Новые технологии в образовательном пространстве родного и иностранно

Our modern world has been witnessing great changes. The nature of labour has been changing, mental activity has been placed an emphasis on, the population’s vocational and social mobility is needed. A contemporary graduate must not only have special knowledge, habits and skills but also feel a need for achievements and success. In this connection there arise some questions:

1)What are the specific purposes for which students – would-be translators and interpreters – need to learn English?

2)How can we identify these purposes and the language they will

need?

3)To what extent should ESP (English for specific purposes) teaching differ from general English teaching?

Now we shall try to partly cover the above-mentioned points by introducing our own reflections as well as the opinions of other specialists in the higher vocational education system.

International cooperation between different countries, companies and firms has increasingly been demanding a higher level of would-be specialists’ linguistic and communicative competence.

Communicative competence is the ability to communicate and understand messages across linguistic and cultural boundaries.

To determine linguistic needs of a student it is necessary to find out his / her real purposes for studying a foreign language. Among such purposes may be a wish

– to get a job of an administrator in a hotel

– to read fiction for pleasure or scientific and technical literature to obtain necessary information

– to carry on business negotiations or continue education abroad After that we should analyze the communicative behaviour of peo-

ple who speak and know the language well enough to achieve such objects. In other words, their communicative behaviour is taken as an extent to which a student must master a language.

The analysis of linguistic needs can be carried out on three different levels:

– situational

– lingual and behavioural

– lexical and grammatical

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The aim of situational analysis is to describe a total of communicative situations the student is going to use a foreign language in. On this level of the analysis, we try to answer the question: “What must the student know the language for?”

On the lingual and behavioural level, we try to determine the speakers’ communicative behaviour in the target language, i.e. our task is to find out what people knowing the language pretty well do in certain situations. Thus, we determine what the student will have to do in this or that situation from the point of view of the language.

On the lexical and grammatical level, the aim of the analysis is to determine linguistic forms used to realize the information structure accepted on rhetorical level. Another aim here is to ascertain how often lexical and grammatical forms used in certain lingual and behavioural contexts occur in speech.

So after analyzing students’ linguistic needs, we can optimize would-be specialists’ linguistic training.

Students – would-be translators and interpreters – are to master skills of giving prepared and unprepared monologues as well as dialogues in situations of scientific, vocational intercourse in a foreign language. Besides, during the course of training, students must develop the ability to express ideas in their mother tongue which is necessary for an adequate interpretation of a foreigner’s speech and a source text.

Communication and interaction need a specific terminology which must be skillfully outlined and compiled in order to be provided for interaction use in the case of interpreting, or as a documentation tool for translation. Sophisticated software is at hand to execute it but the theoretical knowledge of languages must be combined for a good result of documentation. Bilingual terminology compilation is needed [1].

Among features generally recognized as being important in scientific discourse there are:

1)Academic / Subtechnical Vocabulary

2)Complex Nominal Compounds

3)Elements of Words

4)Verb Tenses (Active and Passive Voice), Modal Verbs

5)Cohesive Devices

6)Comparison and Contrast

7)Definition and Generalization

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While working with scientific and technical texts, students are taught to use different kinds of reading: skimming, scanning, extensive reading, intensive reading. In the latter case, great attention should be paid to interpreting important data and expressing students’ opinions on the problem under discussion. Acquired habits make it easier to do such written tasks as précis and abstract writing, making reports for annual conferences and etc.

Abstract and précis writing the essence of which lies in maximum reducing the size of the source text and preserving its main contents, constitute a complex of logical skills. These skills comprise analysis, abstracting from externals, singling out main points, establishing ties between facts supporting the main idea, wording conclusions and etc. Even the succession of carrying out mental actions while writing a précis or abstract is an integral system.

Thus, being a convenient and effective means of information handling, précis and abstract play a determining part in logical thinking development. In the educational process, working on a source text compression, students perfect their reading and translating skills, strengthen lexical and grammatical skills and form logical skills that determine if the process of forming a specialist’s professional competence is a success.

Students must acquire habits of working with different sources of information, for example, textbooks, reference books, manuals, dictionaries, the Internet. Forming the above-mentioned habits and skills can be viewed as a self-education component which helps to improve one’s knowledge and vocational training. And the possibility of using a foreign language in quasiprofessional activity contributes to raising the intrinsic motivation among students.

It is also necessary to build on the career and commercial benefits to students. Reminding the latter about the job waiting for fluent language speakers can be an important part of motivation.

Extrinsic motivation can come through rewards. Teachers supply interesting additional reading materials, they show a video to follow a difficult language task, or they invite guest speakers so that students can use a foreign language in an authentic way.

In the educational process, it is important to use new knowledge, methods, approaches, technologies which are considered to be innovations.

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Innovation (to be more exact, infocommunication) educational technologies are based on using hardware and Internet-resources. These include

TV and video techniques: teleconferences, video lectures, interactive TV classes

computer techniques: multimedia courses, e-textbooks, training programs with the functions of a textbook and training / controlling acquired knowledge, tests, educating and controlling computer programs

distance techniques

communicative techniques: active learning methods (business, training, role and imitation plays), discussions, problem and interdisciplinary lectures [2]

Using such technologies allows to broaden the scope of international educational and vocational communication. It also helps to individualize the educational process taking into account personality traits and different attainment levels.

Sometimes, reward-driven behaviour is dependent on extrinsic (externally administered by somebody else) motivation. But a more powerful category of reward is one which is intrinsically driven within the learner. When behaviour stems from needs, wants, or desires within oneself, the behaviour itself has the potential to be self-rewarding. In such a context, externally administered rewards are not necessary. Learners are likely to maintain the behaviour beyond the immediate presence of teachers, parents and other tutors.

Occasionally, though, rewards can take over and destroy enjoyment. It may happen when, for instance, two teams involved in debates start arguing on every point and get quickly diverted from the problems discussed.

In conclusion, let’s point out that a teacher’s activity must be aimed at revealing students’ inner creative resources to develop a person’s moral, intellectual and communicative aspects.

References

1. Postigo Pinazo E. Professional translation and interpreting for health care and interaction in the multicultural community // Proc. Int. Scientif. Conf. “Translation industry and dataware of enterprise external economic activity”. −Perm: Perm State Techn. Univ., 2008. −P. 248−257.

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2. Nikolenko Е.S. Innovation techniques in professional education // Proceedings of the 2nd International Scientific Conference “Innovative approaches to training specialists in the age of educational globalization”. − Vladimir: Vladimir State University, 2011. − P. 124−128.

S.A. Sharovatova

WAYS OF DEVELOPING STUDENTS’

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

The article considers the problem of developing would-be translators and interpreters’ communicative competence. It gives levels of analyzing linguistic needs and features of scientific discourse. It presents information about abstract and précis writing, and using infocommunication technologies as an important means of developing students’ intrinsic motivation in the educational process.

Keywords: communicative competence, scientific discourse, abstract and précis writing, infocommunication technologies, motivation.

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