Perspectives of using free association test in the methodology of teaching foreign languages

The problem of mutual misunderstanding between native speakers of different cultures often takes place because of the differences in national and linguistic consciousnesses of communicants. It explains the interest of representatives of various scientific fields, psycholinguistics in particular, in the study of linguistic consciousness and the identification of common and specific features in the vision of the world by carriers of different cultures. This work pays special attention to the lexical component, since it is the lexical and semantic components of linguistic competence that help to understand the national culture, provide knowledge of the national and cultural connotations of words that contributes to the formation of intercultural competence, and as a result, successful intercultural interaction.  The article examines in detail such a model of teaching vocabulary as lexical semantic associations that contribute to the formation of the semantic component of language competence, it also introduces the results of the association test and possible ways of semanticizing foreign lexical material in the classroom, which can significantly contribute to success in intercultural communication.