Intercultural competence of a medical‑university teacher as a factor of effective communication with international students using a mediating language: essence, structure, and development paths

Archive of Scientific Articles

ISSUE:

Pedagogy. Theory & Practice. 2026. Volume 11. Issue 6

COLLECTION:

Vocational Education

All issues

Abstract. The specificity of medical education imposes particular requirements on teacher competence when working with international students from distant countries who study via a mediating language. The aim of the study is, on the basis of an analysis of the specifics of intercultural communication in a medical university, to theoretically substantiate the essence, structure, and development pathways of intercultural competence in teachers working with international students through a mediating language. Drawing on an analysis of scholarly sources, the article identifies the distinctive features of intercultural communication in medical education. These include: the teacher’s dual orientation in tasks for developing intercultural competence; the high responsibility for accurate transmission of professional terminology, where errors may distort a clinical picture; the need to account for culturally conditioned perceptions of illness and health; and the importance of forming a positive image of Russian medicine and medical education among learners. Within a competence‑based framework, the examined competence is defined as an integrative, dynamic personal characteristic of a teacher that enables effective intercultural communication to achieve instructional goals in a multicultural foreign‑language audience and as an integral part of professional competence. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the first-time substantiation of the structure of a medical‑university teacher’s intercultural competence, comprising four components: motivational‑value (awareness of the value of cultural diversity), cognitive (knowledge of students’ cultural traits and communication specifics), operational (ability to adapt instructional material and build a dialog), and reflective (capacity for self‑analysis and adjustment of communicative strategies). The article also proposes pathways for developing this competence. The study results include a theoretical justification of the essence, structure, and place of intercultural competence within the professional competence framework of medical‑university teachers, as well as identification of methods and directions for its development.