Training foreign language skills necessary for adapting to nowaday society

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TRAINING FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS NECESSARY FOR ADAPTING TO NOWADAY SOCIETY

Doctor of Philosophy,

Associate Professor at the Department

of Foreign Languages

Lviv Polytechnic National University

In the article, the pedagogical issues of learning foreign languages at higher education institutions are investigated. It should keep in mind that the problems of methodology and theory of foreign language teaching are widely considered in researches on pedagogy and general researches. Instead, insufficient attention is paid to studying the impact of foreign language competence acquired during higher education on the adaptation of the prospective specialist to modern society with its constant development of information technology and successful overcoming of challenges that this development causes. In the article, the foreign language teaching process at Ukrainian higher education institutions is analyzed, and the most important factors influencing the adaptation of future qualified professionals to modern IT society are identified. In particular, one of the most important competencies of a specialist in any field is managing information, i.e., the ability to find, choose, and evaluate information from different resources and to link it to other information, critically evaluate its actuality and quality. The role of foreign languages in forming this competence is shown. Achieving a positive result requires a lot of effort from both teachers and students and their joint coordinated work. The article shows that the student-oriented approach gives the best results and is recommended for use in foreign language teaching. In addition, it is shown that the competence method is essential in foreign language teaching because it converts the process of gathering certain knowledge, skills, and techniques into forming and developing a student's ability to act practically in different situations by applying the acquired knowledge and experience. Learning a foreign language ensures the development of analytical abilities and, therefore, it is recommended for students during their studies at a higher educational establishment.

Key words: specialist training, higher education institution, foreign language, training intensification, information management.

ФОРМУВАННЯ НАВИЧОК ВОЛОДІННЯ ІНОЗЕМНИМИ МОВАМИ, НЕОБХІДНИХ ДЛЯ АДАПТАЦІЇ ДО СУЧАСНОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА

У статті досліджуються педагогічні питання вивчення іноземних мов у вищих навчальних закладах. Слід зазначити, що проблеми методології та теорії викладання іноземних мов у закладах вищої освіти широко розглядаються в дослідженнях з педагогіки й загальних дослідженнях. Натомість недостатня увага приділяється вивченню впливу навичок володіння іноземними мовами, які набуваються під час навчання у вищому навчальному закладі, на адаптацію майбутнього фахівця в сучасному суспільстві з його постійним розвитком інформаційних технологій та успішному подоланню викликів, які цей розвиток спричиняє. У статті проаналізовано процес сучасного викладання іноземної' мови у вищих навчальних закладах України й визначено найважливіші чинники, що сприяють адаптації майбутніх кваліфікованих фахівців до інформаційного суспільства. Зокрема, встановлено, що однією з найважливіших компетенцій фахівця в будь-якій галузі є керування інформацією, тобто здатність знаходити, вибирати й оцінювати інформацію з різних ресурсів і пов'язувати її з іншою інформацією, критично оцінювати її актуальність та якість. Показано роль іноземних мов у формуванні такої компетенції. Досягнення позитивного результату вимагає великих зусиль як від викладачів, так і від студентів, та їх спільної злагодженої роботи. Стаття показує, що орієнтований на студентів підхід дає найкращі результати й рекомендований для використання в навчанні іноземної мови. Крім того, показано, що компетентнісний підхід необхідний у навчанні іноземної мови, оскільки він перетворює процес збору певних знань, умінь й прийомів у формування та розвиток у студента здатності діяти практично в різних ситуаціях шляхом застосування набутих знань і досвіду. Показано, що вивчення іноземної мови забезпечує розвиток здібностей студентів працювати в інформаційному просторі сучасного суспільства, а тому рекомендується для опанування в закладі вищої освіти.

Ключові слова: підготовка фахівців, вищий навчальний заклад, іноземна мова, інтенсифікація навчання, управління інформацією.

language language student ensure

Problem Statement

In the modern world, the process of training prospective specialists should be directed not only to the acquisition of basic knowledge in their profession but also to the gaining needs, skills, and abilities to acquire new knowledge and information throughout life and use them effectively in practice.

The process of learning a language is already a creative stage of personal development and it contributes to the cultural and professional development of each member of society. To be able to exchange information, ideas, problems, and ways to solve them, a student must have developed competence in “oral communication”. In many kinds of research, it has been shown that learning foreign languages generally increases the communicative abilities of a person, but the issue of the role of the English language in adapting a prospective specialist to information society with its rapidly developing information technology, providing a high level of knowledge, skills necessary for further professional grows of students remains insufficiently investigated.

