Methodological features in professionaly oriented foreign language training of future seafarers

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Kherson State Maritime Academy

METHODOLOGICAL FEATURES IN PROFESSIONALLY ORIENTED FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING OF FUTURE SEAFARERS

Tymoshchuk Yu.V., Lecturer at the

Department of English for the

Training of Marine Specialists

(abbreviated program)

Annotation

foreign language communicative professional

The article is devoted to the methodological features of professionally oriented foreign language training of future seafarers. Professional communicative competence is the key one for future seafarers, because their professional activity takes place in the context of intercultural communication and interaction, and that is why it requires an adequate level of proficiency in a working foreign language. It is the ability to solve communicative tasks in a foreign language in the context of professional communication by means of communicative knowledge and skills in the performance of functional duties at sea. The specific conditions of professional activity of the command fleet were also determined. It is stated in the research that the most effective way of achieving the main objective of foreign language acquisitions - the development of spoken and written communicative skills - is the application of communicative-competency-based approach. The article describes the main principles of this approach which should be followed and realized at each stage of the education process. The effectiveness of the educational process depends greatly on the determining of the content of education. It should comply with the international requirements to different ranks of shipboard personnel which are stated in the STCW Convention adopted by IMO. Depending on the level of education, future seafarers must develop their communicative skills based on the appropriate professional context, i.e. the so called “context-based education" which makes it possible the development of critical thinking and cognitive skills in cooperation with the communicative ones. Both competency- and context-based approaches can be useful in solving problems of succession between the process of education and the professional activity. The article outlines the IMO requirements for different stages in education of future seafarers, defines the aim and communicative objectives of stages and provides recommendations as for the effective means of communicative competency formation. Key words: professional communicative competency, communicative-competency approach, context-based education, professional English, educational motivation.

Анотація

МЕТОДОЛОГІЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ФОРМУВАННЯ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ КОМУНІКАТИВНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНЦІЇ МОРСЬКИХ ФАХІВЦІВ

Статтю присвячено методологічним аспектам формування професійної комунікативної компетенції майбутніх морських фахівців. Професійна комунікативна компетенція є одною з ключових для майбутніх моряків, адже їх професійна діяльність відбувається в умовах міжкультурного спілкування та взаємодії і саме тому вимагає адекватного рівня володіння робочою іноземною мовою. Це здатність розв'язувати комунікативні завдання іноземною мовою в умовах професійного спілкування засобами комунікативних знань та умінь під час виконання функціональних обов'язків особами плавскладу морського торговельного флоту Основний метод підвищення якості підготовки інженерів різних напрямів - розвиток їх професійно-особистісного становлення. Нові вимоги до сучасного морського фахівця зумовлюють пошук сучасних підходів (змісту методів, засобів навчання) до їх професійної підготовки в контексті ідей постіндустріального суспільства. У зв'язку з цим очевидна необхідність вдосконалення формування та розвитку у майбутніх морських офіцерів комунікативної компетенції як професійної якості, що забезпечує здатність грамотно і ефективно спілкуватися, досягати успіху в професійній діяльності, ефективно вирішувати професійні проблеми, займати професійну діалогічну позицію, формулювати власні судження і аргументувати їх. Ефективність професійного спілкування на морі стає запорукою безпечного виконання функціональних обов'язків. На підставі аналізу наукових досліджень визначено професійну комунікативну компетентність як інтегральну характеристику з іншомовною комунікативною компетентністю у складі та професійно важливу властивість. Визначено важливість комуні- кативно-компетентнісної методики викладання для навчання іноземної мови. Це здатність розв'язувати комунікативні завдання іноземною мовою в умовах професійного спілкування засобами комунікативних знань та умінь під час виконання функціональних обов'язків особами плавскладу морського торговельного флоту.

Ключові слова: професійна комунікативна компетенція, комунікативно-компетент- нісний підхід, іноземна мова, мотивація морських фахівців.

Problem statement

Mainly to improve the training quality of seafarers in various fields is their professional and personal development. New requirements to specialists determine the search for modern approaches (content, methods, and teaching aids) for their professional training.

