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Перспективы Науки и Образования
Международный электронный научный журнал ISSN 2307-2334 (Онлайн)
Адрес выпуска: pnojournal.wordpress.com/archive21/21-05/ Дата публикации: 31.10.2021 УДК 378.14
Г. А. Никитина
Комплексная компетентностная модель будущего учителя иностранного языка
Введение. Существенная трансформация требований к профессиональной подготовке учителя в свете стремительного развития технологий, экономики и общества и, как следствие, уточнение списка компетенций, которые необходимо формировать у выпускника педагогического вуза, а также повышение роли иностранного языка в системе школьного образования актуализируют необходимость пересмотра составляющих элементов компетентностной модели будущего учителя иностранного языка.
Целью работы является теоретическое обоснование комплексной модели практической подготовки педагога к профессиональной деятельности и выявление на этой основе базовых составляющих компетентности будущего учителя иностранного языка.
Материалы и методы. В основу исследования положен содержательный анализ нормативных документов и международных стандартов в области профессиональной компетентности учителей, а также теоретический анализ актуальных научных публикаций по теме компетентностной подготовки педагога в системе высшего образования и аксиологический анализ субъективного опыта практической подготовки будущих учителей иностранного языка Саратовского национального исследовательского государственного университета имени Н.Г. Чернышевского в количестве 478 человек.
Результаты. Представленная комплексная компетентностная модель подготовки учителя иностранного языка основана на четырех выделенных элементах практической подготовки: коммуникативно-языковая, лингводидактическая, квазипрофессиональная методическая и собственно производственная практическая подготовка. Универсальных характер разработанной модели, учет взаимозависимости составляющих ее компетенций и навыков, соответствующих как принимаемым в настоящее время изменениям в образовательных и профессиональных стандартах, так и перспективному развитию образовательных программ и проектов, позволяет применять ее при разработке основных образовательных программ и продуктивных учебных планов по направлению «Педагогическое образование».
Ключевые слова: практическая подготовка, компетентность, компетенция, гибкие навыки, жесткие навыки, цифровая грамотность, профессиональные компетенции, лингводидактическое портфолио
Ссылка для цитирования:
Никитина Г. А. Комплексная компетентностная модель будущего учителя иностранного языка // Перспективы науки и образования. 2021. № 5 (53). С. 223-237. 10.32744/ рБе.2021.5.15
Perspectives of Science & Education
International Scientific Electronic Journal ISSN 2307-2334 (Online)
Available: psejournal.wordpress.com/archive21/21-05/ Accepted: 9 May 2021 Published: 31 October 2021
G. A. Nikitina
Complex competency-based model of the intending foreign language teacher
Introduction. Significant transformation of the requirements for teacher training in the light of the rapid development of technology, economy and society and, as a result, the clarification of the list of competences that need to be formed in a graduate of a pedagogical university, as well as the increase of the role of foreign language learning in the school education, actualize the necessity to revise the constituent elements of the competence model of a future foreign language teacher.
The aim of the research is theoretical substantiation of a comprehensive model of practical training of a teacher and identification on this basis of the basic components of the intending foreign language teacher's professionalism.
Materials and methods. The research is based on the content analysis of regulatory documents and international standards in the field of professional competence of teachers, as well as on the theoretical analysis of current scientific publications on the topic of teacher's competence training in the higher education system and the axiological analysis of the subjective experience of practical training of intending foreign language teachers at Saratov State University (n = 478).
Results. The presented complex competence model of the intending foreign language teacher is based on four selected elements of practical training: communicative-language, linguodidactic, quasi-professional methodological and actual practical training of preservice teachers at schools. The universal nature of the developed model is based on the interdependence of its constituent competences and skills, corresponding to both the currently accepted changes in educational and professional standards, and the prospective development of educational programs and projects. This allows it to be used in the development of educational programs and productive curricula for the students with their major in pedagogical education.
