Peculiarities of using virtual whiteboards to form the professional competence of future lawyers in foreign language classes at university

Abstract

Problem statement . The focuses of the current digital intercultural learning environment as training programs for professionals in the legal industry specify their developing of systemic foreign language communication skills, skills to analyze which can be based on information technologies and actualized in rapidly changing professional tasks. The study is aimed at substantiating the effectiveness of using virtual whiteboards to form the professional competence of future lawyers in foreign language classes at university. Methodology . The analysis of theory and methodology, generalization of crucial scientific papers on the studied problem, processing of results and creating interactive whiteboards are applied. The pedagogical experiment involved 97 students (girls - 48%, boys - 52%) of the Law Institute of Vyatka State University. Fisher's criterion (angular transformation) is used as a statistical processing method. Results . The didactic peculiarities of making use of virtual whiteboards when forming professional and legal competence of a professional in the legal industry during foreign language classes are stated: the capabilities of network intercultural cooperation when solving tasks in the legal industry; seeking legal assistance; foreign language communication; virtual discussion of criminal acts; independence of the interactive network environment for modeling legal processes; keeping the results in a cloud. At the control stage of the experiment, statistically significant differences between the levels of formed competences of the participants of the experimental and control groups were revealed. Conclusion . Making use of whiteboards will contribute to the formation of foreign language and professional legal competences of a specialist while providing a set of circumstances: active work with foreign regulatory acts in English, showing students new intercultural information collaboration and legal consultancy, combining different types of work, organizing foreign language feedback, solving real practical legal tasks.