Therefore, it is necessary to improve the formation and development of communicative competence among future seafarers as a professional quality that ensures the ability to communicate competently and effectively, achieve success in professional activities, effectively solve professional problems, have a professional dialogical position, formulate their own judgments and prove them [296].

At present, the system of general and professional education is being in the process of fundamental changes, which, as never before, orient specialists towards creativity in their professional activities. The main goal of modern professional education is to train a well-qualified, competent specialist who is ready to work in an increasingly competitive labor market.

Modern professional activity offers special demands for the communicative training of specialists, which comes out in the ability to negotiate, conduct a dialogue, correlate to language means with training tasks and conditions.

Special requirements make demands on the communicative training of sea-going specialists, since this activity of specialists in conditions of market economy is associated with negotiations, problemsolving, and sand preparation of maritime papers.

Having great educational potential, the discipline “Maritime English” and “English (for professional purposes)” in higher maritime educational institutions, solving the problem of personal development, is a resource for the systematic adjunction of professional knowledge, formation and development of communication skills. These disciplines are developed on the basis of the Model Course in English IMO (International Maritime Organization), edited in 2015 (Model Course 3.17 Maritime English). Due to properly organized English classes, cadets/ students have communication skills at the level specified by convention documents and national requirements [3].

Analysis of recent research and publications

Professional communicative competence of marine specialists is defined as an integral characteristic and professionally important property; ability to solve communicative tasks in a foreign language in the conditions of professional communication by means of communicative knowledge and skills necessary for efficient and safe operation of the vessel and the ship's crew management. Effective professional communication becomes a guarantee of safety at sea when solving professional tasks.

The higher establishments have got a special task - to prepare a competent specialist, and without mastering communication skills, no activity can be effective. The researchers outline the issues of the structure and content of professionally oriented communicative competence due to its specifics (Z. Kornieva, O. Pavlenko, K. Yakushko), features of professional training at different specialties (N. Ogorodnyk, N. Kuchumova, L. Manyuk) and some aspects and pedagogical conditions of information of communicative competence (R. Gryshkova, O. Pavlenko, I. Sekret, V. Smelikova, M. Soter). However, a systematic definition up to the methodological features of professionally oriented communicative competence formation of future specialists in the maritime industry at different stages of training is currently not identified [2, p. 116].

The purpose of the article is to outline general methodological features of professionally oriented foreign language training of future seafarers on the basis of communicative and competence approaches.

Presentation of the main material

Competence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills in a real life situation or in professional activities. The issue of competence formation of specialists is one of the most pressing problems of modern education.

As the competencies are dynamic, they are manifested and can be assessed only in the course of practical activity, and their level can be increased continuously throughout the entire professional life. As for the key professional competencies, they mean ability of an individual to solve problems that arise during the process of professional career and they do not rely on the profession or specialty. Describing the concept, we would like to note that educational competencies are system characteristics of personally-oriented approach to education, since they relate exclusively to the student's personality and are checked only in the process of performing a certain set of actions. Mastering key competencies is an indicator of the social and psychological maturity of an individual. Gained knowledge and formed on its basis skills facilitate the development of personality to the extent that they correspond to its needs (personally significant) and can be applied in practical activity. There arises a problem that the content of education should be aimed not so much at improving specific professional knowledge and skills, as at developing key competencies (the ability to solve problems, creative communication skills, willingness to learn, etc.)

In recent years, the one among the progressive courses in professional training of marine specialists in the higher maritime establishments is the competence-based approach, which corresponds to the general concept of the educational standard adopted in most developed countries and is directly related to the reassessment of the content of education and the educational result on the system of key competencies.

High communicative preparedness of students implies fluency in English - as one of the most common foreign languages, and ethics, modern methods and means of communication.

The competence forming process of cadets/ students in the study of foreign languages in Ukrainian maritime higher establishments should be aimed at: ensuring the required level of foreign language communicative competence in most types of speech activities; formation of general competence for specialists; integration of competence in the process of self-check activity; development of creative potential of cadets/students, their intellectual and professional abilities in the process of professional training; expanding their worldview based on solving professionally important tasks; increase of professional motivation; development of personal and professional qualities. In the process of mastering foreign language communicative competence there reveals not only the solution of communicatively significant tasks, but also the acquisition of professionally significant knowledge, skills, and abilities. There is a development of professional skills necessary for dealing with professional tasks.

