Theoretical aspect of the influence of digital competence on the development of the professional competence of an English language teacher of non-lingual specialties in high schools

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

THEORETICAL ASPECT OF THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL COMPETENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER OF NON-LINGUAL SPECIALTIES IN HIGH SCHOOLS

Melnyk N.M., Assistant at the Foreign Languages Department Vasyl Stephanyk Precarpathian National University

The relevance of the English teachers' of higher educational establishments digital competence formation is caused by the education reform in Ukraine and the active use of distance and mixed learning due to unprecedented security measures. It is common knowledge that nowadays modern higher educational establishments should not only provide the educational process but also become a platform for creating innovations, implementing projects, creating scientific and educational online platforms, personalized educational trajectories. After all, the distance form of education which is facilitated by the use of digital technologies is becoming widespread.

For specialists of a broad profile it is obvious that knowledge of information technologies greatly affects the formation of professional competence. In the era of transformations in education, the English language teachers of non-language faculties should possess skills that will shape their competitiveness and demand. Since the educational process is very often carried out online, and sometimes in a mixed format, having digital competence is not even a nice bonus, but a need of today. Digital technologies make it possible to intensify the process of obtaining an education, to diversify it, introducing an innovative approach. Without the creation of multimedia and interactive content, learning English quickly becomes boring, the quality of learning and motivation decreases, and so does success. From today's point of view, competent, responsible, competitive specialists who possess critical thinking, are proactive, creative, socially active and professionally mobile, competently and consciously use the means of information and communication technologies in their professional activities are in demand on the labor market.

Key words: professional competence, digital technologies, digitalization of higher educational establishments, digital competence, non-linguistic specialties.

Теоретичний аспект впливу цифрової компетентності на розвиток професійної компетентності викладача англійської мови немовних спеціальностей у ЗВО

Актуальність формування цифрової компетентності викладачів англійської мови немовних спеціальностей закладів вищої освіти викликана реформуванням освіти в Україні та активним використанням дистанційного і змішаного навчання через безпрецедентні заходи безпеки. Загальновідомо, що нині сучасні заклади вищої освіти не лише повинні забезпечувати освітній процес, а й стати майданчиком для створення інновацій, реалізації проєктів, створення науково-освітніх on-line платформ, персоніфікованих освітніх траєкторій. Адже широкого поширення набуває дистанційна форма навчання, якій сприяє застосування цифрових технологій.

Для фахівців широкого профілю очевидним є той факт, що знання інформаційних технологій великою мірою впливає на формування професійної компетентності. В епоху трансформацій в освіті викладачі англійської мови немовних факультетів мають володіти навичками, які будуть формувати їхню конкурентоспроможність та затребуваність. Оскільки освітній процес дуже часто здійснюється в режимі онлайн, а іноді і в змішаному форматі, володіння цифровою компетентністю вже навіть не приємний бонус, а потреба сьогодення. Цифрові технології дають можливість інтенсифікувати процес здобування освіти, урізноманітнити його, впроваджуючи інноваційний підхід. Без створення мультимедійного та інтерактивного контенту, вивчення англійської мови швидко стає нудним, якість навчання та мотивації знижується, успішність теж. З позицій сьогодення затребуваними на ринку праці є компетентні, відповідальні, конкурентоздатні фахівці, котрі володіють критичним мисленням, є ініціативними, креативними, соціально активними і професійно мобільними, грамотно і свідомо використовують засоби інформаційно-комунікаційних технологій у професійній діяльності.

Ключові слова: професійна компетентність, цифрові технології, цифровізація закладів вищої освіти, цифрова компетентність, немовні спеціальності.

Formulation of the problem

We are living in a rapidly changing age of digital transformations, namely in education system. The professionals of the sphere should meet the requirements and be able to face different challenges they encounter. The topic of the scientific research was chosen to regard the theoretical aspect of the problem and also to find some practical imlementations in the sphere of teaching English as a second language.

Purpose of the article is to investigate the digital competence formation impact on the formation of the professional competence of English language teachers of non-lingual specialties of higher educational establishments.

