The article substantiates and appraises a set of PC-oriented and network techniques (such as online chat-based training and learning) and communicative and game-playing techniques (such as briefing, debriefing-contemplation, simulation) to help future software engineers elaborate a strategy to engage in communication on professional matters in a foreign language. The authors have ascertained the structure and the contents of the key notions pertaining to the present study, specifically: ‘strategy for professional foreign language communication’, ‘virtual teaching and learning environment’, and ‘online chat teaching and learning techniques’; a system of exercises and tasks has been developed that are to be given out to future specialists in order to develop their online communication skills in line with the aforementioned strategy. ‘Strategy for professional foreign language communication’ is construed by the authors as a cumulative aggregate for incremental thinking and speaking activities designed to help participants of the act of communication model their own communicative behaviour in the context of communication on professional matters in a foreign language aimed at attaining the objective of communication in the process of conversing with each other. Students’ index of personal interest in studying a foreign language for communication on profession-related matters has also been verified. In order to ascertain the level of personal interest in a foreign language among students, a questionnaire survey focusing on 1st and 2nd year students of the Faculty of Mathematics and IT Technologies at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine) has been conducted. We have compiled methodological guidelines to be issued to foreign language teachers at universities, outlining best practices to organise training and help future software engineers outline their strategies for professional foreign language communication; besides, a training toolkit entitled IT Student’s English Handbook showcasing a number of options for online (Internet-based) simulations has been put together. Having interpreted the results of questionnaire survey, we have been able to prove that the abovementioned training techniques do prove to be efficient.
The successful functioning of computer programming specialists largely depends on their level of communicative competence, so a university course of English for specific purposes (ESP), aimed at its development, can be exceedingly useful in professional training of future computer programmers. To optimise the process of ESP learning we have outlined the verbal addresser-oriented strategies (stimulating strategy, emotional activity strategy, evaluation activity strategy, cooperative strategy and strategy of self-presentation) and elaborated a system of exercises for their development. It includes the following stages: 1) studying general foreign language by means of communication strategies; 2) studying ESP by means of communication strategies. To validate the effectiveness of the system of exercise we conducted experimental teaching of the 1st and 2nd-year students of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and IT Technologies at Lviv Ivan Franko National University in 2016-2017 academic year. It involved 144 participants. Efficiency of the system of exercises has been proved on the basis of the results obtained from pre-and post-experimental assessment of students from exposure groups and reference groups. Growth rate in students from exposure groups significantly exceeded the results in students from reference groups. Thus, the efficacy of the suggested system of exercises used for developing communication strategies in computer programming students has been proved.
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