Keywords: practical training, competence, soft skills, hard skills, digital literacy, professional competences, linguodidactic portfolio
For Reference:
Nikitina, G. A. (2021). Complex competency-based model of the intending foreign language teacher. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovania - Perspectives of Science and Education, 53 (5), 223-237. doi: 10.32744/pse.2021.5.15
_Introduction
he scientific search related to what the result of professional education should be like today is still relevant. Mechanisms and tools for the development of required competences, as well as the system of monitoring and assessing the educational results are being developed. The competence of a future expert today is considered not only as a set of certain knowledge in a specific field of professional activity. Reflecting on what skills a specialist will need in the future, whether we can prepare a professional who is ready to adapt to the rapidly changing requirements of the labor market, teachers and methodologists, including specialists in the field of foreign language teaching, note the need to develop two components of the competency of any professional: digital literacy and the so-called soft skills. These skills include the ability to communicate and collaborate, interact with colleagues, members of the same project team, and other participants whom we encounter in our professional activities. In some cases, digital literacy is also referred to as one of the soft skills (Dmitri Chernyshenko, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in the field of digital economics and innovations calls them "digital soft skills" [1]).
The analysis of the most significant regulatory documents in the field of the professional pedagogical education also makes the research subject of the present paper relevant and urgent. Thus, the UNESCO ICT Competency Standards for Teachers proclaim that successful life, learning and work in modern society depends on the students' and teachers' ability to utilize technology effectively as well as on their ability to search, analyze and evaluate information, to creatively and effectively use productivity tools, to communicate and collaborate, to be responsible and contributing citizens (ICT Standards for teachers) [2, p. 1]. Moreover, the latest changes introduced into the Federal State Educational Standards in the Russian Federation (3++), are based on the additional professional competence that must be developed in future specialists. And this competence is referred to the category of ICT for the professional activity of intending teachers: General Professional Competence OPK-9 (ОПК-9 in the Standard). It comprises the ability of a teacher to understand principles of IT work and the ability to use them in the professional activity [3].
One more important document that we should refer to is the Passport of the Strategy "Digital Transformation of Education". In this document a lot is said about the projects that are being carried out and are going to be developed in the Russian Federation in the educational sphere in order to transfer to digital educational environment. This makes it clear that the competency of a teacher should also develop and change, otherwise the teacher will be unable to perform his/her duties and act as a professional [4].
In general, the list of universal competences to be developed in the future specialist is quite a varied one. S.A. Shilova claims that most of the supra-professional soft skills must be developed at universities for they are quite similar to universal, general professional and professional competences named in Russian Educational Standards [5, p. 376]. In some of our previous papers we stated that alongside with the most demanded 4C competenceis the ability to get flexibly adapted to the changing reality is a compulsory requirement for the university graduates (see, for example, the work by R.Z. Nazarova & G.A. Nikitina) [6, p. 206]. Komla Tsey et al. add to the list of soft skills some on the human qualities "such as intuition, creativity, passion, responsibility and kindness, courage, and self-awareness" [7]. Another soft skill described by many authors as a key skill for a professional is emotional
competence. Y. Dimitrov & T. Vazova believe that poor quality of work does not depend greatly on a lack of hard skills, but more often on a deficiency of soft skills, including conflict management and empathic interaction [8]. Sania Khan in his research of the impact of university graduate's core competences on work performance shows that graduates have very poor competences, which are not sufficient for the employment in the labor market [9]. In fact, under-developed soft skills rather than hard skills alongside with the infinite list of these skills demand a fresh look at the problem of professional development model.
The variety of approaches to the professional competency of intending teachers substantiates the necessity to revise the professional competency-based model of a teacher so that to give it comprehensible and up-to-date character. Thus, the main aim of the present research should be defined as a theoretical justification of a complex model of practical training of an intending teacher for the professional activity and identification of the basic components of the intending teacher's competency on this basis. The achievement of this aim is based on several research tasks. On the one hand, the vital issue considered in the paper is what elements should comprise the model under consideration in the course of changing social, political and technological events. This question requires the analysis of the selected studies and the experience gained at the practical work with intending teachers mostly from the descriptive and analytical perspective. On the other hand, it is important to choose effective methods for evaluating the developed competences at the graduation stage. At the same time, we see one of the key tasks of the research in adapting the requirements for graduates to the specific conditions of practical application of the acquired knowledge and skills, including the conditions of a full transition to the on-line training. However, seeking the responses to the questions set, we do not aim in the framework of this paper to consider the results of practical approbation of the model presented leaving it as the next step in the research development.