Analysis of the latest research and publications

Competence-oriented approach to learning foreign languages is considered in the works of domestic and foreign specialists as a means of organizing the educational and cognitive activities of students, which ensures their assimilation of the learning content and achievement of the learning goal by solving certain problematic tasks (O.B. Bihych, L. Bim, P.O. Beh, M.L. Vaisburd, I.A. Vorobiiova, N. D. Halskova, I.O. Zymniia, M.R. Kabanova, R.P. Milrud, S.U. Nikolayeva, U.I. Passov, V.G. Redko, O. B. Tarnopolskyi, J. Asher, Ch. Brumfit, D. Hymes, W. Littlewood, R. Mirabile, S. Parry, S. Savignon, Spencer & S. Spencer, H. Widdowson, etc.). The problem of professional digital competence formation, effective use of information technologies in education, preparation of participants of the educational process for professional activities by means of digital educational technologies, was investigated by many Ukrainian and foreign scientists. Thus, R. Gurevich, A. Gurzhii, M. Zhaldak, N. Morse, O. Spirin consider the essence and structure of digital competence and digital culture of future teachers [3, 7]. The use of digital educational technologies in higher education is devoted to the works of V. Bykov, O. Glazunova, and M. Shishkina [1].

Many scientists such as V. Bykov, L. Baranovska,S. Goncharenko, O. Jezhula, A. Kolomiets, V. Kremen, N. Kuzmina, L. Lyubchak, N. Nychkalo, L. Sultanova, O. Pehota, O. Pometun, H. Tarasenko, L. Khomych, V. Shakhov and others carry out active searches for the improvement of professional education and new innovative and information technologies implementation model.

Dissertation studies of O. Andrus, I. Havrysh, O. Goncharova, T. Demydenko, Yu. Zabiako, N. Ivasiv, Ya. Mandryk, O. Pavlyk, V. Pavlenko, O. Polishchuk, T. Tanko, H. Trotsko, V. Semichenko, N. Mukan, O. Shaprana and others are devoted to various aspects of professional training of pedagogical personnel for the perception, creation, management, and design of innovative pedagogical technologies and systems.

However, despite the multifaceted nature of the research, the problem of the influence of digital technologies on the development of the professional competence of the English teacher of non-linguistic specialties in higher education institutions has not been sufficiently investigated and determined the choice of the research topic.

Presentation of the main material

Teaching English at non-language faculties has its own specifics. Additional motivation, interest in learning a foreign language is needed, as this subject is not a specialized subject, but at the same time, it is no less important in the process of forming professional competence in students of non-language majors. Teachers strive to modernize the process of teaching English, to find new approaches to presenting the material in a convenient and even flexible way, which is associated with a mixed type of education. Most classes are conducted offline, but quite often classes are conducted in a remote format.

Today, in the educational space, scientists, in most cases, use such terms as digital competence and digital literacy to describe the skills and competencies of an English language teacher of non-linguistic specialties in the field of information technologies.

Soldatova considers digital competence to be not only the sum of general user and professional knowledge and skills, which are presented in various models of ICT competence, but also the attitude towards effective activity and a personal attitude towards it, based on a sense of responsibility. In her opinion, knowledge, skills, motivation to perform the task, as well as a sense of responsibility for the performance of duties and the achievement of set goals constitute the framework of digital competence as a part of the social competence of an individual, his acquired competences that allow to use the information and communication technologies in life successfully.

The author considers digital competence to be a complex phenomenon that determines human activity in the information society.

Digitization of education is the process of organizing and implementing the educational process with the use of digital technologies through the use of the Internet. Over the past year and a half, it has completely changed the traditional education system and is currently shaping its new quality. By digital education we understand the purposeful cognitive activity of a person for the purpose of obtaining knowledge, forming abilities and skills or improving them during life using digital technologies, computers, other electronic media, the functionality of which makes it possible to use the Web portal of digital education [5].

