Abstract: Communication and socialization are key moments in the education of preschool children. The specific functions of kindergarten are to provide adequate education and foster social environment. This is conditioned by the communicative competence, social skills and socially-oriented behavior. The article examines the nature of the socio-cultural component of communicative competence in preschool children, from the perspective of early foreign language education. The theoretical concepts of culture and language are discussed, as well as the relationship between language learning and social skills, and the definition of communicative competence and its components. In conclusion, the socio-cultural component of the communicative competence is defined and some pedagogical techniques for its development in preschool and elementary school age are presented.
Keywords: communicative competence, preschool, pedagogic interaction, sociocultural competence, European educational values, early foreign language education.
Rhetoric and Communications E-journal, Issue 5, September 2012, http://rhetoric.bg/, ISSN 1314-4464