Literature Review
Distinguishing the concepts of hard or professional skills and abilities (hard capacities / hard skills) and soft skills, scientists note that the former imply developed competences that are acquired in the process of training, self-study, school teaching practice and directly in practical professional activity. These competences differ in the characteristics of a particular field of activity and, therefore, vary depending on the profession. For instance, the knowledge of a foreign language, the foreign language communicative competence of specialists from different professional fields will differ for a foreign language teacher and for a programmer or an engineer. However, unlike professional competences, soft skills are associated with a certain type of thinking ('mind-set' as Komla et al. put it [7]), based on the basic qualities of an individual, including intuition, creativity, responsibility, friendliness, determination, enthusiasm and self-determination. In FLT, according to Dana Rus, even the techniques implemented can positively impact students' acquisition of soft skills [10]. Soft skills are, thus, understood by S. Khan as cognitive, emotional, social, and professional characteristics of a personality [9].
Soft skills imply the ability of a professional to be patient, be able to resolve conflicts and express their empathy. However, very often, when training specialists in a particular field, these competences, as Y. Dimitrov & T. Vazova put it, are either neglected, or, at best, "are on the periphery" of the educational process [8].
We agree that digital literacy, as well as other soft skills, today belong to the list of so-called 'global competences', since global competences are associated, in the opinion of G. Kovaleva et al., with the ability of an individual to act effectively in various situations, both individually and in groups [11].
Thus, the need for a comprehensive approach to the formation of a competent teacher is obvious. This necessity is also reflected in the requirements for the learning outcomes, expressed in the format of universal, general professional and professional competences of the Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Education [3]. Competence training of a specialist is based on the understanding of a competence as the ability of a professional to achieve certain goals in a certain social context, using the means appropriate to the situation and to the goal set. In this aspect, such a characteristic of a specialist's professional activity as effectiveness is of great importance. In other words, a specialist can be called competent if s/he is able to solve the tasks set with a predetermined measurable result (educational results are presented in the Federal State Educational Standards, curricula and other regulatory documents) under certain conditions prescribed by the norms (educational standards and basic educational programs). Competence is understood as the level of development of a set of skills necessary for the performance of the professional activity in the form determined by society and employers. It is argued that general professional competence includes particular competences, professionalism, skills and abilities, while particular skills imply knowledge and personal characteristics necessary for a specialist to perform a professional activity (Zu raidah Abdullah et all. [12]). E.A. Maximova emphasizes that the content of education and the methods used in the educational process should be "focused on the formation of students' readiness to solve professionally and personally significant tasks" [13, p. 250-251].
The review of a number of works of recent years devoted to the competency-based training of teachers allows us to identify those competences that are considered relevant and significant for the intending teacher. Along with communicative competence, these include psychological and pedagogical, professional and methodological, foreign language communicative, socio-cultural, linguo-cultural, and integrative competences.
Thus, the competence of public speaking (Golik [14]), along with the communicative competence in general, the foreign language communicative competence of the teacher (Orlova [15], Belkina & Ivanova [16]), as well as cross-curriculum communicative competences (Belous & Erofeeva [17]) are considered, citing Belkina & Ivanova, as elements in the process of "formation of not a narrowly informed expert, but of a creative personality who holistically perceives the world and who is able to actively perform in the social and professional sphere" [16, p. 74]. Moreover, we agree with the researchers who include public speaking skills and presentation skills in the list of the most important soft skills (Jaafar Syaiful [18]).
