Pedagogic sciences/5. Modern teaching methods

G. Almurzina

East-Kazakhstan State Technical University, Kazakhstan

Accounting for specificity of communication needs of future specialists when selecting content of Kazakh language teaching

Teaching students, studying at Russian departments of technical universities, professional communication in Kazakh involves a number of methodological problems. This article discusses issues on selection of subject-communicative content of Kazakh language teaching materials for students’ self-studying (SSS).

Consideration of selection problems regarding content of academic subject teaching usually starts with teaching goal analysis. Teaching goal permits selection of adequate content for teaching materials, identification of teaching procedures and methods. Teaching goal includes pragmatic aims as well as education and development aims. Realization of pragmatic component of Kazakh language teaching goal in technical university assumes generation of Kazakh professional communication competency (KPCC). KPCC means ability, willingness and demand for Kazakh language usage as means for international and intercultural communication.

Goal of Kazakh professional communication competency generation is reflected on format and quality of selecting materials and selection requirements. Linguodidactics considers general approaches and principles of teaching content selection as a whole such as subject-situational, context-situational, typifying, sufficiency. Specific principles of certain content aspects selection, for example, principle of text novelty and others are also used. Based on the above mentioned principles, we tried to formulate selection requirements regarding teaching materials for students’ self-studying. Let us present them in generalized perspective: 1) requirement for correspondence between content under selection and motive for Kazakh language usage in professionally communicative activities of particular specialists category; 2) accounting for demands of students of particular speciality (in our case, “Standardization, methodology and certification”); 3) requirement for authenticity, problematic character and actuality of text material; 4) accounting not only for communicational, but also educational demands of students.

If there is appropriate motive, an individual tends to independent creative learning. Questionnaire survey revealed that most students consider Kazakh language usage in future professional activity as a primary motive.

At the same time, professional motive is deferred for first-year students due to result achievement time. Therefore, when teaching Kazakh, it is necessary to strengthen professional motive and bring it closer as early as undergraduate school. This task can be performed by providing students with communicative materials, selected in accordance with specificity of communicative demands of students of particular specialities. Unfortunately, communicative content of “Kazakh language” educational subject has not yet been concretized for “Standardization, methodology and certification” students. In this regard, we studied communicative demands of this category students and specialists. Based on obtained data, we then selected enlarged subject problems, communication situations, socio-communicative roles, as well as professionally significant communicative aims. Analysis of specially gathered actual information allowed separating the following typical socio-communicative roles: metrology specialist, certification services specialists, certification services client, constructive materials testing specialist, constructive products testing client, permanent partner/colleague, employee, employer, graduate student applying for job. We identified the following typical cases of Kazakh language interaction on professional topics for specialists category under consideration: request for certification services; offering a service; discussion of services quality improvement issues during operational meetings; discussion of provided services results with the client; discussion of current situation at the company/establishment with the colleagues; discussion of activities reports during working meetings; recruiting of young professional. Teaching experience shows that carefully selected professionally directed teaching material provided for SSS allows a future specialist to reconstruct holistic vision of future professional activities, that is, to understand the way her/his professional activities are realized through communication/interaction in Kazakh. For example, during academic business games, a student being in specially simulated authentic situations decides communicative problems in Kazakh based on her/his role in the situation. In academic business game, student demonstrates language behavior, approximate to real life. In so doing, student prepares to interactions in Kazakh during future professional activities and develops as an independent and creative individual. Learning content gains personal significance, increasing learning motivation.

Formation of Kazakh language professional communication competency is directly related to format and quality of text materials used in teaching. Requirements for texts under selection depend on educational-methodic goals, they are being selected for. Texts for SSS are aimed in exercising different functions: 1) to be a model for actual oral and written speech of specialists’ category in interest; 2) to be a source of professionally significant and relevant information; 3) to be a base for creation of situations, including problematic ones; 4) to encourage communication. In order to develop students’ individualities, the main motive during text selection should be its actuality and polemic character, opportunities for multiple problem decision approaches. Texts that we were selecting for self-studying discuss important economic and social problems, relevant for engineers with specialization under consideration. Non-fiction, publicistic and science-publicistic articles represent the major portion of these texts. They reflect views and opinions of distinguished public figures, specialists in standardization and certification on issues regarding safety qualities of construction products, which sometimes have debatable character. Authors’ positions encourage thinking, discussion, willingness to share information and emergence of original ideas, touches feelings, emotions and imagination.

When selecting teaching materials for self-studying, one should follow the principle of accounting for students’ learning demands. As questionnaire survey shows, students need to develop learning competency. Learning strategies represent structure elements of learning competency. Therefore, content of teaching Kazakh language should involve providing not only with subject knowledge, but also with procedure knowledge and skills. In other words, teaching content should contain teaching learning strategies.

Self-studying practice shows that accounting for communicative demands of “Standardization, metrology and certification” students when selecting teaching materials for self-studying encourages strengthening of motive for learning professional communication in Kazakh, allows students to form Kazakh professional communication competency and develop their individualities.