Using foreign languages for career guidance and university promotion

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Using foreign languages for career guidance and university promotion

Polyakova Ju.V., Lviv University of Trade and Economics,

Stepanov A.V., Lviv University of Trade and Economics,

Lisna T.M., Lviv Politechnic National University

Introduction

Career awareness is an essential first step in building students' understanding of the working world. Finding oneself, one's vocation, a job that will become a favourite in the future is beyond doubt of vital importance and lies among the top of life priorities. To succeed, one needs to carefully consider what choice to make and in due time to decide what one wants to become. Choosing a future profession is a serious step that high school graduates take on the basis of information obtained from various sources, the level of their knowledge of the relevant subjects and their own natural abilities. Admission to a higher education institution is an important life project for them, on which future entrants work together with both school and university teachers, as well as parents.

The present paper aims at analysing the main career guidance activities a higher educational establishment might be involved in to the purpose of increasing admissions in quantity and quality, exercising social responsibility in terms of preparation of highly skilled specialists, being successful in self-promotion and achieving stronger positions on the educational services market. Using the English language as a tool of developing career awareness is an efficient methodological technique being not only up to date to the contemporary requirements related to the European integration aspirations of our country, but an important addition to creating opportunities for improving foreign language skills. The paper also aims at sharing university experiences in the area of career guidance and presenting some practical examples, which might be developed, modified and improved to the achievement of the set goals.

Presentation of the main material. Organizing career guidance work with potential future students is one of the most important areas in the activities of every university teacher. After all, teenagers, even in their higher teens, unfortunately, do not always understand what profession to choose, which university to enter and in general, how to discover their talents. The main tasks of career guidance activities with high school-leavers include: acquaintance with available professions; especially prepared questionnaires and tests revealing one's vocational preferences, individual aptitudes, abilities and skills; psychological trainings on making the right choice; a set of activities aimed at cultivating a focus on self-knowledge, which will help to determine the profession; learning to compare one's skills with the requirements of a particular profession; showing how to make a plan to master the chosen profession; ensuring the development of important personality traits for obtaining a profession. students teacher professions

The present study is theoretically based on the scientific results obtained by foreign experts, in particular: J. Holland (USA) created a system of vocational guidance for young people [1; 2] and authored a set of psychological assessment resources known under the titled of Self-directed Search [3]; S. Fukuyama (Japan) developed a system of professional trials for students [4; 5]; German researchers X. Arimond, L. Bushoff, and others have substantiated and are implementing a system of vocational guidance in educational institutions of various types; domestic scientists have developed a number of career guidance methods and introduced career guidance courses in the educational process [6].

The present study is also based on the practical results obtained in the process of organizing and conducting the professional guidance work by applying both direct and indirect means of communication and interaction.

The methodology of the present study involves both analytical and empirical methods focusing on discovering the theoretical essence of the phenomenon of career guidance in relation with its practical application on the spot, in a specific university, namely Lviv University of Trade and Economics, concerning specific specialities of the faculty of International Economic Relations and Information Technologies. The set of methods includes: fundamental studies, applied studies, pedagogical observance, communicative methods, classroom conversations, interviews, questionnaires as well as the traditional methods of analysis, comparison, generalisation, etc.

The involvement of the university staff reflects the social responsibility of higher educational establishments and their genuine interest in preparing highly qualified specialists for the common good of the society. Thus, one of the main directions of educational work of faculties and university departments is definitely career guidance, namely measures that would stimulate a young person to search for future profession that will promote the most effective means of human development, and will contribute to becoming a qualified specialist possessing skills of social and economic initiative as well as intellectual and labour independence.

Career guidance describes a range of school-based interventions which seek to prepare young people for their transition to their post-high school lives and to empower them to be successful in their lives and careers. In other words, it is based on the premise that an increase in the quantity and quality of career guidance will lead to an increase in young people's career awareness and career readiness [7].

The main purpose of career guidance work is to promote all available methods to strengthen the competitiveness of the university specialties through training bachelors and masters. In addition, the important tasks of career guidance are to inform both school-leavers and university students about the features and benefits of the profession, and about new professional opportunities in career growth.

