Value-meaningful conceptualisation of educational material in the process of foreign language teaching at the university: A hermeneutic approach

Abstract

Introduction. One of the main tasks of teaching foreign languages for professional purposes is the formation of professional communicative competence of students. In this regard, it is important for university teachers to create conditions for students to master the methods and techniques of productive communication, not only from the perspective of language and culture, but also their future profession. In addition to the logical and rational aspect, it is important for pedagogical students to focus on the value and semantic significance of educational information, to deeply understand rather than to memorise information, to be emotionally “engaged” into knowledge, filling it with personal meaning, in order to avoid formal mastering of pedagogical profession. This is possible in the context of the value and semantic conceptualisation of acquired knowledge, which is carried out in the process of interpreting and structuring the content of training by the principle of linguistic concept.Aim. The present research aims to substantiate the content, methods, techniques and forms of value meaningful conceptualisation of educational material in the process of teaching foreign languages to pedagogical students.Methodology and research methods are based on the study of the value-semantic foundations of pedagogical practice with reference to the cultural-historical concept; on the phenomenological-hermeneutical approach, aimed at the actualisation of the interpretive potential of the teaching content; on the utilisation of the methods of theoretical analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, comparison, modelling, and methods of inclusive observation. The empirical study was conducted during one academic year (from September 2020 to June 2021) in the course “English for Specific Purposes (ESP)” with 60 students of Pedagogical Education major of the University of Tyumen. To assess the results of the experimental work the following tools were used: L. Michelson’s test, free associative experiment, the method of expert evaluation based on the level scale developed by the authors.Results. The obtained data confirmed the effectiveness of structuring learning content according to the linguistic concept image. In the course of the final test of communicative and professional skills, most students demonstrated a confident command of the basics of professional communication in English. Compared to the initial stage of the study, students’ professional communication in English became more productive. Students’ statements were distinguished by their meaningfulness, structure. They used additional material from other fields of knowledge, emotional and value coloring in the form of metaphors, idioms, statements of famous teachers, precedent texts, the ability to improvise, etc.Scientific novelty. The authors didactically proved the productivity of the hermeneutic approach in the design of teaching foreign languages on the basis of structuring teaching material by the principle of linguistic concept, which is a mediating link between the scientific concept, on the one hand, and the individual consciousness and the subjective personal experience of students, on the other hand.Practical significance. The results of this study can be used by teachers in order to achieve a balance between technological and axiological aspects of learning and cognitive activities of students for mastering their pedagogical knowledge, professional and personal experience, which will ultimately contribute to the enhancement of professional training of future educators.