Engineering Students’ Needs in Foreign Language Studying in Russia

Abstract

The foreign language training system in engineering education is based on the research of engineers’ needs in foreign language implementation in their professional activities. Further development of the system requires also determination of engineering students’ needs in foreign language studying. The research is conducted as a joint Russian-Czech project with two Universities involved (MADI and the University Hradec Kralove). The purpose of the project is to identify the needs of learners of engineering universities in studying foreign languages depending on the level of higher education, their specialty, etc. In order to achieve the research objectives, a survey method is used and a questionnaire has been worked out. Three groups of questions give the opportunity to collect information to find out the students’ foreign language background; learners’ current goals and level of foreign language competency; the obstacles in the achievement of student’s own goals and ways to overcome them. The interpretation of the survey results and the conclusions made allow introducing relevant alterations in the process of foreign language teaching and learning. The survey undertaken makes it possible to develop new methods and techniques of training in foreign languages with regard to modern standards and the needs of learners.