Pedagogical aspects of linguistic means of expressing emotions in English and Russian linguistic cultures for the development of students' emotional competence

Abstract

In the era of globalization, traditional methods of teaching foreign languages often ignore the emotional layer of culture, which leads to a simplified understanding of intercultural communication and a decrease in students' motivation. This is especially relevant for the comparative analysis of emotions (fear, envy, anger) in English and Russian linguistic cultures, where linguistic means (phraseological units, paroemias, metaphors) reflect cultural norms. The research is aimed at identifying universal and specific features of the representation of these emotions, in order to develop pedagogical strategies for the formation of emotional competence – the ability to recognize, express and interpret feelings in a cross-cultural context. Tasks include analyzing language tools, comparing cultural attitudes (rational control in English vs. ambivalence in Russian), and recommendations for integration into lessons where students develop empathy and reflection through discussing examples like green-eyed monster (envy) or soul sinks (fear). The research methods are based on a comparative approach that combines corpus linguistics to identify the frequency of emotional vocabulary, cognitive analysis of metaphors, and a linguistic and cultural method for interpreting concepts. The pedagogical bias is realized through experimental tasks: students (n=120) analyzed texts, created emotion maps and role dialogues, assessing cultural differences. Psychological theories (Ekman, Ilyin) were taken into account to correlate with linguistic representations. The results showed the universality of metaphors (anger as heat/explosion in both cultures), but with cultural nuances: in English, envy motivates (envy as motivator), in Russian it is sinful (envy gnaws). Fear in English is active overcoming (face your fears), in Russian it is passive experiencing (hair on end). Anger in English is controlled (anger is short madness), in Russian it is ambivalent (righteous anger). The discussion highlights the pedagogical value: integration into lessons develops emotional intelligence, where students master reflection through projects, forming tolerance and communication skills. It is recommended for multilingual classes, increasing motivation and readiness for global dialogue.