The topic is relevant in terms of time, several factors influenced the desire to explore it more deeply. The first factor is Ukraine's integration into the European educational space and raising a number of requirements for the quality of education. The second and no less important factor is an innovative approach to teaching. An English teacher of non- linguistic higher education institutions must be partly an innovator, possess a sufficient level of empathy and cultivate resilience. In order to form students' professional competence, it is not enough to present the material in a finished form, but to teach them to come to certain conclusions, to think strategically about ways to solve problems through communication and constructive dialogue.

S. Skvortsova defines the professional competence of a teacher as the ability of an individual to engage in educational activities; theoretical and practical readiness of a specialist for professional activity, effective actions, effective resolution of standard and problematic situations in professional activity [6].

A small number of hours are allocated to the study of English for students of non-linguistic specialties, therefore, a great role is attached to the control of independent work. In the era of the latest technologies and the development of education, it is impossible to keep the student interested in the subject and help him develop professional skills by studying grammar and texts by heart. Various platforms that are available for participants in the educational process come to the aid of teachers.

Udemy. The platform provides a unique opportunity to acquire skills in the chosen field.

Teachers have free access to a huge number of courses that allow you to develop professional competence, as well as master an additional profession.

Coursera. English teachers and students alike can access highly engaging courses created by Stanford faculty. Certificates are issued after completing the courses. More than 20,000 students and teachers have already joined Coursera and are successfully mastering online courses from Google, Meta, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, as well as such leading universities in the world as Yale University, California Institute of the Arts, Duke University, Erasmus University Rotterdam and others. The courses also help to diversify the educational programs of the institution.

Google digital tools for education from the Ministry of Education and Culture and Google Ukraine and British Council are available for the majority of universty teachers and students of different specialities.

The ways and methods of digital competence forming, defined in the Concept of the development of digital competences, are related to a person's acquisition of digital education through the use of information resources, new educational technologies and digital educational resources; thanks to the provision of continuous development of professional digital competences for specialists in the advanced training system of various fields of activity; creation of the Unified state web portal of digital education "Action. Digital education"; development of measures for the implementation of digital means of proving information (television, social networks, broadcasting on the Internet, etc.).

The Ministry of Digital Transformation together with EU4Skills conducted a representative study of the existing digital competence of teachers and heads of vocational and technical institutions, which proved its low level in the majority of respondents. This prompted the organization of training on the use of Microsoft tools in the educational process. Therefore, in order to ensure the necessary digitalization of vocational and technical education, at the end of 2020, more than 1,000 teachers attended 128 online webinars on improving digital competences. And 25 educational and methodical centers of professional education, including 2,700 teachers from 59 vocational and technical institutions, received training on the deployment of Microsoft Office 365 for further use of all licensed software tools during the educational process. Soon, 2 online courses on improving the digital skills of teachers and heads of professional education institutions will be launched, which will be made available for open access and will take into account the needs of teachers of professional educational establishments.

Prospects for the use of information technologies in the process of forming the professional competence of an English language teacher of non-linguistic specialties are developing very rapidly in our time and are widely used in all spheres of life. The use of information and communication technologies in education is quite promising. Information and communication technology is a term that emphasizes the role of unified technologies and the integration of telecommunications, computers, software, storage, and audiovisual systems that enable users to create, access, store, transmit, and modify information. In other words, ICT consists of information technology (IT), as well as telecommunications, media broadcasting, all types of audio and video processing, transmission, network management and monitoring functions in foreign language learning, even if the most communicative approaches are used, given the limited time, non-linguistic students have few opportunities to interact in a foreign language. In addition, due to the lack of direct contact with speakers of a foreign language and language context, it is almost impossible to develop communication skills among students. Technologies and multimedia are able to provide a greater connection of students with a foreign language and improve the quality of education by providing opportunities for the development of communication skills. ICT is promising because it enables students and teachers to communicate with each other or with the outside world, regardless of time or place limitations. This can be done through social media, e-mail, online discussion rooms, wikis, blogs or chats in a less stressful environment. In addition, technology can increase student motivation and provide opportunities for independent learning. If ICT is properly and effectively incorporated into the curriculum, it can be a powerful teaching and learning tool in and out of class. ICT allows access to sources of reliable information, removes geographical boundaries, motivates students to self-development, creates opportunities for adequate self-assessment and imposes responsibility on students for their own learning. Due to the rapid and intensive development of ICT, promising pedagogical technologies are being formed, which are oriented towards the intellectual improvement of students. Information and communication technologies are gaining popularity among modern teachers and students. The use of ICT can have some disadvantages, requires additional training of teachers and students and involves additional costs for the administration. But at the same time, the introduction of information and communication technologies into the learning process in general and into the process of foreign language training in particular has many more advantages.