Analysis of recent research and publications

The problems of methodology and theory of foreign language teaching are widely presented from the point of view of educational pedagogy, the methodology of higher education in the studies of modern researchers [1; 2; 3; 4; 5]. At the same time, very little attention is devoted to the problems of forming necessary skills for adapting prospective specialists in nowadays information society and the role of foreign language skills acquired at the institution of higher education in this process. A need arises for such investigation, which is very actual and topical.

Purpose of the article is to analyze the methodology currently used in the foreign language teaching process at Ukrainian higher education institutions and identify the peculiarities of training skills being most essential in the adaptation of future qualified professionals to modern IT society.

Methods: analysis, comparison, generalization and systematization of scientific and theoretical principles, synthesis.

Presenting main material. The main goal of higher education is to train competitive, professionally competent experts and teach them how to study further, to teach in a way that graduates can find a job and adapt to new requirements.

The training of a prospective expert who can carry out successfully professional and further study process after graduation and who has the competencies in a certain area of knowledge for a certain qualification and ideological, moral, and ethical qualities as well as social qualities largely depends on the program of the higher education establishment.

It has a task to make conditions for the growing generation for its maximal self-determination and self-expression. The main purposes of higher education are training competitive graduates, adapted to information society that is improving rapidly, providing a high level of knowledge, skills for further professional grows of students.

The primary task of a language teacher is to develop a student's competence in “oral communication”. All speaking activities should be involved into this process. The language teacher promotes personal examples in intercultural / interethnic communication by presenting an appropriate speech culture to improve speech competence in native and foreign languages and helps students overcome difficulties in mastering a foreign language skillfully and unobtrusively. Language learning is a continuous creative process reflected in the student's ability to communicate with native speakers and contributes to the mutual satisfaction of recipients.

The main goal of the teacher is not only to provide students with quality knowledge but also to create the necessary conditions to enhance students' cognitive activity, to arouse interest in learning a foreign language, motivate them to be modern, competent, and knowledgeable because it will promote intercultural communication and open good prospects for employment. The teacher should use the following methods for achieving this goal:

Meetings with graduates who can prove by example that knowledge of a foreign language is critical in today's world and contribute to success in the professional field.

Creating an environment where foreign language proficiency is greatly appreciated and considered a prestigious prerogative and students would have real opportunities to improve their knowledge.

This can be achieved through, for example, the presence of volunteers from foreign countries, with whom students would be able to communicate and spend time, perhaps even outside the school. Such a situation would show the need for a foreign language in practice, would arouse the thirst for knowledge and the desire to master the language at a high level.

Involve students in educational conferences with representatives of other countries so that children have the opportunity to learn about cultural differences and living conditions of different nations, compare their views and attitudes to certain issues, create dialogue and discuss issues, learn to lead discussions, be aware of the latest developments in the world, science, economy, etc.

For example, the latter method in the educational process requires the use of information technology. Indeed, it is not easy to imagine a modern lesson without the use of computers, laptops, or a multimedia board, as well as a modern teenager without a mobile phone in hand. So, without a doubt, a lesson accompanied by the latest technology will be more interesting and useful for the student than a lesson with the usual traditional forms of teaching [6, p. 37].

For effective teaching of a foreign language, teachers try to use the innovative methods. We will divide the means of teaching a foreign language into tangible and intangible. Intangibles include the teacher's word and tangible ones: technical teaching aids (TV, computer, film, and slide projectors, multimedia board, video and audio recordings, movies, etc.); electronic textbooks; computer programs; literary sources (educational, methodical, and reference literature); Internet resources (training and search programs) and visual material (illustrations, drawings, reproductions of paintings, diagrams, tables, cards for individual work, posters, handouts, etc.). Foreign language teaching aids do not contradict, closely complement each other, and are used together with other components of the learning process [7, p. 23].

The use of such an additional teaching tool as a computer makes it possible to create an information environment that motivates students to master a foreign language and maintain the interest and creativity of students throughout the learning period [8, p. 139]. However, such an option is unrealistic to be realized in the absence of access of the device to the Internet. The Internet is a global computer network that operates on standardized protocols and connects more than 50,000 networks.

Today, thanks to the global network, both students and teachers can use this or that necessary educational resource anytime and anywhere on the planet. Learning can be mobile, as a form of distance education has emerged. There are also many online courses from the world's leading universities that are open and accessible to users. Typically, educational sites offer training in four types of language skills, namely: writing, listening, reading, speaking, and also include exercises on grammar, phonetics, and vocabulary of a foreign language. Teachers make full use of the latest educational tools, such as blogs, Wikipedia, podcasts, various learning platforms, audio, and video materials, because they understand their effectiveness and ease of use. With the help of these interactive tools, the educational process becomes up-to-date [9, p. 173].

