between the cooperation of languages and cultures?

To answer this question, we turn to the philosophical study of the world of communication by the next Russian researcher M.S.Kagan [10]. In his scientific work, the author identifies the types of relationships between cultures:

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  Full equal dialogue-dialogue built on mutual respect involved in contact of cultures, in which the exchange of meanings and equivalent representation of cultures with a view to their mutual enrichment, development and mutual renovation.
  
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  Utilitarian attitude of one culture to another, when one culture imposes its system of values, norms and values of another. In this case there is no full reciprocity, mutual development and
  

It is how the process of acculturation can be represented in the result of many cultures which lose their originality, uniqueness and voluntarily join the dominant culture.

In a short, only the first type of relationship between cultures can be considered progressive and aimed at the development of human civilization. Through this dialogue, the culture coexists in the modern multicultural world. This principle of the socio-cultural competence will be effective only when students possess not only to learn the material, but more importantly on its basis pay the special attention how to build the strategies and continuous improvement of the socio-cultural competence. These strategies will play a major role in the study of any other culture or contact with its representatives. Therefore, studying the culture of the target language it is important to have the particular importance not only directly the material, but also how students will master the language.

The Principle of Dominance the Problematic Cultural Studies based on the works by, aimed at creating such a model education through a foreign language. On basis of which, students in the solution process of gradually increasing complexity cultural studied problems are able to:

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  Collect, organize, synthesize and interpret the cultural – studied information;
  
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  Develop multi-cultural communication competence, helping them navigate the studying types of cultures and civilizations and correlated them with the communication standards, strategies of sociocultural search in a totally unfamiliar cultural communities in choosing culturally-acceptable forms of interaction with people in today’s intercultural communication as well as to find the ways to be out of socio-cultural communicative impasses arising in communicative situations;
  
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  Master the strategies of cultural self-education;
  
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  Participate in creative works and culture — and — logical communicative and cognitive characters . Thus, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of compliance above the mentioned principles in the selection of educational materials for the formation of the socio-cultural competence. Communicative learning involves the formation of communicative competence that is internal willingness and ability to speech communication, orienting students to the «entry» into a different cultural environment. For such studying is characterized, first of all, non-traditional forms to conduct the classes.
  

Specialized foreign language secondary schools designed to create in students a wider compared to the main school, communicative and intercultural competence within the studied areas of communication, as well as disciplines and special courses read in the language being studied. As a rule, the graduates of specialized foreign language secondary schools for the most part continue their studies in the field with knowledge of foreign languages, occupy a worthy position at the state service, and require a high level of foreign language studying. This fact demonstrates the need to expressions of interest in expanding the company network of specialized schools with advanced studying of foreign languages and the creation of adequate conditions for their successful functioning.

Studying a foreign language in a cultural context is the relevant problem of our time. In recent decades both in theory and practice of foreign language teaching there are the changes associated with the intensify the search for new approaches for teaching and learning the language. At foreign language lessons there is a peculiar specificity which the teacher of a foreign language can not be ignored. At present, the global goal of mastering a foreign language is introduction to the different culture and participates in the dialogue of cultures. This goal is achieved through the formation of the ability to cross-cultural competence. That teaching organized on the basis in the nature of the communicative tasks studying a foreign language communication, using all the necessary tasks and techniques, is the distinctive feature of the language classes .

Formation and development components’ of socio-cultural competence provides students the opportunity to look about the socio-cultural linguistic environment:

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  predict the possible socio-cultural interference in intercultural communication and how to resolve them;
  
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  adapt to a foreign environment, skillfully following the canons of the civility cultural environment showing respect for the traditions, rituals and lifestyle of another cultural society representatives;
  
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  provides the basis for further development of varieties of socio-cultural competence to the professionally-profile nature;
  
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  implementation of self-study in other countries, folks and cultural communities;
  
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  mastering the ways of presenting their culture in a foreign environment, socio-cultural self-education in any other, previously studied areas of direct and mediated.