digital competence language multimedia

Conclusions

Today, in the global educational space, there is no single term for clearly defining the digital competence of University teachers of English. The majority of scientists adhere to the same opinion that it is not enough for a university teacher to have only basic skills in the field of information technologies. In our opinion, digital competence is an important component of the professional competence of a modern teacher. Digital competence combines knowledge and the ability to use digital technologies to organize the educational process, critically evaluate information resources in terms of the feasibility of their use in future professional activities, and apply technological innovations.

An important prerequisite for the formation of digital competence is the readiness of future specialists to master and use digital technologies.

Despite the large number of studies devoted to this problem, the question of interpretation of the concept of digital competence of future teachers, definition of its structure and content requires further study.

In further research, it is important to study approaches to creating a model for the formation of digital competence of the University teachers of English at non-lingual faculties, determining the conditions for the formation of digital competence of teachers, prospects for introducing the developed model to ensure continuous professional development of teachers.

Therefore, the above practical advice of a methodical and organizational nature makes it possible to revise traditional and conservative approaches to teaching English in non-linguistic specialties and increase their effectiveness. With the creation of modern high-tech teaching aids, such as computers and computing equipment, interactive whiteboards, tablets, etc., the education system is moving to a new stage of its development, putting forward new requirements for the interaction of the subjects of the educational process.

The formation and development of the digital competence of English language teachers in the conditions of the digital transformation of education acquire special significance and require the active support of the state, the public, and the administration of educational institutions.

The prospect of further research may be the development of methodology and methods of digital competence formation of students of higher educational establishments in the conditions of distance and hybrid learning.

Bibliography:

1. Биков В., Лещенко М. Цифрова гуманістична педагогіка відкритої освіти. Теорія і практика управління соціальними системами. № 4. С. 115-130.

2. Морзе Н.В. Інформатична компетентність учнів може бути вищою від компетентності тих, хто їх навчає? (за матеріалами моніторингового дослідження з інформатичних компетентностей випускників в Україні). Комп'ютер у школі та сім'ї. № 8. 2010. С. 3-8.

3. Морзе Н.В., Кочарян А.Б. Модель стандарту ІКТ-компетентності викладачів університету в контексті підвищення якості освіти. Інформаційні технології і засоби навчання. 2014. №5. С. 27-39.

4. Попко І.А. Сучасні тенденції у викладанні іноземних мов у вищих навчальних закладах. Лінгвометодичні концепції викладання іноземних мов у немовних вищих навчальних закладах України: Зб. наукових статей учасників всеукр. наук.-практ. конф. Київ, 2003. С. 278-294.

5. Положення про Єдиний державний веб-портал цифрової освіти «Дія. Цифрова освіта», затверджене Постановою КМУ від 10 березня 2021 р. № 184.

6. Скворцова С. Професійна компетентність учителя початкових класів. Початкова освіта. Методичний порадник. 2011. Вип. 8(56). №32 (608). С. 9-12.

7. Жалдак М.І., Рамський Ю.С., Рафальська М.В. Модель системи соціальнопрофесійних компетентностей вчителя інформатики. Науковий часопис Національного педагогічного університету імені М. П. Драгоманова. Серія 2. Комп'ютерно-орієнтовані системи навчання. № 7. 2009. с. 3-10.

Размещено на Allbest.ru