Введение. Согласно требованиям рынка труда современный специалист с высшим образованием должен осуществлять коммуникацию на иностранном языке в своей профессиональной сфере, т.е. уметь общаться на деловом иностранном языке. В рамках компетентностного подхода обучение профессиональному деловому иностранному языку предполагает использование не только практико-ориентированных методов и технологий обучения, но и альтернативных форм и методов оценивания учебной деятельности студентов. Цель исследования – выявить, какое влияние имеет использование альтернативного оценивания на формирование у студентов неязыкового вуза умений и навыков делового английского языка.

Alternative assessment as a means of business English skills formation in non-linguistic students

Introduction. According to the requirements of the labor market, a modern specialist with a higher education must speak a foreign language in his or her professional field, i.e. be able to communicate in a business foreign language. Within the competence-based approach, teaching a professional business foreign language involves the use of not only practice-oriented teaching methods and technologies, but also alternative techniques of evaluating students' learning activities. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to identify how the use of alternative assessment affects the formation of Business English skills among non–linguistic students. Materials and Methods. The study involved 96 undergraduate students of Vyatka State University studying in the fields of "Biology", “Biotechnology”, “Chemistry” and "Chemical Technology". The formation of Business English skills is based on the “assessment as learning” approach. This assessment includes practice-oriented methods: Case Study, electronic portfolio (iPortfolio), pair work (We Create Activity), imitation of an interview (Mock job interview), reports (Reports) in the form of formal letters. Pearson’s χ2 test was used for the result statistical processing. Results. The results of the experiment showed that the number of students in the experimental group with a low level of Business English skills decreased from 37.5% to 4.2%, with an average level decreased from 50% to 41.7%, with a high level increased from 12. 5% to 54.1%; χ2 = 18.006, p ≤ 0.05. Conclusion. The significance of the conducted research lies in the "assessment as learning" approach used to solve the problem of the Business English skills and abilities formation among undergraduate students. This approach provided not only conditions for the development of Business English skills, but also for the development of critical thinking, creativity, and cooperation. Keywords: Business English, Business English skills, alternative assessment techniques, Case Study

https://pnojournalarchive.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/pdf_230217.pdf

Labour market modern requirements determine the need for high-quality language training for non-linguistic students, whose competitiveness is directly dependent on the level of foreign language proficiency. Teaching foreign languages shows that the use of various technologies requires a different approach to assessing students' learning activities. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to identify the impact of the use of alternative assessment of the students’ educational activities on the improvement of their foreign language communicative competence. The study involved 84 "Biology" and "Ecology" undergraduates of Vyatka State University. The following methods were used in the research: theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific literature on the research issue, observation, experimental training, questionnaire, analysis of quantitative and qualitative research results. Pearson's χ^2 test was used for the result statistical processing. The authors identified the following alternative assessment forms and methods: iPortfolio, We Create Activity, iLearn & Teach Project, Technical Report, Mock Job Interview. These forms and methods are approximated to the real situations of the professional sphere of future engineers. The results of the experiment showed that the number of students with a low level of foreign language communicative competence formation decreased from 40,5% to 17,9%, with an average level increased from 50% to 63,1%, with the high level increased from 9,5% to 19%. The estimated value of Pearson's χ2 statistics 11.308 falls within the zone of the significance of differences in the levels of formation of foreign language communicative competence. The significance of the study lies in the approach used "assessment as learning" to solve the problem of professionally oriented communicative competence formation. This approach ensured the student orientation to professional interests and created conditions for knowledge self-acquisition, increasing the student autonomy. In addition, it led to student awareness of the necessity to master a foreign language in relation to the professional training specifics.

Maria M. Susloparova

Papers

Alternative assessment as a means of business English skills formation in non-linguistic students

Alternative assessment as a means of foreign language communicative competence formation in natural science undergraduates