Soft Skills as a Component of Foreign Language Training of Engineering Students

Abstract

The present period of higher education development is characterized by the need to improve the professional training of engineering students, as well as the demand for the formation of soft skills that contribute to successful professional activity and effective interpersonal and intercultural interaction. However, employers often point to an unsatisfactory level of analytical, interpersonal and communication skills development of technical universities’ graduates. The analysis of engineering students’ professional training process indicates the absence of established practices for the formation of metasubject skills. The relevance of this study is due to the need to organize a systematic and purposeful work on the formation of soft skills among undergraduate students of technical profiles. According to the authors, the discipline “Foreign languages” has significant potential for personal self-development and students’ soft skills improvement. The aim of this study is a theoretical substantiation and experimental confirmation of the effective use of productive linguodidactic technologies for the soft skills formation. The methodological basis of the research is the integration of competence, productive and communicative approaches, which ensure the formation of foreign language communicative competence of students at the level necessary for solving social and intercultural problems in the context of international scientific, educational and professional cooperation. The results of the experimental study indicate the effectiveness of these approaches and the implemented pedagogical technologies for the soft skills development.KeywordsEngineering studentsForeign languageProductive technologiesSoft skills