Thus, the main purpose of language learning is learning speech activity, communication, which combines two important components: the process of communication (performing certain speech actions due to the situation and purpose) and the result of communication (achieving a communicative pragmatic goal of communication process). Achieving this goal involves the necessity of integrated development of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation in the simultaneous development of reading, listening, speaking and writing [4, p. 17].

Based on our own experience, we believe that the most effective is the communicative-competence method of teaching using elements of blended and interactive learning, as it aims development of communicative competence of future specialists in the maritime industry, also meets the requirements of STCW upon the ability of seafarers to use English for professional purposes freely [4, p. 76]. The primary goal of communicative approach is to teach the discipline in such a way that will develop students' communicative competence. This methodology has proved to be effective because it promotes the purposefulness of learning, increases motivation, actualization of basic knowledge and ensures the extensive activity of cadets/students while learning process. During active communication in English, cadets/students develop both their communication skills and strategies, and knowledge of the language itself [1, p. 77]. The methodological aspects of the communicative approach are taken into account and are essential at all stages in professional training of cadets/ students of maritime educational establishments, as they are fundamentally necessary basis for unique competence. The suggested communicative competence approach for achieving the common purpose of training process as development of practical, communicative competence to professionally-oriented communication provides:

- learning foreign language through the language, which means constant usage of foreign language up to the material that will be implemented by seafarers in professional real-life situations;

- learning by doing - development of communicative skills of cadets/ students by means of applying concrete active communicative tasks (ask and answer the questions, discussions, negotiation, sharing ideas, problem solving, etc.);

- combination of pair, individual, group works with debates, brainstorming, role-plays - in variation and mixing gives high results [2, p. 116].

The organizational feature of the professionally- oriented foreign language competence formation method of future seafarers is systematic, purposeful and continuous work on the organization and improvement of communicative skills of cadets/ students based on an interdisciplinary approach (discussion and analysis during foreign language classes, knowledge gained at professional discipline classes) and during their sea-going practice (in the form of individual tasks and projects) on merchant fleet ships. However, in order to implement the principles of interdisciplinarity, it is necessary to determine the basic requirements for a certain stage of education and find out how it may affect on the methodological features of professionally oriented foreign language training of future seafarers [2, p. 117].

We define the professional communicative competence of the seafarers as an integral characteristic and a professionally important property; it is the ability to solve communicative tasks using a foreign language in the conditions of professional communication by means of communicative knowledge and skills that are required for efficient and safe operation of the vessel and management of the ship's crew. The demand of safety at sea is effective professional communication in solving professional problems. The effective communication of seafarers means the ability to receive information and share it through active collaboration.

Conclusions

Thus, we have come up to conclusion that in accordance with the concept of formation of professionally oriented communicative competence of future specialists in the maritime industry, cadets/ students should develop lexical, grammatical and semantic competence, shape critical thinking skills and develop verbal-logical thinking and skills of self-learning and self-improvement.

Therefore, the basic key settings of professionally oriented communicative foreign language training of future seafarers methodology should be followed during each practical foreign language lesson, depending on the stage of learning and the level of language proficiency, which will promote the development of cadets'/students' communication skills needed for solving professional problems.

References

1. Корнєва З.М. Формування міжкультурної професійно орієнтованої англомовної комунікативної компетентності студентів технічних спеціальностей закладів вищої освіти: монографія. Київ: Кафедра, 2018. 339 с.

2. Мороз О.Л. До питання про методологічні особливості формування професійно-орієнтованої комунікативної компетенції. Наукові записки Національного університету «Острозька академія»: серія «Філологія». 2019. Вип. 8(76), грудень. С. 115-118.

3. Тимофеєва Я.О. Особливості формування професійної комунікативної компетентності осіб командного плавскладу морського торговельного флоту у процесі підвищення кваліфікації. Вісник Національної академії Державної прикордонної служби України. Серія: Педагогіка. 2019. Вип. 2. URL: http;//nbuv.gov. ua/ UJRN/ Vnaped_2019_2_24.

4. IMO Model Course 3.17. Maritime English. London: International Maritime Organization (IMO), 2009. 138 p.

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