Challenges in education of foreign students

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Challenges in education of foreign students

Pavlychenko Artem Volodymyrovych

professor, doctor (of technical sciences) of the Department of Ecology and Technologies of Environmental Protection, first vice-rector

Dnipro University of Technology, Ukraine

Dyachenko Hryhoriy Hryhoriyovych

Cand.sc. (of technical sciences), Ph.D., associate professor of the electric drive department

Dnipro University of Technology, Ukraine

Summary

Current issues of the organization of education of foreign students at the Dnipro University of Technology are analyzed. Considered intensification of the development of contacts between countries, development of educational programs in English and adaptive capacity of foreign students. Illuminated factors affecting efficiency process language preparation for teaching in selected specialties in the conditions of distance education. education foreign adaptive

Keywords: foreign students, remote education, educational program, language of instruction, learning platform, Dnipro University of Technology.

For five years, the Dnipro University of Technology has been actively developing the international sphere of activity, including attracting foreign students to study. More than 150 students from more than 10 countries of the world are students of Dnipro University of Technology. In connection with this, an urgent task for the university is the organization of an effective process of training foreign students, which would ensure high quality educational services and allow effective implementation of modern concepts of teaching in their chosen specialties.

The purpose of the article - to analyze the peculiarities of the organization of

language training of foreign students for studies in selected specialties in Dnipro University of Technology to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the preparatory process. Individual provisions of the article can form the basis of developing ways to improve the specified type of activity in universities.

The problems of training foreign students in higher educational institutions are highlighted in the scientific works of O. Adamenko, O. Bilous, N. Bulgakova, S. Varava, V. Grutsyak, T. Dementyev, O. Palka, M. Razoryonova, I. Khristynko, and others. Most of the publications relate to issues of adaptation and support of students already studying in higher education institutions.

In the world, contacts between countries are intensively developing, and at the same time, the flow of young people from one country to another is increasing. The number of students who annually go abroad for higher education is significant. In order to attract as many applicants as possible, many non-English-speaking countries have started teaching in English. Education in English provides many advantages both for applicants and for universities themselves.

Ukrainian universities are interested in programs in English. They will attract more international students from all over the world. The need to learn the Ukrainian language is one of the main factors preventing the flow of students who do not speak Ukrainian but are interested in relatively inexpensive higher education. Today general term of study of foreign students ZVO in Ukrainian for 1 year more than in English, through a preparatory course for studying the Ukrainian language. Universities such as Dnipro State Medical University, Dnipro State Academy of Construction and Architecture, Dnipro National University named O. Honchar, foreign students are starting to study at the preparatory department for foreign citizens. The main goal of the preparatory department is the formation of knowledge, skills, and abilities, including the Ukrainian language, to the extent that ensures the further successful study of foreign students in higher educational institutions of Ukraine.

The development of educational programs in English makes it possible to shorten the period of study of foreign students, which is an attractive factor. Educational programs in English significantly reduce the level of stress associated with the language barrier and allow foreign students to focus more on their studies.

Foreign students are not only additional income for the university, but also improvement of the institution's image.

The factors that attract foreigners to study in Ukraine are the affordable cost of education with a fairly high rating of Ukrainian higher education institutions, a low living wage, flexibility in choosing the language of study, easy admission conditions, comfortable study conditions in cities, a mild climate, shared with many post-Soviet countries traditions and social norms in countries [1].

Most of the foreign applicants entering the higher education institutions of Ukraine have a question: "Which language to study?". Foreign students whose native language is English usually prefer English as the language of study. Interdisciplinary educational and scientific institute of continuous intramural and distance education Dnipro University of Technology provides the educational process for foreign students in English. Close 100 foreign citizens of more than 10 countries of the world (pa significant number of students from Morocco, Nigeria, Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt,

Syria, Israel) chose such specialties as: management; Computer Science; Computer Engineering; construction and civil engineering; electrical engineering, electrical engineering and electromechanics; mining; oil and gas engineering and technologies [2].

The education of citizens of foreign countries is carried out according to the curricula and in accordance with the higher education programs of Ukraine. After graduation, foreign students receive diplomas and certificates of the state standard established in Ukraine for foreign citizens.

