Digital Monitoring of Students’ Soft Skills Development as an Interactive Method of Foreign Language Learning

Abstract

Nowadays, the curriculum of higher education is mainly based on hard skills development, although soft skills are of critical importance for successful academic and professional performance. Consequently, the purpose of the article is to describe the possible methods of mastering the second-year students’ soft skills within the scope of a foreign language course, using interactive methods. The aim of the research was to elaborate on three types of interactive problem-based tasks and assessment criteria which allow us to monitor the progress of soft skills such as problem solving, teamwork, leadership, time management and technology skills, and analytical and creative thinking. Both tasks and criteria were uploaded onto an online educational platform. The case study method, which was considered to be the main monitoring tool, turned out to be effective in the pedagogical experiment where the students collaborated both online and offline. The experiment demonstrated a positive trend in students’ soft skills improvement alongside their foreign language communication skills. Moreover, statistical analyses showed the effectiveness of the system created to master soft skills. The proposed system for digital monitoring of soft skills development can be useful for teaching personnel who want to make the educational process more interactive and productive for advancing students’ soft skills.