Culturological approaches to organization of a foreign language educational process for students of IT specialties

Abstract

We consider some culturological approaches in relation to the profile-oriented foreign language training of non-linguist students at the higher school. The planned result of foreign languages teaching is currently described through the concept of foreign language communicative competence, which considers the personality of a student as a set of specific subject skills, knowledge and internal abilities including those, which are related to cultural transformation of the world. The goal of teaching languages consists of four components: practical, developing, upbringing and educational aspects. The practical goal corresponds to specific language knowledge and skills. Development through the process of studying languages is realized by the means of particular methods and techniques. The educational and formative potential is achieved by straightening of the culture-orienting function of the foreign languages educational process. These concrete scientific approaches combine the consideration of the mechanisms of transformation of culture into the world of personality and, accordingly, the influence of a developing personality on changes in cultural forms. We describe general characteristics of the approaches under consideration (socio-cultural, intercultural, multicultural and cultural-axiological) according to possibilities of methodological implementation of their fundamental principles in foreign language classes on the example of students of technical specialties. We consider the described approaches from the position of strengthening the educational potential of the process of foreign languages teaching to students in higher education, associated approaches with the idea of laying the foundations of a humanistically oriented, culturally diverse society, comfortable for personal and professional self-realization. Using the described approaches is advisable to strengthen the educational and upbringing function of foreign language training of students of IT specialties.