LEARNER NEEDS ANALYSIS OF FUTURE JOURNALISTS THROUGH THE PRISM OF PERSONAL-ORIENTED AND PRAGMATIC APPROACHES TO INTEGRATED LEARNING OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

The presented study reveals the theoretical prerequisites for the expediency of applying personally oriented and pragmatic approaches to the integrated learning of English for special purposes, in particular, when studying the learner needs of future journalists. The necessity to explore the specific learner needs in the field of professionally oriented English communication (POEC) of future journalists is determined by the requirement to adapt the language policy in higher education institutions in accordance with the demands for interrelated vocational and professional English language training of a future specialist. The formation of the secondary professional English-speaking personality of a future journalist depends on support of communicative interaction in English at classes; strengthening of conscious language learning; providing the journalism contextualized input; integrated development of POEC skills; compliance with the social and cultural norms of English-language communication in the professional field of journalism and the development of intercultural tolerance. Understanding of the specifics of the POEC is facilitated by the involvement of linguistic and social categories of pragmatics in the context of foreign language learning, especially in the integrated learning of English for the special purposes (ESP) of future journalists, where the social dimension is equally significant as the cognitive one. Based on the consideration of the concept of learner needs and description of the main types, a questionnaire was drawn up for the analysis of the specific learner needs of future journalists in ESP. The questions relate to the objective and subjective educational needs, shed light on the peculiarities of students' perception of the necessity to develop English proficiency for successful journalism career, the frequency of performing specific types of job-related activities at ESP classes, awareness of preferred style, channel and medium of communication, and as well as pragmatic functions of journalist's speech. Levels of English language proficiency and knowledge of journalism terminology are taken into account, as well as the main challenges of learning and the relevance of the possibility of formation of particular skills of POEC within the traditional and integrated ESP.