Teiana Kostiuk, Natalia Drab. Implementation of methods for implementing pedagogical conditions for forming socio-cultural competence of future foreign language teachers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62204/2336-498X-2023-2-14

IMPLEMENTATION OF METHODS FOR IMPLEMENTING

PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR FORMING SOCIO-CULTURAL

COMPETENCE OF FUTURE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Teiana Kostiuk,

Senior Lecturer, Department of Foreign Languages and Cross-Cultural

Communication, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University,

tatianakostiuk1983@gmail.com; ORCID: 0000-0001-9943-7285

Natalia Drab,

Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages and Cross-Cultural

Communication, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University,

natalia_drab1972@ukr.net; ORCID: 0009-0005-0296-481X

Annotation. The article is devoted to the problem of the formation of sociocultural competence of future foreign language teachers in the pedagogical college system. The article reveals the essence of the methodology for the implementation of pedagogical conditions for the formation of sociocultural competence of future foreign language teachers, which is implemented in three stages (stimulation-motivational – formation of motivation, adaptation of students to the conditions of the experiment; activity – implementation of pedagogical conditions in the classroom and outside the classroom for the effective formation of sociocultural competence ; correctiveresultative – analysis and correction of results) and the veracity of the research hypothesis was verified according to the effectiveness of statistical and mathematical indicators.

In the aspect of our previous studies, it was revealed that in the structure of sociocultural competence of future foreign language teachers, information-cognitive, motivational-value, and practical-activity components are distinguished. The criteria for determining the level of formation of the information-cognitive component of the socio-cultural competence of future foreign language teachers are axiological, linguistic-cultural, and practical-communicative. The developed criteria and indicators made it possible to distinguish four conditional levels of formation of sociocultural competence of future foreign language teachers in the process of professional training in the conditions of a pedagogical college: high, sufficient, basic and elementary levels.

Research has proven a positive influence on the formation of sociocultural competence of students of the Pedagogical College of the disciplines of psychological and pedagogical and special training. Expanding the content of professional disciplines by adding texts, exercises, audio and video files of a socio-cultural orientation has a positive effect on the development of their socio-cultural competence as an individual’s ability through adequate understanding and respect for other languages and cultures to manifest an active and responsible life in society.

Keywords: sociocultural competence, pedagogical college, future foreign language teachers, pedagogical conditions.

The article states that the socio-cultural competence of a future foreign language teacher is a complex, holistic, individual psychological, integrative formation that combines socio-cultural knowledge, personal attitude to foreign cultures, allows successful communication with their representatives, feeling confident and comfortable in a foreign socio-cultural environment due to the possession of ways of using a foreign language; characterizes theoretical and practical readiness for socio-cultural activity and development of relevant qualities in students.

The problem of professional training of future teachers, theoretical and methodological foundations of their professional culture and professional competence formation are devoted to the research of Ukrainian (V. Andrushchenko, G. Ball, I. Bekh, H. Vasyanovych, L. Vovk, I. Ziasyuna, V. Kremen, N. Nychkalo, S. Maksymenko, etc.) and foreign (M. Ariyan, V. Bezpalko, V. Bibler, B. Gershunsky, I. Zimnya, N. Ishkhanyan, V. Slastenin, P. Adler, D. Brown, etc.) scholars. In the context of the study, the works of O. Akimova, O. Homoniuk, R. Gurevych, M. Kademia, A. Kolomiets, L. Lukianova, O. Matiash, V. Shakhova, O. Shcherbak and others concerning the professional training of future teachers are of particular importance [1 – 5].

There is a need to identify and specify the methodology for implementing the pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence in the use of educational resources in the process of training future qualified specialists; to substantiate the peculiarities of its implementation in the system of vocational (vocational and technical) education institutions (VETIs) and to control its use. The above is the purpose of our study.

The purpose of the article is to introduce a methodology for implementing pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence. The hypothesis of the study is to assume that the effectiveness of the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence in the process of professional training in a pedagogical college will increase with the implementation of the following pedagogical conditions: the use of integrated sociocultural tasks with variable content in the process of learning a foreign language; emphasis on the sociocultural component in the process of teaching a foreign language in a pedagogical college; ensuring students’ value orientation towards socio cultural activities in the process of integrated use of traditional and innovative teaching methods.

The research and experimental work was conducted at Vinnytsia Humanitarian and Pedagogical College, I. Y. Franko Korostyshiv Pedagogical College, Taras Shevchenko Uman Humanitarian and Pedagogical College, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Pedagogical College, Chortkiv Oleksandr Barvinskyi Humanitarian and Pedagogical College, and Balta Pedagogical College. A total of 396 students took part in the experiment.

In terms of our previous research, it has been revealed that the structure of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence includes information and cognitive, motivational and value, and practical and activity components. The criteria for determining the level of formation of the informational and cognitive component of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are axiological, linguistic and cultural, practical and communicative [2, 3, 4].

The indicators of the axiological criterion of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are: motivation to master and use socio-cultural knowledge in pedagogical practice; need to develop socio-cultural competence; awareness of the importance of socio-cultural competence for future professional activity; tolerant and emotional attitude towards representatives of different ethnic groups, speakers of different languages and cultures [2, 4].

