A STANDARD MODEL OF COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR SPECIALIST FUNCTIONAL LITERACY

ABSTRACT

The article provides a typical and variable model of functional literacy of a specialist. The implementation of the variant model is illustrated by the example of professional training of a future teacher of a foreign language (specialties "Pedagogical education" with two training profiles "Law and Foreign Language (English)," Foreign Philology "and" Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages ").

On the example of selected specialties, the component structure of linguodidactic education is determined: linguistic, linguodidactic, didactic, methodological, pedagogical, psychological, sociocultural components. Each of the components is based on modern scientific achievements, which have made it possible to optimize the process of training in the direction of developing the functional literacy of future teachers of a foreign language. The system of educational units has been narrowly updated on a semantic basis.

Two groups of students were involved in the experiment (the Foreign Philology: English specialty group and the Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages   (German) group).

At the same time, teachers of different departments were guided by the developed content of functional literacy. The student-centered learning process made it possible to systematize the skills formed into single target settings. It has been proved that the future specialist will be able to accumulate the tasks and strive to solve them. The expected model of a functionally competent specialist was formed: students were brought to the real labor market, where they demonstrated their professional suitability based on copyright developments of lessons for electronic textbooks.

Keywords: professional competence, metaprofessional competence, highly specialized competence, functional literacy (FL) model of a specialist, functional approach, functional language system.

Rationale. The correlation of the national education content in each country with the highest results up to the world standard gives competitive edge to the country in this direction. The innovative process technologies, automation (including robotechnics) of work activities are characterized by two aspects: first, these technologies are the result of education (they characterize the country of these technologies), and also these technologies “dictate” the reform of both the content of education and the teaching methods. The introduction of new technologies involves necessary mastering of knowledge background and a qualified skill level within these technologies. So, for example, the digitalization has covered all life-form spectrum, and, therefore, it should be reflected in the content of each academic discipline. However, the educational aspect is still outside of functional literacy. And B. S. Gershunsky (1998), who put forward the idea that functional literacy should also be studied in relation to the cultural, moral, psychological, and emotional human activities, is right.  And according to this aspect, the role of the “Pedagogy” Program Study of the pedagogical direction and the elective course on the formation of professional competence is important.

The methodological background of the educational problem under study is shown by the theoretical ideas of B. S. Gershunsky (1998), V. V. Matskevich, S. A. Krupnik on the philosophical content of functional literacy (2003), P. I. Frolova on functional literacy as an aspect of continuing education (2013), V. D. Shadrikov, who propounds new approaches to innovative training of specialists (2004), N. Shcheblanin (2003) and V. A. Bolotov (2003), who study the content of competence as a component of functional literacy and treatment subject in educational programs. The functional literacy is first of all a philosophy of life, an internal motive power for a man, providing him with success. The formation of functional literacy is a continuous process, as the specialist acquires life and professional skills throughout his conscious professional life stages. P. I. Frolova approaches a problem of the continuity of the functional literacy formation in accordance with the stages of the education system and the necessity to note this aspect in the content of the educational programs.

There is an important complement to the above characteristics of the specialist functional literacy in the described model of functional literacy of foreign language specialists (A. E. Bizhkenova, K. N. Bulatbayeva, L. S. Sabitova) (2017). The authors have disclosed the content of professional competencies that form functional literacy. This paper introduces the personal and metaprofessional (supra-professional) aspects of functional literacy. Besides, the content of functional literacy is developed for the profession of a foreign language teacher (not for a foreign language professional as a whole). As to improve the functional literacy of foreign language teachers-to-be, the students are introduced to the updated content of the foreign language teaching methodology through the introduction of a new system of functional learning modules and digital education technologies.

The functional literacy of a specialist is an educational category consisting of multidimensional components of a person such as psychological characteristics, cultural and moral orientations, professional training, and social support. However, the level of professional training of an individual depends on both subjective and objective factors. Subjective factors will be a natural motivation in mastering professional competence, a positive following of the progress trajectory based on the knowledge of the requirements for a specialist at a certain level and on the framework of reference for competence. The objective factors will be the level of mentors qualification, the practical relevance (value) of their methodical mechanisms to impart knowledge, skills and abilities to young specialists, psychological support by a team of young specialists, traditions of teamwork, orientation to the latest technologies in work activity, the team ability to set advanced objectives in order to improve work activities.

The model of a specialist in language disciplines is an integrated system of different aspects of professional skills: language competence (knowledge of the language system and operating with it); linguistic competence (knowledge of linguistic theory and operating with it); literary competence; speech competence; communicative competence; methodological competence; psychological competence; educational competence; social competence. And each of the competencies has its own specifics.

The functional literacy should be based on the competence of the specialist and represent its achievable functions in life and work situations.  A specialist, based on the content of functional literacy, should be competitive in a globalized world and able to improve the competitive advantage of the organization itself, and therefore, he must be characterized by leadership, focus on results, communication skills, analytical ability, innovative approach to business and a willingness to learn throughout his life (since the world is changing so fast and a specialist should regulate his professional skills in accordance with these changes, as well as always aim to improve his professional skills in order to reach the next level of qualification). Also there is the ability to communicate with others, to organize a good emotional atmosphere for job efficiency, teamwork skills, a drive for mutual understanding, and a focus on the values of the society, which is an important update to what has been said above. The novelty of this study consists in an important update of this component, which is not paid enough attention to. Meanwhile, it is the teacher who is able to form the personal qualities of a man today, introduced as a component in the content of functional literacy. Therefore, the teacher should be able to develop a specialist-to-be as a functionally literate man, as a functionally literate specialist.

As a result, the hypothesis for a standard model of a specialist and its specification of a rather advanced specialty option, as well as for a single group approach to the formation of functional literacy of students (in our situation, a foreign language teachers-to-be), has been confirmed by the results of the study. We have achieved that students were introduced to the real job market, where they showed their professional ability to meet the modern requirements of teaching a foreign language. At the same time, contact with employers suggested us the way to improve the content of the following course: “Methods of teaching a foreign language”: increasing the educational information technology, considering the difference between some techniques in classroom and online training, increasing the individual approach to learning using digital technologies, the development of self-management techniques in cognitive activity. The focus on the final result of training foreign language specialists allowed us to set the trajectory of their professional development from the beginning to the achievement of the final results of training. The practical value of the results is obvious: a standard model of functional literacy of a specialist-to-be can become the foundation to specify its content in relation to any specialty. There is also a conclusion that it is necessary to include the educational activities of different departments in order to develop a student-centered approach to teaching at the university. A special result should be seen as the ability of students to contact in the professional practice of communication as an accomplished specialists, to hold informative conversation on solving job objectives, and to have teamwork skills.

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