ESSENTIAL SKILLS AND STRATEGIESS TO MAKE THE MOST OF ESP EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
The National
ESP Curriculum for Universities has a skills-based focus. The development of
teacher-learned negotiated learning objective presupposes the inclusion of
language and study skills relevant to students’ specific needs.
Effective
ESP course can focus on improving students’ linguistic skills. We indentify
productive (oral and written) and receptive (auditory and reading) performance
are seen as integrated language skills.
Though
listed as separate core objectives for Bachelor’s language proficiency level B2,
they are seen as integration of skills incorporating professional communicative
competence developed with the performance of academic and job-related tasks.
In practice,
a model that deals with the reading skills will also deal with related
listening, speaking and writing skills. Taking a whole language approach which
seeks to focus on language in its entirely rather than breaking it down into
separate components, it might include pre-reading discussion, listening to a
series of informative statements or a lecture, a focus on a certain reading
strategy (e.g., scanning), writing a paraphrase of a section of reading
passage, i.e. extensive use of the four skills in an academic setting.
The classes
model for the students the real-life integration of language skills that is
realized through meaningful tasks. Primary attention is given to what students
can do with language. They read, discuss, solve problems, analyze data, write
opinions and reports, i.e. through actions, students are drawn into a utilization
of multiple skills. Instead of telling students about how language works,
teachers give students opportunities to use language. Student-centered
experiential techniques would include simulations, role plays, research
projects, hands-on projects. All of the above are highly motivating task-based
and communicative activities so that skills are learnt effectively in an
integrated manner.
As we see,
the focus of language objectives is on what the learners will be able to do
with the language in order to communicate in the language when they are
finished with their training. Besides, language skills will help them function
in their content courses as well.
ESP students
are employing different language learning strategies – specific actions,
techniques that they use to improve their progress in developing language
skills. To make learning more effective ESP teachers can help their students
recognize the power of consciously using language learning strategies by
tailoring strategy training to the real needs of learners in the particular
situations [4, p. 130]. Embedded in meaningful communicative context strategy
training should form an integral part of regular classroom events.
Being
focused on very useful practical objectives, students can improve their study
skills both in ESP instructions settings and during self-study in which a
learner works alone or with other learners without the control of a teacher.
Learners can make choices about what to learn, what can take charge of their
own learning process. Study skills in the study situations in which they are
likely to be needed are given as a list of abilities, techniques, and
strategies which are used when reading, writing or listening for study purposes
[3, p. 7].
Students
need to master a number of study skills and strategies. As the data from
research finding show, the majority of ESP learners need English to have access
to information via the Internet, to use e-communication, to extract information
from the specialist literature and to exchange scientific and technical
information. They learn how to use the library resources as an aid to learning,
for example, as a resource for independent research projects; how to read with
the greatest efficiency and the least wasted time and energy.
Adding new skills and strategies to our students’ repertoire, we recognize the importance of listening as the first step to effective learning in lectures. There is growing evidence of English used as medium of instructions either by Russian subjects teachers working in close cooperation with ESP departments, or visiting scholars from abroad. Thanks to the partnerships with European universities more and more students study in the English-speaking academic environment. They need to comprehend academic lectures, take notes, recall, restate and discuss lecture as a part of a listening paper. Having been taught on how to listen effectively and take notes efficiently on what they hear, students use appropriate note-taking techniques and able to carry over the learned behavior to other situations.
ЛИТЕРАТУРА
1. Common European Framework for
Language: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. – Council of Europe, Modern Language
Division, Strasbourg, 2001. – P. 22–29.
2. English for Specific Purpose
(ESP). National Curriculum for Universities. –
Lenvit, 2005. – P. 37–38.
3. Jordan, R. R. English for
Academic Purpose. A Guide and Resource Book for Teachers / R. R. Jordan. –
Cambridge University Press, 1997. – P. 7.
4. Richards, J. C. Methodology
in Language Teaching. An Anhology of Current Practice / J. C. Richards,
W. A. Renandya. – Cambridge: CUP, 2002. – P. 130.
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