Research-based approaches to the development and assessment of the creative abilities of future international specialists by means of teaching a foreign language

Abstract

Introduction. Updated requirements for specialists in foreign relations in line with currently changing practice of foreign relations call for developing in undergraduates such professionally relevant creative skills as finding creative solutions to professional challenges and introducing innovative approaches in the conservative paradigm. Conventional approaches prevalent in teaching a foreign language cannot reveal the full potential of fostering creative skills in future professionals in foreign relations, thus calling for developing and substantiating new effective tools of comprehensive development of creativity through teaching a foreign language in undergraduates majoring in foreign relations. Materials and Methods. The study was conducted at MGIMO University, in 2017-2021. The total number of participants was 151 undergraduates, School of International Business and Business Administration, and International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy, with 74 participants in the educational experiment. The analysis was based on the data obtained through administration of the psychometric instruments the Rokeach Value Survey, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, and additional instruments designed on the basis of relevant projective techniques. Results. The analysis of data obtained for the experimental and control groups shows more noticeable changes in the parameters under study in the experimental group. For high developmental level of creativity, 22.16% increased to 51.88% in the experimental group, compared to increase from 13.3% to 14.2% in the control group. For basic developmental level, 36.2% reduced to 15.14% in the experimental group, compared to decrease from 44.78% to 40.8% in the control group (tEXP=6; p<0,05). The findings from the psychometric measurements are consistent with the findings from the projective techniques, where improvement in performance correlates positively with higher scores for the relevant parameters. The analysis additionally looked into the changes in the profile of scores and in separate scores in the experimental group. Discussion and Conclusion. The findings of the study support the expected increase in the parameters under study in the experimental group, and substantiate effectiveness of the set of instruments designed to develop and measure professionally relevant creative skills through teaching a foreign language in undergraduates majoring in foreign relations. The approaches verified in the study were used to develop the authors’ foreign-language course, which offers practical application of the instruments described here. Further research should explore the correlation of higher creativity scores with higher academic performance as well as the quality of knowledge