Additional teaching aids also include electronic textbooks [6, p. 35], which systematically contain a large amount of theoretical and illustrative material, and audio books, which can be listened to at any convenient time on a mobile phone or portable mp3 player. Nowadays, you can find many sites full of useful information for teachers. There are actually educational and information sites. Special educational sites teach different levels of exercises and tasks to develop any learning skills of students. Thanks to information sites, you can find interesting information, creative tasks; find additional material that students would love to work with in class [9, p. 176].

The first includes educational and methodological complexes (EMC). The EMC contains a set of the following components: a book for teachers, a book for students, a workbook, program, audio, and video materials [6, p. 41], the second contains various aids such as handouts, special audio, and video materials, games, cards, illustrations, songs, poems, etc. Teaching aids help students to perceive, memorize new material, train and apply it. They facilitate the teacher's activities, for example, the explanation of a new topic, its consolidation, systematization, revision, and control. In other words, they contribute to the effective conduct of the educational process.

In the pedagogical activity process, teachers have concluded that brainstorming, business games, disputing, pieces of training, analysis of concrete situations, independent study, and participation in seminars contribute to forming a creative personality. Intellectual student activity teaches to predict, research, and check the correctness of made decisions and hypotheses, educate culture of communication, form the skill to work in a team and with a team.

It should be mentioned that a vital skill for today's professional activity is the ability to cooperate in a team (form the skill to work in a team and with a team), coordinate solving of tasks and problems. So, it will be relevant to create own projects, hold conferences, round tables, debates. Professional confidence and student competence should be formed with the help of project education, making up real situations, holding excursion on production.

Practical training creates conditions for the enrichment of life experience, expansion of social contacts of the graduate, formation of skills of self-management. The professional competencies of the future specialist should be formed in a university. However, their further level can rise only in the process of professional activity.

The success or failure of students in learning a foreign language depends not only on the means of learning but also on their motivation. The problem of learning motivation is considered one of the main in pedagogy because the effectiveness of learning depends on the interest and involvement of students in the learning process. According to the American scientist R. Gardner, motivation is one of the most important factors influencing mastering a foreign language. He believes that language learning strategies are unlikely to work if a person is not motivated to learn a language [10].

Thus, learning motivation is a complex system of motivations (motives) that force to act on somebody to achieve their aims. Distinguish between integrated and instrumental, relevant and irrelevant, positive and negative motivation. In pedagogy, there is also the concept of motive. Motives answer the question: “why study?”. We found that the most productive are internal motives, which reflect the personal level of regulation of educational activities (self-regulation), and professional motives, which create a relationship between educational activities and future professional activities [7].

Conclusions

In present days, one of the most important competencies of a specialist in any field is managing information. It means the ability to find, choose, and evaluate information from different resources and to link it to other information, critically evaluate its actuality and quality. However, being applied to business and other specialized organizations (scientific, military, academic), information management is an advanced skill that requires the training and education of a specialist in the procedures and methods of dealing with information from sources that are of a higher level than ordinary sources. That is why it is so important to pay proper attention to training this competence in a higher education establishment. In dealing with information in nowadays society, knowledge of English language plays essential role.

For effective teaching of foreign language skills, teachers should use modern innovative means, both tangible and intangible. Intangibles include the teacher's word and tangible ones: technical teaching aids (TV, computer, film, and slide projectors, multimedia board, video and audio recordings, movies, etc.); electronic textbooks; computer programs; literary sources (educational, methodical, and reference literature); Internet resources (training and search programs) and visual material (illustrations, drawings, reproductions of paintings, diagrams, tables, cards for individual work, posters, handouts, etc.). Additional teaching aids also include electronic textbooks, which systematically contain a large amount of theoretical and illustrative material, and audio books, which can be listened to at any convenient time on a mobile phone or portable mp3 player. Nowadays, it is possible to find many sites full of useful information for teachers. There are educational and information sites. Special educational sites provide different levels of exercises and tasks to develop any learning skills of students. We have to underline that all foreign language teaching aids should not contradict each other. On the contrary, they should complement each other and aim to train a student to adapt to the information space of today's society.

As a result, the knowledge of a foreign language greatly contributes to the personal social development of each member of our society.

References

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