Literary Texts as Pedagogical Mediators in Russian as a Foreign Language Education: An Integrated Conceptual Framework for Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence in Iranian HigherEducation

The growing emphasis on intercultural communication has reshaped foreign language education, shifting focus from linguistic knowledge to effective cross-cultural communication. Literary texts are recognized as authentic resources exposing learners to linguistic, cultural, historical, and ideological dimensions of the target language. Although studies highlight literature’s benefits for vocabulary, reading, cultural awareness, critical thinking, and motivation, research has rarely explained how literary engagement fosters integrated intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) contexts. This conceptual paper proposes an integrated framework conceptualizing literary texts as pedagogical mediators that support simultaneous development of linguistic competence, intercultural understanding, and critical interpretation. Drawing on ICC theory, Sociocultural Theory, literature-based teaching, language-and-culture studies, and CEFR mediation, the framework introduces Integrated Competence Development (ICD) as the mechanism linking literary engagement with ICC. Literary discourse is viewed as an active medium for meaning construction, cultural negotiation, and reflection. The study offers theoretically grounded propositions for future research and discusses implications for curriculum, teacher education, and assessment in Iranian higher education. By integrating fragmented theories into a coherent model, it advances RFL pedagogy and supports literature-based intercultural language education.

کلیدواژه ها:

Russian as a Foreign Language ، literary texts ، pedagogical mediation ، intercultural communicative competence ، conceptual framework