Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Special Issue on the English Language in Ukrainian Context, November 2020  Pp.102-112
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/elt3.9

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Teaching Anti-Utopian/Dystopian Fiction in RFL/EFL Classroom as Intercultural
Awareness Raising Tool 

Tetiana Kleofastova
Department of Russian Language and Literature
Kyiv National Linguistic University, Ukraine 

Natalia Vysotska
Department of Theory and History of World Literature
Kyiv National Linguistic University, Ukraine 

Oleksandr Muntian
Department of Russian Language and Literature
Kyiv National Linguistic University, Ukraine

Abstract:
The article sets out to explore and substantiate the effectiveness of using anti-Utopian and dystopian fiction in teaching intercultural communication. It is based on the lasting experience of teaching Russian and English languages and cultures to students from many European, Asian, and African countries trained as Russian and English philologists at the Kyiv National Linguistic University. Intercultural literacy is one of the conditions sine qua non for successful communications and career in the rapidly globalizing world. Intercultural awareness in the Foreign Language Classroom can be raised by incorporating literary texts written in target languages into the curriculum. In addition to being instrumental for acquiring linguistic prowess, they can also play a substantial part in fostering (inter)cultural competences in non-native speakers. The two texts by contemporary Russian and British writers (Tatiana Tolstaya’s The Slynx and Jeannette Winterson’s The Stone Gods) were selected as case studies due to their artistry in addressing familiar and relevant human concerns, while containing specific cultural codes to be deciphered and understood by the international students. It was established that the success of the teaching/learning process relies on the interactive dialogic qualities inherent in the texts under study and enabling comparative, interdisciplinary, and cross-cultural approaches to them, thus contributing to the formation of full-fledged intercultural speakers. As demonstrated by the article, current dystopian fiction may serve as an efficient tool in enhancing intercultural competence in international students.
Keywords: anti-Utopia, dystopia, intercultural awareness, linguistic and intercultural competences, literature in foreign language learning

Cite as:   Kleofastova. T., Vysotska, N. , &   Muntian, O. (2020). Teaching Anti Utopian /Dystopian Fiction in RFL/EFL Classroom as Intercultural Awareness Raising Tool. Arab World English Journal: Special Issue on English in Ukrainian Context. 102-112.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/elt3.9

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