In addition, among the key competences of the "Teacher of the Future" researchers of the Department of Foreign Languages Teaching Methods of Moscow Pedagogical State University name "readiness for a comprehensive and scientifically based formation and development of students' value picture of the world, of a socially responsible citizen of their homeland" (Krupchenko) [19, p. 45]. This idea is confirmed in other works. Kazakova & Safonova emphasize that without awareness of intending teachers of the principles of morality in the field of teaching, it is quite impossible to form basic professional competences [20, p. 53].
In addition, since some of the teacher's crucial functions are those of an evaluator, a planner, and a reflector, we agree with Julia Klug, Simone Bruder &Bernhard Schmitz that one more key competence of a teacher is diagnosing [21]. And it seems to be absolutely right to single out one more direction in the formation of the intending teacher's professional competence. It is connected with the primary task of a teacher as a learner, a leader and an analyst. Ozkan Kirmizi & Aydan Irgatoglu refer to it as epistemic cognitions that "are also highly important as they play a significant role in determining teachers' actions" [22, p. 229].
Developing the idea of a complex competency-based model of a teacher, it is important to single out integrative competency as one of the components of the teaching professionalism. By this term D. D. Bychkova means "the characteristics of the teacher's personality in the field of education, which implies the ability of a teacher to apply interrelated, complementary, interpenetrating knowledge and skills from at least five areas (pedagogical, psychological, subject-matter, methodological and IT), as well as the ability and experience in applying knowledge and skills from these areas in the teaching process in correlation with rapidly changing surrounding conditions" [23, p. 30].
In general, restating the ideas mentioned above, we should point out that an important principle of teacher training today is the complex nature of this process. D.A. Ivanov, describing the competency-based model of a modern teacher, includes in this model values, professional qualities, professional competences, pedagogical methods, methods and technologies, professional positions [24, p. 53]. In other words, resorting to the terminology of Pogozhina & Podolskaya, basic competences, which, as we believe, can be defined by the term "soft skills" (since this group of competences includes cognitive, motivational, emotional, regulatory and communicative competences) and special competences (by which we mean the psychological and pedagogical competences of the teacher) make up the competency-based model of the teacher [25, p. 63].
Summing up the observations described above, we can state that an intending teacher who has intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for the professional pedagogical activity, readiness to make decisions, who is able to cooperate with participants of the educational process, who is ready and able to apply the knowledge, competences, experience in specific practical, often problematic, situations, and to mobilize the will, is a professional teacher, a competent specialist in the field of education.
Along with hard and soft skills in the current conditions, digital literacy (computer skills or information literacy as Deryabina & Dyakova [26, p. 143] name it, or according to Garry Falloon [27] - digital competence), very often makes up the research issue and many papers are devoted to the indispensable character of this competency for any professional, including a teacher. On the one hand, digital skills are necessary for a teacher to make the learning process as effective and interesting as possible for students. On the other hand, the ability to competently combine distance learning with the use of interactive on-line platforms (e-learning and blended learning) and traditional real-time learning (off-line learning, on-site learning) is also necessary for the teacher to develop other soft skills (Chen Weichao & Jia Jiyou) [28]. However, it is obvious, and we can only agree here with M. V. Zolotarev, that the complete absence of "direct communication between students and the teacher", the low level of students' involvement in interaction within the framework of on-line communication can lead to difficulties associated with creating "a creative and emotionally colored atmosphere, psychological comfort during classes" [29, p. 133].
Among other factors, contributing to effective on-line teaching Carmen Carrillo & Maria Assungao Flores name issues related pedagogical approaches (e.g., clear goal-setting,
coherent and flexible designs, explicit tasks, consistent and clear monitoring and evaluation) and different levels of interaction and engagement [30, p. 478]. In the light of the research problem of the present paper these can be viewed as necessary teaching skills. Therefore, when preparing an intending teacher for the professional activity, it is necessary to take into account these competences. It is necessary to develop flexibility of thinking, the ability to adapt the learning process partially or completely (depending on the circumstances) to digital tools, to get acquainted with modern educational products, their teaching value and potential (Mezentceva et al.) [31].