Are there problems in teaching subjects to foreign students in English? Yes, in teachers have difficulties in perceiving and understanding the language of foreign students, because not all students speak English perfectly, some have their own specific accent. The teacher must know a foreign language at the level necessary for conducting lectures and practical classes, which is an important rating indicator for a higher education teacher. In 2017, when there was the first recruitment of Englishspeaking students, there was a small number of teachers there was a language barrier when communicating with foreign students. I will explain its haft due to the fact that teachers of foreign students were there on stage of learning English and still have not reached the desired level of language proficiency. There were also difficulties in translating educational and methodological material from Ukrainian to English, as not all teachers were language specialists, ago difficulties foreign literature for the development of educational and methodological material. Today, as for the scientific and pedagogical staff, all teachers at Dnipro University of Technology, which teach English-speaking foreign students who speak English at the B2 level (which is confirmed by a certificate) [3].

With worthy of pan-European recommendations on language education the teacher must be pedagogically and linguistically competent to meet the needs of international students.

Every foreign student who arrives at a higher educational institution of Ukraine to study is a representative of a certain country with a special mentality, psychological state, a unique perception of the world and a new socio-cultural environment. This must be considered in order to successfully manage the educational process of foreign students. From the moment they enter Ukrainian universities, they enter an extremely unusual and unfamiliar linguistic, social, and national environment to which they need to adapt.

The adaptive capacity of foreign students includes three main types:

physiological adaptability (to climate, regional ecosystem, food, water, etc.);

psychological adaptability (adaptation to new ways of life, to changing life situations, etc.);

social adaptability (perception of new values, communicativeness, reorientation, etc.) [4].

As for the specifics of national-psychological characteristics of students, according to observations, African students are open in communication, prone to slower learning and assimilation of new concepts. Students from the Arab countries of the Middle East are calm and delicate incommunicative, undisciplined.

A special factor to which foreign students must adapt is the educational process since education itself is the main purpose of the arrival of foreigners to

Ukrainian higher education institutions [5].

Distance learning, as the main form of implementing the educational process in emergency situations, has become the main way to ensure the continuity of education.

E. Toffler in "Shock of the Future" wrote: "In the future, developed technology will bring changes to education as well. The training will take place mainly in the student's room or in the dormitory, at the hours chosen by him. With a huge database available to him through computer information systems, with his own video recordings and VCR, with his own linguistic laboratory and his own cabin for classes with electronic equipment, the student will be free from restrictions and other troubles that awaited him in the closed space of the classroom rooms the technology that will underpin this new freedom will inevitably spread to educational institutions in the coming years. Within 30 years, the educational system of the United States and some Western European countries will decisively break with the mass production of pedagogy of the past and move forward, into the era of educational diversity,

In accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education", the distance form of education is understood as an individualized process of obtaining education, which takes place mainly through the mediated interaction of distant participants in the educational process in a specialized environment that functions on the basis of modern psychological, pedagogical and informational communication technologies [7].

The remote form began to be implemented in 2020 with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued with the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine. Foreign students continued their studies from their countries of permanent residence. Domestic universities have a new task - to contribute to the creation of the most comfortable conditions for the preservation of this contingent.

Among the advantages of distance learning, we can note transparency, mobility, efficiency, modularity, accessibility, possibility of live communication, interactivity, opportunity for self-development. The disadvantages include the lack of sufficient speed of the Internet flow and the incomplete coverage of territories by wireless Internet, turning off electricity, sirens, the negative impact on the psychological state of the lack of personal contact during the learning process, the insufficient level of knowledge of the subjects of the educational process in the field of electronic means, the low level of control capabilities above the level of independence during the performance of tasks, a decrease in the degree of motivation of education seekers, rare cases of an insufficient level of self-discipline and self-organization.

Today, there are ready-made platforms with all the necessary built-in tools for distance learning. The most common platforms for distance learning are Moodle, Sakai, LOTUS Learning Space, eFront. Students and teachers Dnipro University of Technology enrolled in Office 365 Education, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams, and additional learning tools. "Office 365" facilitates communication between students, teachers, and structural divisions of the university. "Office 365" can be used on any mobile device: desktop computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone.

In conclusion, we can state that foreign students Dnipro University of Technology satisfied with the quality and level language presentation educational material taught within general them and professional disciplines.

The presence of a diversified offer of educational programs in English is more attractive for foreign students. In this way in work significantly expands the target audience of consumers. Considering the general underdevelopment of this sector of educational services, language of instruction can become an important competitive advantage of higher education in the national educational space, which leads to increasing demand for him educational services.

Improvement of the system of obtaining education by foreign citizens studying in English, will contribute even more grow the prestige of the university, increase it demand for educational services and will strengthen its competitiveness.

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