COMMUNICATION BARRIERS OF UKRAINIAN CITIZENS DURING COMMUNICATION IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Authors:   Alfred Nobel University, Harkusha Inesa , Vasylieva Anna ,   Alfred Nobel University
Published: May 2023

The article provides a theoretical analysis of the problem of communication barriers of Ukrainian citizens during communicating in a foreign language. The concept of “communication” is defined, as well as the conditions and types of communication are considered. Communication barriers are characterized, and their classification and displays are studied. The purpose of the article is to reveal communication barriers of Ukrainian citizens during their communication in a foreign language. Our country has a political course towards the European Union, which is also one of the factors of mastering a foreign language at least at the A2 - B1 levels. According to the purpose, the following tasks were set: to analyze the concept of “communication” and to characterize the language barriers of Ukrainian citizens when communicating in a foreign language. The article uses theoretical methods, in particular, methods of analysis and generalization, which allow us to characterize the classification and identify the types of barriers. It is noted that language barriers in communication in a foreign language are one of the cornerstone problems in contact with native speakers at work, studying and travel. The analysis of scientific research shows that communication is one of the key aspects of interaction that unites people in society, makes it possible to learn from each other, cooperate, make friends, and generally exchange information. Communication takes place at different levels, from everyday conversations to formal ones, and it has different topics depending on people’s areas of activity, interests, and speech situations. It is noted that at the present stage, communication is considered in the context of rational structures of identification and individualization and includes such procedures as quantitative numbering, awareness of belonging to a generation and qualitative identification of a person. It is emphasized that “communication” is a concept close to the concept of “spoken language interaction”, but expanded. It is stated that the biggest obstacle to language acquisition is speech and other communication barriers. It is highlighted that a communication barrier in a wide meaning is an individual inability to learn a language at the proper level or to use the knowledge already acquired. The classifications are characterized, and types of barriers are identified. The barriers to communication that can be caused by various reasons are revealed. It is noted that researchers have paid considerable attention to the study of language barriers in the process of learning and practising a foreign language in the classroom. The study of the process of a foreign language learning allows us to state the presence of language barriers, among which such obstacles as the barriers caused by operational and socio-psychological factors, as well as insufficient motivation to learn a language prevail. At the same time, the analysis of scientific research shows that language barriers are obstacles that arise when using a language. They can occur for many reasons, such as limited language proficiency, poor grammar / spelling / punctuation, a pronounced accent or lack of a common language with the interlocutor. Moreover, it is noted that there may also be some technical barriers, meaning a gap in knowledge of technical equipment and software that prevents people from communicating effectively, as mentioned in the general classification of communication barriers. There are also speech and language barrier problems caused by physical disabilities, such as hearing loss or stuttering and psychophysiological ones, such as certain aphasias like dyslexia, alalia, dysarthria etc. Physical and psychophysiological barriers can make it difficult to convey the message, as well as to understand what is being said. It is remarked that when we speak a foreign language, language barriers as a part of communication barriers are usually accompanied by others, especially psychological, emotional, perceptual, and cultural ones. Therefore, it makes sense to study the phenomenon of language barriers in close connection with the mental and intellectual activity of a person. In addition, such barriers may not arise in all communication situations involving a foreign language: they may depend on the role and state, the mood of the communicators, the purpose of the conversation etc. In accordance with the above mentioned, we will distinguish between non-psychological and psychological language barriers, situational and permanent ones.