Knowledge-transformation approach to esp teaching in ukrainian universities

Abstract

The school reform which is under way in Ukraine requires revisiting approaches to training prospective teachers. A special emphasis should be placed on developing key 21-century skills such as emotional intelligence, creativity, problem solving and knowledge transformation. These skills can be built or enhanced through an ESP course that would integrate both language and professional skills. In the educational context, project work fosters creativity in teachers and students, develops critical thinking, builds teamwork as well as leadership skills, motivates independent learning and enhances communicative and organizational competencies. On the other hand, it involves hard work of a language teacher who designs and manages the project in addition to teaching the language .This paper reports on the learning outcomes of the experimental ESP course “Language Teacher in International Projects: Project Activity, Language Training and Teaching Skills” which is being delivered to master students majoring in Education. The goal of the study was to examine the impact of the designed course on language competences and professional communication skills of prospective language teachers. The course is targeted at developing communication skills through international project activity and conceptually relies on project-based learning. The advantages of the course and international project as an educational setting for would-be language teachers lie in combining various activities: professional speaking, language training, discovery activity and professional workshop. Another advantage of the course is associated with knowledge-transformation approach instead of conventional knowledge-reproduction schemes that prevail in most national FL training settings. The results of the study confirm a positive impact of knowledge-transformation approach on teaching ESP in tertiary school. The research data show the course appeared effective in boosting both communicative and professional competences of students majoring in Education.