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in its Standard for educators describes the teacher's roles in supporting students with the help of technology as the role of a facilitator. So, the important skills for a digitally literate teacher are the ability "to manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field and to create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems" [32].
Since we did not set a task of differentiating between the terms 'digital literacy' and 'digital competence' of a teacher, in this paper we are only considering the vital digital skills to be included into a comprehensible model of a teacher, although some of the skills are be referred by the authors either to digital competence or to both competence and literacy (the overall review of the concepts is presented in the work by Maria Spante and co-authors [33] where it is stated that definitions of digital competence sometimes involve digital literacy and vice versa). However, what is important, in our opinion, to include into the competency-based model of a teacher is "cybersafety and managing personal data and online presence, digital citizenship, ethics and judgement, and building knowledge from, and collaborating in, on-line networks and virtual environments" (Garry Falloon) [27, p. 2455]. The research devoted to integration of student teachers' professional digital competence across teacher education (Lisbeth M. Brevik et al.) [34]) singles out such sub-skills as generic digital competence, didactic digital competence and professionally oriented digital competence, which, we believe, may be presented as certain stages in developing digital literacy of a teacher.
_Methodology, materials and methods
The research goal set in the present paper predetermined the analysis in the framework of this study on the basis of general scientific methods of generalization, comparative analysis, methods of internal observation. Although, the latter is used in the research and some of the measureable data is presented, it is important to stress that the prevailing research design here is of a qualitative character. Since we do not try to present the results of testing the developed competency-based model in this particular paper, the principle task for us is to dwell on the existing approaches to the teacher's competency, analyze them in the context of the current social circumstances (including the COVID-19 restrictions that influenced education greatly), to compare theoretical judgements with the practical observation (the subjective experience that we gained through the observation of the practical training of preservice teachers) in order to re-evaluate the complex competency-based model of a teacher and to work-out the one that suits all the latest requirements determined by the social context, social demands, labor market demands, and educational policies.
Due to the fact that the main aim of the study is theoretical justification of the complex competency-based model of a teacher, the research methodology implemented here is mainly based on the study of regulatory documents and standards and scientific approaches to the key concepts of the paper - general professional competence and particular soft skills in the framework of practical teacher training. At the same time, the author's attention is focused on specific skills that should be included in the teacher's competency-based model.
The choice of the materials for theoretical substantiation of the model was carried out in accordance with two principal criteria: time validity and topic validity, that is we primarily searched for studies within the problem framework of the present paper using the keyword approach (competence, professional competence, teacher training, soft skills, digital literacy, model). Moreover, the inclusion of the material was predetermined by the publication date. We tried to analyze the most recent papers and educational regulatory documents no older than 3 years (with some exceptions as for the key terms or requirements). This limitation was set due to the research tasks we wanted to answer: our interest lies in the field of the current requirements to the teacher's proficiency.
One more research tool that we used in order to work out the competency-based model was practical observation and empirical data collection and analysis of the present educational situation in teacher training at Saratov State University. We tried to find out whether the intending teachers are ready to perform all the functions required by the current situation and documents, which turned out to be closely connected with implementing digital skills by preservice teachers during the pandemic lockdown and the following period of blended learning. To make the results achieved even more valid we analyzed the general tendency in the evolution of the results achieved by the students during the teaching practice for the period since 2018-2019 till 2020-2021 academic years, which involved the analysis of the practical training of 478 intending teachers. The results allowed the author not only to identify some of the risks of using digital technologies by preservice teachers, but also to identify some problems with the formation of digital literacy as one of the key components of the future teacher's general professional competence. In this way we completed the structure of our competency-based model with some necessary elements.
Finally, the results of the literature analysis and of the observational and empirical stages allowed us to model the comprehensive portrait of the modern teacher in the form of the competency-based model of a teacher. Using it we present in the paper some of the ideas of how the model should be implemented and, particularly, dwell on the possible effective ways of testing the educational results at the stage of training and graduation.