The indicators of the linguistic and cultural criterion of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are: socio-cultural knowledge, level of awareness of national and cultural peculiarities of Ukrainian and foreign language speakers; possession of knowledge about the peculiarities of effective communication in a multinational environment; readiness to use socio-cultural knowledge in professional pedagogical activity [1, 3].

The indicators of the practical and communicative criterion of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are: skills and abilities to use sociocultural knowledge in specific socio-linguistic situations; skills of organizing sociocultural activities with schoolchildren; experience of communication in a multicultural environment; reflection on the results of their own socio-cultural activities [1, 2].

The developed criteria and indicators made it possible to identify four conditional levels of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence in the process of professional training in a pedagogical college: high, sufficient, basic and initial levels.

The study proved the positive impact of psychological, pedagogical and special training disciplines on the formation of socio-cultural competence of students of the pedagogical college. Expanding the content of professional disciplines by adding texts, exercises, audio and video files of socio-cultural orientation has a positive impact on the development of their socio-cultural competence as an individual’s ability to show active and responsible life in society through adequate understanding and respect for other languages and cultures [1, 2].

The formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence is defined as a complex, gradual, continuous process of active theoretical and practical activity of students aimed at acquiring socio-cultural knowledge, sustainable motivation for socio-cultural activity, the ability to successfully communicate with representatives of different cultures and feel confident and comfortable in a foreign language sociocultural environment, on the basis of which the methodology for implementing pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence is developed.

The pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are as follows: the use of integrated socio-cultural tasks with variable content in foreign language learning; improving the content of the discipline “Foreign Language” by introducing topics on national and cultural characteristics and specifics of national communicative behavior of foreign language speakers; ensuring students’ value orientation towards socio-cultural activities in the process of integrated use of traditional and innovative methods.

Substantiated pedagogical conditions are the basis of the structural and functional model of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence formation (Fig. 1), which consists of the following blocks: target (goal and objectives of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence formation); conceptual (methodological approaches; pedagogical conditions); procedural (stages of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence formation); effective (expected result) [1, 2].

The criteria for determining the level of formation of the information and cognitive component of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are axiological, linguistic and cultural, practical and communicative [3].

The experimental verification of the effectiveness of the methodology for implementing the substantiated pedagogical conditions and the developed structural and functional model of the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence took place at Vinnytsia Humanitarian and Pedagogical College. The experimental and control groups of students with approximately the same composition and initial level of sociocultural competence were selected for the experiment. A total of 396 students took part in the formative experiment (197 in the experimental and 199 in the control groups).

The results of the ascertaining experiment showed an insufficient level of sociocultural competence among pedagogical college students. The college teachers explained the basic and initial level of students’ sociocultural competence by the lack of focus of the educational process of pedagogical colleges on the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence.

The methodology of implementing pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence is implemented in three stages (stimulation and motivation – formation of motivation, adaptation of students to the conditions of the experiment; activity – implementation of pedagogical conditions in classroom and extracurricular work for the effective formation of socio-cultural competence; correctional and resultant – analysis and correction of results) [2].

The following methods were used to solve the tasks of these stages of the methodology for implementing the pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence: exercises; creative tasks; writing reflective essays; games: business, story, situational and role-playing; interactive methods: “microphone”, “carousel”, “aquarium”, “brainstorming”; case studies; project method, etc. The phased implementation of pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence (stimulation and motivation, activity and operational, correctional and resultant) involved updating and deepening basic country studies, linguistic and socio-cultural knowledge and skills based on the implementation of intra-subject and inter-subject connections [1, 2].

During the formative stage of the pedagogical experiment, the author and teachers of pedagogical colleges working according to the methodology proposed by the author selected authentic texts and tasks for foreign language classes, excerpts from works of literature of the country whose language is being studied, sample dialogues, speech patterns and formulas, educational and communicative situations for organizing interactive interaction, etc. The use of modern journalistic materials to develop future English teachers’ socio-cultural competence in the college setting is due to the fact that the above means constitute a fragment of national culture, which contains information about the political, economic, socio-cultural processes of modern English-speaking society and reflects the specifics of the worldview, worldview of native speakers of other cultures [1, 2]. The positive impact of the implemented methods in the work with students of the experimental group has been noted, which contributed to the improvement of their socio-cultural competence.

The dynamics of the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence before and after the experiment is shown in Figure 2.

The data obtained as a result of the study indicate an increase in the levels of sociocultural competence of students of the experimental group. Comparison of the indicators of the control and experimental groups gives grounds to consider the implementation of the methodology for the implementation of pedagogical conditions and the structural and functional model of the formation of socio-cultural competence for students of pedagogical colleges effective and appropriate. The use of the nonparametric Pearson’s agreement criterion (χ2 ) showed the statistical reliability of these changes (α=0.05).

The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed methodology for implementing the pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence.

As a result of the introduction of the experimental methodology for implementing pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence into the educational process of pedagogical colleges, positive changes in the indicators of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence of the experimental group were traced.