The main directions of career guidance activities of the Department of Foreign Languages are related to the specialities of the Faculty of International Economic Relations and Information Technologies, which it is part of, and focus mostly on the following:

- organization of events that promote the faculty specialities, in particular the educational program "International Economic Relations" and promote the competitiveness of its graduates in the labour market;

- organization of joint events of different kinds, educational, scientific, sports and cultural events, involving university students and students of schools and colleges;

- informing high school students about the university specialities, inviting students of the city's schools to the events held at the faculty and the department;

- dissemination of information about planned events at the faculty and the department in the social media, posting career guidance information on the faculty and the department webpages within the university website, posting information on the department and the faculty webpages on social networks;

- involving university students in career guidance (students' presentations and speeches in schools where they previously studied, homecoming speeches, communication with junior former schoolmates, etc.);

- presentation of the faculty and the department and their achievements in different media (publications in the press, stories and interviews on TV, information on professional websites, etc.).

To the purpose of career guidance a lesson in English Language was held on the topic: "Career choices" involving high school graduates of several schools in the city and the environs. Despite all the diversities, the participants found themselves united by being fond of the English language, by taking an interest in acquiring new knowledge, by a desire to get a higher education of genuine quality and a wish to succeed in life. High school students had the opportunity to see how foreign language classes take place at Lviv University of Trade and Economics, to communicate in English with their senior friends, to look at the educational process at the university from the inside. The topic of the lesson turned out to be relevant, because soon each of the high school students would have to make a very important decision: which way of life to choose. Human happiness depends on the right choice of profession: if in the professional sphere a person is able to realize himself or herself as a person, and even before receiving a decent material reward for his or her own work to meet their needs, it is likely to assume that this is the right professional choice.

The presentations of the university students about popular professions in the modern labour market of Ukraine and the world, including economist, marketer, advertising specialist, IT specialist, turned out to be informative and meaningful. The freshmen also told what factors influenced the choice of their alma mater, and what prompted them to choose their future profession. Information about Lviv University of Trade and Economics, its specialities and educational and professional programs of the Faculty of International Economic Relations and Information Technologies, admission requirements, learning realities and interests of student life were useful. School students learned about the possibilities of semester study abroad in exchange programs, internships, learning foreign languages, sports, leisure and recreation at the university.

Particular attention in the presentations is focused on the practical orientation of educational material, the priority of the competence approach, the use of modern teaching methods and technologies. The demonstrated animated career videos, shot by the students of the faculty, showed that they feel being a part of the university life and are personally involved in the event [8].

Positive impact on promotion of the higher educational establishment and on career guidance in general may be found in meetings with the university graduates of previous years who are ready to share their student life experiences and talk about career opportunities and personal achievements focusing on the skills and knowledge acquired in the process of study. To the purpose of the above, a meeting was held with a university graduate of the year 2008, in which bachelor students majoring in Computer Science were engaged. During the meeting, the practicing programmer working for an international company told the students in English about his work in the field of IT, shared how he achieved professional success in this field, retraining from financier to IT specialist, especially emphasizing the skills and qualifications acquired at the university which turned out to be useful in professional activities and more. Students learned about the skills and knowledge needed for a successful movement in this field, about the fundamentals of corporate culture and the need to speak English at a high level as well as an appropriate command of other foreign languages being welcomed.

During the meeting, higher education students learned about new popular professions that are emerging in the IT sector. For example, experts are now expected to have high analytical skills and the ability to work with big data, as well as build product architecture and solve problems quickly. With the development of automation in business, people will have more resources and freedom to solve complex strategic tasks, and they will be less involved in the routine. Therefore, the Ukrainian IT industry is developing and making a major contribution to digital transformation, strengthening the country's technological position on the world stage. It should be noted that meetings of this kind appear to be very motivational, and relate to not only professional activities, but also to personal features, skills necessary for successful career growth, which, at least, adds impetus to a constant lifetime learning and self-development.

