DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCY IN UNDERGRADUATES OF NON-LINGUISTIC SPECIALTIES IN THE CONDITIONS OF DISTANT LEARNING

Abstract

Modern society requires highly qualified professionals who can quickly adapt to the development and implementation of innovative technologies, as well as to the changes that are taking place in various spheres in Ukraine and abroad. The course “Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes” (FLSP) aims at developing undergraduates’ ability to communicate in a foreign language to fulfil certain professional needs in the future. The aim of the article is to study the effective methods for developing foreign language competence in undergraduates of non-linguistic specialties in the context of distance learning. The authors have analysed the latest works of the Ukrainian and foreign scholars relevant to the topic. The concepts of “communicative competence”, “professional competence”, and “professional communicative competence” have been clarified. The authors consider foreign-language communicative competence as the undergraduates’ ability and readiness for foreign language communication with native speakers, their perception and understanding of partners, and the adequate and timely expression of their mental intentions. Certain empiric research methods applied by the authors (observation and a survey of students (in the form of a questionnaire)) helped to obtain data for the further theoretical understanding of the problem. It has been stated that undergraduates’ non-linguistic specialties communicative competence can be formed due to the development of four language skills: reading, speaking, listening, and writing. The authors believe that the professional communicative competence of undergraduates as future professionals can be developed due to the use of means of modern information technology, and interactive teaching methods that help students to develop their creative approach to learning a foreign language and improve their attitude to the subject.