As can be seen from Figure 2, if before the experiment there were 40.4% of students in the EG with the initial level of socio-cultural competence, then after the experiment, 12.28% were recorded in the EG; in the CG there were 41.4%, and it became 40.22%; with a basic level in the EG there were 41.5% of students, in the CG – 40.2%, and in the EG 49.71% of students, and in the CG – 40.78%; with a sufficient level in the EG there were 11.1%, in the CG – 11.7%, and in the EG 21.05%, and in the CG – 12.29%; with a high level in the EG was 7%, in the CG – 6.7%, and after the experiment with a high level in the EG was 16.96%, in the CG – 6.7%.

The results of the control group indicate that the traditional system of professional training of future foreign language teachers in pedagogical colleges contributes less to the development of students’ sociocultural competence than the experimental methodology we have implemented, which aims to implement a set of specific pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence.

To confirm the results shown in Figure 1, which indicate that the proposed methodology has become a significant factor in influencing the level of students’ sociocultural competence in the experimental group, we will use Pearson’s 2 agreement criterion.

Fig. 1 Structural and Functional Model of Formation of Socio-Cultural Competence

of Future Foreign Language Teachers.

Fig. 2. Dynamics of future foreign language teachers’ sociocultural competence

It is necessary to test the hypothesis that the levels of manifestation of the sociocultural competence of students of the experimental group before and after the experiment differ sufficiently to speak of the effectiveness of the methodology used.

The results of calculations according to the criterion of consent 2 for EG and CG (after the experiment):

Since the empirical value of the agreement criterion 2 (75.76) is in the zone of significance and significantly exceeds the critical value of the criterion with a confidence level of P ≤ 0.001, we can unequivocally state the validity of the hypothesis that the proposed pedagogical conditions and methods of implementing the pedagogical conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence are a significant factor influencing the formation of students’ socio-cultural competence in the experimental group.

Thus, the results (75,76) of the study confirmed the statistical significance of the difference in the results of the socio-cultural competence diagnosis between the experimental and control groups. Since the empirical value of the criterion is greater than the critical value, the hypothesis is not rejected at the 0.05 significance level. Therefore, it can be argued that the differences in the levels of sociocultural competence of EG and CG students are reliable.

Statistical processing of the CG results before and after the experiment was also carried out.

The results of calculations according to the criterion of consent 2 for CG (before and after the experiment):

The results (0.07) obtained as a result of the calculations did not confirm the statistically significant difference in the differences obtained in the levels of sociocultural competence of students in the control group.

Comparison of the EG results before and after the experiment by calculating the criterion of agreement 2 was also carried out.

The results of calculations by the consent criterion 2 for the EG:

The statistical processing of the results (44.28) confirmed the statistical significance of the difference in the results of the experimental group (before and after the experiment).

As we can see, the tested structural and functional model of forming the socio-cultural competence of students of pedagogical colleges – future foreign language teachers has shown its effectiveness and efficiency. The statistical processing of the research results presented above testifies to this.

The results of the experimental study have proved that the developed structural and functional model of socio-cultural competence formation, based on the pedagogical conditions identified and substantiated by us, the methodology of their implementation, and the special seminar «Socio-cultural competence of future foreign language teachers» on the development of socio-cultural competence of future foreign language teachers is effective [1, 2].

The results of our study and analysis of the works of scholars (L. Lipshits, T. Kolodko, L. Topchii, etc.) show that for the effective formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence it is necessary to emphasise the socio-cultural component in the process of teaching a foreign language in a pedagogical college. The main task is to identify the links between the language and the culture of the people who speak the language. In the context of traditional explanatory and illustrative teaching, it is difficult for students of pedagogical colleges to establish such connections. To make this process more effective, teachers should specifically focus on socio-cultural aspects in existing texts or add specially prepared socio-cultural material to their classes. That is why we believe that one of the conditions for the formation of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence is the study of national cultural peculiarities and specifics of national communicative behaviour of foreign language speakers in a pedagogical college [2, 3].

Conclusions. Thus, it has been proved that the implementation of the structural and functional model of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence formation is to some extent related to the complex combination of traditional and interactive teaching methods, students’ performance of individual integrated tasks of professional socio-cultural orientation, solving professional situations of socio-cultural orientation contribute to the formation of students’ socio-cultural competence in a pedagogical college. Comparison of the data of the formative and the confirmatory stages of the experiment shows an increase in the level of formation of all indicators of future foreign language teachers’ socio-cultural competence (experimental group).

Observations and expert assessments indicate that the use of integrated sociocultural tasks with variable content in the process of experimental work in foreign language learning; studying national and cultural peculiarities and specifics of national communicative behaviour of foreign language speakers; ensuring students’ value orientation towards socio-cultural activities in the process of integrated use of traditional and innovative teaching methods – all this contributed to the formation of future foreign language teachers’ positive perception and tolerant attitude to the values inherent in a foreign language culture; perception of universal human values as professionally significant; enrichment of knowledge about the historical and country-specific features of a foreign language culture, lifestyle of native speakers, norms, traditions; development of the ability to interact in intercultural communication, to show tolerance, and the ability to communicate effectively with representatives of other cultures.

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