Formation of foreign language competences of future tourism industry specialists by means of mobile technologies

Abstract

The problem and the aim of the study. Foreign language proficiency is an integral part of the professional competence of an employee of the tourism industry. Various innovative means are used to improve the quality of foreign language training of a future tourism specialist in higher education institutions. However, their use in practice requires taking into account the specifics of tourism activities and directions of development tourism in the world. The purpose of the study is to study the features of formation of foreign language competences of future specialists in the tourism industry based on mobile technologies. Research methods. The analysis of the potential of mobile technologies, the problems of their implementation in the foreign language training of specialists who specialize in organization of tourist services is applied. When developing a system of tasks, the provisions of the professional standard of a specialist in the tourism industry, the strategy for the development of tourism in Russia are taken into account. Mobile applications are developed on the iBuildApp platform. Empirical methods (testing, analysis of the results of working with mobile applications) are used. The study involved 60 students of the Vyatka State University (Russian Federation). Training program specialization: Technology and organization of tour operator and travel agency services (level – bachelor's degree). Φ-Fisher's criterion is used to process the results of the experiment. Results. The students of the experimental group are involved in the design of multilingual mobile applications as part of the systematic work when studying the disciplines "Modern information technologies", "Digital technologies in tourism", "Foreign language". Students plan a route for a tour, work in groups on a project, use mobile solutions in educational, industrial, design-technological practice. Statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups in terms of the level of foreign language competence were revealed (φcrit=1.64<φemp=2.912). In conclusion findings about the positive (opportunities for collaboration and project activities, cost optimization, innovative experience) and negative (dependence on foreign software solutions, high cost, technical failures of equipment and the Internet in remote areas, etc.) aspects of the impact of m-learning on the quality of foreign language training of tourism specialists are described