Research results
The overview of the examined literature allows the author to focus on several types on competences that characterize the teacher's professionalism: a) soft skills and digital literacy; b) integrated professional competences proper, c) personal characteristics and readiness. It should be noted that both in regulatory documents and scientific studies several sets of terms are used to denote soft skills and hard skills. Alongside with the former term universal competences, life competences, supra-professional competences are used. Hard skills are also named professional competences. In the framework of the present paper task we shall stick to the terms generally accepted and understood by all the professionals - soft and hard skills. These seem to be suitable not only on the
grounds of their world-wide recognition but also from the linguistic point of view and representativeness in the model developed.
Another observation that becomes clear from the analytical discussion is the fact that many of the soft skills and personal characteristics are quite similar and from the terminological point of view can be interchangeable. It is true that in the practical educational process it is quite impossible to separate them from each other. However, this connection is expressed in terms of integrated skills development. In other words, creativity, communicative abilities, critical thinking, collaboration, emotional intellect are part of social, emotional and cognitive personal qualities of a teacher. Moreover, all the papers analyzed postulate that hard skills are also based on the soft skills and personal characteristics. For example, a teacher of English is supposed to possess a developed foreign language communicative competence and intercultural competence as professional skills. At the same time, public speaking and presentational skills are referred to as soft skills.
One competence that is widely discussed in connection with teacher-training is digital literacy. However, there is no definitely set opinion about its status. We shall consider it as one of the soft skills for without this competence no successful professional activity is possible. Herein, digital literacy is understood today in a wider sense. It is closely connected not only with the ability to apply technology, but also with some ethical issues and problems of safely. Moreover, since use of technology is connected with a number of risks, we strongly believe that this skill should be developed only in connection with some personal characteristics, spiritual and moral development of intending teachers as well as their readiness to educate learners as responsible citizens of the modern world.
Further on, we present the results of the observation and analysis of the pedagogical work of students doing a Bachelor's and a postgraduate course.
In general, the analysis of the results of teaching practice of postgraduate students of the Master's degree program and undergraduate students over the past 3 years allows us to observe the following picture (Table 1):
Table 1
Evolution of the results of the teaching practice of intending teachers in 2018-2020
Performance indicators Bachelor program (%) Master's Degree program (%)*
2018 (104 st.) 2019 (102 st.) 2020 (135 st.) 2018 (56 st. / 7 st.) 2019 (28 st. / 9 st.) 2020 (27 st. / 10 st.)
excellent mark (from 86 too 100 points) 76,5 65,6 54,5 77,7 / 76 100 / 78 66 / 44
good mark (70-85 points) 17,7 24 28,5 22,3/ 22 0 / 22 22 / 12
satisfactory mark (51-69 points) 5,8 10,4 14,2 0 / 2 0 / 0 12 / 0
not credited (0-50 points) 0 0 2,7 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 44
* results are presented for the department of full-time / part-time education
It should be noted that the 2020 teaching practice took place in conditions of either completely distance or blended format of training, depending on the educational institutions. The analysis of the presented data allows us to confirm the conclusion that the readiness of future teachers to use distance learning and digital technologies in the educational process is insufficient. It was in 2020 when there were students who did not get their credit for the practice. The main period of the teaching practice then took place during the COVID-19 lockdown, which caused complete transition to distance learning.
Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, students were tasked with finding the most effective conditions for the use of information and computer technology (ICT) in teaching foreign languages to schoolchildren. An important factor that must be taken into account is that modernization of education and introduction of ICT is aimed at improving the quality of education, and not just creating the false impression of innovations.
We believe, that the educational process should be built by the teacher, trying to avoid the risks of introducing ICT:
• superficial perception of the educational material and the development of clip thinking of students due to excessive visualization of the learning process;
• simple duplication of the studied material in traditional and digital formats;
• the use of ready-made materials from the Internet resources by students without any personal contribution in the form of independent analysis, synthesis, evaluation;
• attitude to digital platforms and ICT in general exclusively as to a means of entertainment, while neglecting their educational potential.