It is also efficient to organize meetings with company staff or potential employers who will share their experience of working in the field and talk about their professional responsibilities, career achievements and promotion opportunities. To this purpose, an online session was held with the participation of representatives of the international corporation Nestld on the topic "Professional Development and Career in International Business". The meeting was attended by faculty students majoring in International Economic Relations; high school students were also invited. The event was held in English, which reflects the reality of everyday communication in a multinational company and emphasizes the requirements for potential employees of possessing a good command of more than one foreign language. During the presentation, recruitment specialists told interesting facts about the history of Nestld as one of the world's largest food producers, organization of work and its structure, outlined the features of international business in Ukraine, corporate traditions and company policy, introduced students to business processes and the specifics of the outsourcing centre, explained about internships, their conditions, benefits and terms. The following information on the basic requirements for internship and further employment was useful: the ability to learn quickly, analytical skills, experience in using office software, teamwork, business communication skills. Special emphasis was placed on foreign language proficiency as a necessary condition for employment and career development of a modern specialist. Given the growing number of foreign companies in national markets, there is a growing demand for professionals who are willing to learn foreign languages other than English and adapt their knowledge to the needs of international business. It is the realization of the offered opportunities of dual education, effective combination of theory and practice, the experience gained during practical training in a world-class corporation, as well as other elements will surely be the key to future professional success in the career of an international specialist, and will allow to apply the acquired skills in a multicultural business environment [9].

Another efficient way of career guidance is organizing meetings of the English-language discussion club involving both university students and high school-leavers. The discussion was organized in the form of a debate "Life Priorities: to Make a Career or to Follow One's Heart". The topic of the meeting was related to life values and priorities, career, self-realization, search for life landmarks, change of professional activity. The material for reflection was the plot of the previously watched feature film "A Good Year". The drama story is about a rich, successful, pragmatic London stockbroker, a number of events in whose life lead to radical changes. For didactic purposes, educational tasks were developed on the basis of the film material to test the understanding of the video and the acquisition of active vocabulary. Completing the tasks contributed to engaging the invited high school-leavers into the process of mutual classroom interaction and allowed demonstrating university activities from inside.

During the debate, the participants expressed interesting ideas for setting life priorities, achieving a balance between different components, such as work, business, personal life and relationships, emotions, spiritual development, etc. All the participants had the opportunity to express their values in life, to trace the connection between a person's values and the decisions he or she makes. After all, both student and high- school-leavers stand on the edge of making a step into the future and the study at educational establishments is a preparation for a conscious life choice, the opportunity to develop and improve oneself as a person and as a specialist, which gives the opportunity in the future to take a place in the society, worthy of recognition and respect.

The English-language discussion club is an effective tool for the formation and development of English-language communicative competence of learners, a creative space for pupils and students to express their own thoughts and views, the realization of talents and abilities of an individual. Using the method of debate, discussion aims to create an English-speaking environment to improve public speaking skills, overcome the barrier of communication in a foreign language, develop the ability to express and justify their position on issues relevant to modern youth. Taking into consideration the importance of cultural diversity being affirmed [10], inviting high school-leavers to participate in the discussion club makes it possible to get better acquainted with university life and evokes an interest in forming part of the university community.

Conclusions

The paper presents the results of the career guidance work at the faculty of International Economic Relations and Information Technologies at Lviv University of Trade and Economics. All activities were held using English as a language of teaching and communication between the teacher, the university students and the high school students. The study concludes that in order to form school-leavers' professional self-determination, it is required to develop and improve a system of broad interaction between schools, universities, higher educational establishments, families, businesses, which are supposed to actively cooperate in terms of scientific and practical activities. Such cooperation contributes to the achievement of the expected results evidenced by the formation of personally meaningful choice of profession, a certain professional orientation, professional self-determination of students, their willingness to change professional orientation, reorientation to related professions, other activities according to their individual characteristics and professional selection results. Career guidance activities in English or any other foreign language spoken by the involved participants highly contributes to admissions boosting and university promotion.

References

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