Teaching students to read vocationally-oriented digital texts in a foreign language at a non-linguistic university: Risks and possibilities

Abstract

The aim of the research is to justify the need for forming students’ skills to read vocationally-oriented digital texts in a foreign language, which contributes to the development of analytical, systematic, and critical thinking at a non-linguistic university. The article explores the process of reading foreign language texts as a complex analytical-synthetic activity, describes the characteristics of digital text, notes its positive and negative properties, and substantiates the need to develop students’ skills to read vocationally-oriented digital texts in a foreign language, which fosters the development of analytical and critical thinking. A methodology is proposed for developing students’ skills to read vocationally-oriented digital texts in the process of studying foreign languages at a non-linguistic university. The scientific novelty lies in identifying five groups of skills for reading digital texts at a non-linguistic university, namely: spatial orientation in digital texts, forecasting possible phenomena, events, facts, understanding the content of digital texts, analyzing information from digital texts, and engaging in reflection and critical analysis of the material read. The study results in defining the substantive and organizational-activity aspects of the methodology for forming the skills to read vocationally-oriented digital texts for students, as well as providing methodological recommendations for their development in foreign language studies at non-linguistic universities.