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© 2019 Kosareva et al. In the framework of globalisation, the development of cross-cultural communication skills is of high interest. However, there is no due attention paid to the development of intercultural language competence in all universities as well as the possibility to share it directly with native interlocutors of the other culture. The objective of the article is to define the critical complexities in the area of cross-cultural communication among those who study a foreign language. Another objective is to elaborate recommendations that will enable the solution of the issues in the area of cross-cultural communication within up-to-date education. As a result, the researchers' have organised and carried out the survey among 650 linguistic students of the 4th course from four largest Russian higher educational institutions (Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Higher School of Economics, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and Moscow State University). The outcomes of the research can be used in future as the basis for the development of cross-cultural communication for university students, which should have cross-cultural competence.

U.S. Army Special Forces (SF) are consistently called upon to work by, with, and through indigenous forces to conduct special warfare. Current SF doctrine reflects an increasing desire for SF operators to be culturally proficient in order to work closely with locals, advise foreign militaries, and build relationships with host-nation counterparts. Despite the doctrinal emphasis on cultural proficiency, SF doctrine offers little concrete direction as to how to become culturally competent, or how to measure levels of cultural proficiency. This thesis aims to provide insights into cultural competency by investigating academic literature surrounding culture, and by looking outside of SF at examples of cross-cultural competency from historic cases: the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II, Military Transition Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the McDonald’s restaurant franchise. By looking at historical examples of military operations and international businesses, SF can gain insight into the best practices and common pitfalls that come from working with foreign cultures. This thesis finds that cultural proficiency can be increased by following the best practices of the McDonald’s Corporation and the OSS, and by placing top-down emphasis on cultural training and normalizing that training at the tactical level., http://archive.org/details/usspecialforcesc1094544580, Major, U.S. Army, Special Forces, U.S. Army (USA) author, Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Regional proficiency is a critical capability in irregular warfare (IW). In preparation for increased engagement in irregular warfare, the Defense (DoD) and the Military Services made several significant improvements in developing regional proficiency. While the DoD is attempting to create a new capability in the majority of the Total Force, Special Forces was created to succeed in an IW environment. As a result of its design, Special Forces valued and developed regional proficiency long before this became topical in DoD. Oddly, the last decade of overseas contingency operations which spurred interest in regional proficiency in DoD overall has also threatened regional proficiency development in Special Forces. An analysis of Special Forces training and development reveals that the Special Forces primary means of developing regional proficiency is through deployment experience. While the Special Forces Groups are regionally aligned, several have consistently deployed outside of their Area of Responsibility (AOR) to support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. A survey and a series of interviews were conducted to determine the state of regional proficiency interest in Special Forces. Through survey analysis, several trends were identified. With this information this thesis concludes with a suggested strategy to improve regional proficiency in Special Forces non-commissioned officers (NCOs)., http://archive.org/details/keepingspecialfo1094510750, Outstanding Thesis, US Navy (USN) author, Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.