INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE “FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONALIZATION IN THE CONTEMPORARY ERA”
The Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics, one of the oldest and largest departments of the UNWE, which 5 years ago celebrated its 100th anniversary with an anniversary international scientific conference, now holds another again on the topic of Foreign Language Teaching and Intercultural Communication in the Context of Internationalization in the Contemporary Era.
The scientific forum was also dedicated to the anniversary of the long-time head of the Department, Prof. Dr. Daniela Koch-Kozhuharova.
The opening part was attended by Prof. Dr. Daniela Koch-Kozhuharova, Head of the Department, the Rector Prof. Dr. Dimitar Dimitrov, Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova, Vice-Rector for Institutional and Business Cooperation and Student Policies, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetla Boneva, Dean of the Faculty of International Economics and Politics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Antonia Pencheva, Deputy Dean for Research at the Faculty of International Economics and Politics and Chair of the Organizing Committee.
“The topic of the current international scientific conference on foreign language teaching and intercultural communication in the context of internationalization in the modern era is extremely relevant in the modern global academic environment. For the UNWE, internationalization is a strategic priority. The university partners with a number of leading Chinese universities, as well as with many European higher education institutions, and works actively on international projects. Every year, the UNWE accepts hundreds of students under the Erasmus+ program, which creates a vibrant intercultural environment. Our university strives to develop foreign language teaching; we offer six bachelor’s programs in English, which establishes it as an open, modern, and competitive educational institution. I congratulate the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics for its active role in the development of foreign language teaching and intercultural dialogue,” said Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov. He congratulated Prof. Daniela Koch-Kozhukharova on her anniversary and expressed gratitude for her contribution to the development of the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics.
Assoc. Prof. Antonia Pencheva emphasized that, in addition to the forum being dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Prof. Dr. Daniela Koch-Kozhukharova, the idea is to publish a collection of articles in honor of her anniversary. Assoc. Prof. Pencheva presented the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics and added: “Foreign language training at the UNWE has always accompanied the history of our university. It has been conducted since the founding of the University 105 years ago by Prof. Stefan Bobchev. Our department, which is an integral part of the Faculty of International Economics and Politics, is one of the oldest and largest departments at the UNWE and conducts specialized training in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, and Bulgarian as a foreign language.” She noted that since the establishment of the Department, prominent lecturers, doctors of philology have worked in it and highlighted the names of Professor Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences Mihail Bonev and his scientific interests in the field of stylistics, Prof. Nikolay Mihov – Professor of French, and Prof. Daniela Koch-Kozhukharova, Professor of Philology, Literature and Civilization of Spain and Hispanic America and Modern Spanish in the field of economic sciences and politics.
“The teachers in the Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics are leaders in the country and with their dedicated work help our students to realize themselves successfully, regardless of the field in which they apply for a job or in which business organization or institution they develop their career, for which I thank them. I would also like to thank Prof. Daniela Koch-Kozhuharova for the efforts she has made in recent years for the development of the Department, for its positioning both nationally and internationally,” said Prof. Tsvetana Stoyanova. Assoc. Prof. Svetla Boneva congratulated Prof. Daniela Koch-Kozhuharova on her anniversary and emphasized: “The Department of Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics has been developing very well in various directions in recent years. One of these directions is the agreements that, thanks to the efforts of the rector’s leadership and the Department, are concluded with certification organizations in the relevant languages. The second direction, in which very much work is being done, and here, admiration for Prof. Daniela Koh-Kozhukharova, for Assoc. Prof. Antonia Pencheva and the entire team of the Department, is the actively inclusion in the work of the Association of Language Schools in Bulgaria. Every year, the UNWE, in partnership with the Association, organizes language competitions. Foreign language training is a priority for the Faculty of International Economics and Politics. We are the only faculty which the specialties have two foreign languages.
Prof. Daniela Koch-Kozhukharova thanked for the well-wishes, expressed gratitude to the Organizing Committee, thanked the Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Argentina Mr. Daniel Cotini and the representative of the Educational Service of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain Mr. Manuel Valentin Garcia for the respect expressed for foreign language education at the UNWE through their presence, as well as to all participants in the conference from universities in the country and abroad, and the interpreter in the booth – the youngest lecturer in the English Department Hristina Slavova. Among the distinguished participants in the conference were also Prof. Dr. Diana Yankova, Head of the Department of “Foreign Languages and Cultures” of NBU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Donka Mangacheva, Head of the Department of “Spanish Philology” of Sofia University, Prof. Dr. Polya Katsamunska, Head of the international project Studies-Dig under “Horizon” with the UNWE as the leader, and many others. Prof. Koch delivered a plenary report on the topic “Internationalization, Intercultural Communication and Language in the Age of Alexander the Great”, drawing a parallel between internationalization in the era of internationalism and today. She emphasized that language is the one that follows politics and economics, and not vice versa, and pointed out that the “Lingua Franca” today is English, but Alexander the Great imposed Koine…, and the predecessors of English were German, French, and Russian, and over 500 million people speak Spanish today.
The program discussed current issues in the field of foreign language teaching and intercultural communication in universities in the context of the increasing global processes of migration and digitalization of public life, and the many factors that determine them. The conference was attended by 65 university professors from the UNWE, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, New Bulgarian University, the University of Library Science and Information Technologies, Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski” and representatives of higher education institutions from Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Romania, Croatia, and 40 reports were presented.