Despite the fact that preservice teachers were aimed at implementing a number of pedagogical conditions for the effective use of digital technologies in distance learning, they had problems that are associated with the insufficient level of the development of the digital competence of intending teachers. First and foremost, it was revealed that the students are not quite ready to use electronic, digital educational aids and the Internet as a full-fledged means of teaching, although they can combine traditional and digital tools quite effectively.
Summing up our observations of the studies devoted to the problem of a teacher's professionalism and analysis of the teacher-training experience in the light of some crucial changes in the educational policies and social demands, we worked out a revised comprehensive competency-based model of a teacher (Fig. 1)
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tQftlP^NT TKA^KR
Figure 1 Competency-based model of a teacher
We believe that the model presented allows pedagogical departments and teacher training colleges to preparer their students for the professional activity in accordance with all modern requirements for the educational results prescribed by the modern educational standards as well as to meet the requirements of the professional teachers' standards and employers at the labor market.
The principle characteristics of the present model should be pointed out:
1. its comprehensive and universal character;
2. the juxtaposition of the competences that are supplementary to each other and indispensable in today's context: digital literacy and spiritual and moral readiness to educate;
3. interdependent character of the structural components, which allows institutional authorities to plan a productive teacher-training curriculum and the set of testing tools and assessment procedures.
On the basis of the presented model some of the ideas on how to control and measure the competences have been developed. The principal tool that is believed to be useful in the context of the teachers' professional development is portfolio. Since the teacher's competency comprises different elements or subskills, it is obvious that several portfolio types are necessary that may be revised at the graduation stage and presented as a single and comprehensive unit.
Thus, the first portfolio represents the results and achievement the students get in their social and extra-curricular activity demonstrating their soft-skills development. The second one is related to the practical language proficiency development and the results that the students get in the main language course. The third portfolio type is a linguodidactic or methodological portfolio. The linguodidactic or methodological portfolio of the intending teacher is a bank of independently developed student's works of a theoretical and applied nature. The last type is a practical portfolio including the results of different practical training periods: the introductory educational, organizational and pedagogical, and teaching practices. It includes not only reports and practice diaries, but also results of the main tasks performed by students during the practice. For example, as a part of the introductory educational practice, students prepare an electronic portfolio.
Thus, we believe that practical training in the course of preparation of intending teachers for their professional activity takes most part of the educational process in the pedagogical university. If we consider intending teachers of English, it is incorporated as an integral element into several major elements of their professional training:
• practical training in the field of language proficiency (for during language classes language and speech skills as elements of communicative competence of a teacher are developed in the context of general English and English for specific purposes study);
• practical training in the field of methodological preparation (here it is important to stress that the intending teacher learns to be an instructor, an educator, a facilitator, a controller, a source of knowledge, etc.; that is to perform different functions of a teacher);
• practical training based on quasi-professional preparation (this element is, in our opinion, quite an indispensable element of practical training, for teaching and educating model groups helps to foresee and prevent possible difficulties the intending teacher might have when teaching real schoolchildren);
• practical training based on the true professional experience during the traineeship (this element, without any doubt, presents the most significant element of professional training).
Discussion
The present study provides an analytical review of papers on the problem discussed and of the subjective experience of the teacher-training university department which leads to the development of a comprehensive competency-based model of the modern teacher.
The results of the literature review and regulatory documents analysis presented in this paper allow us to reconsider the integrated approach to understanding the teacher's competency. Even though in some papers the authors raised the problem of the complex character of the teacher's professionalism (Khan [9], Zuraidah [12], Belkina [16], Bychkova [23], Ivanov [24]), its understanding is still vague and not up-to-date. It is proved by the latest changes that are being introduced into educational standards and have not yet been analyzed and taken into account. Moreover, in most studies the authors focus on particular competences or skills to be developed during the teacher-training period, providing a close look either at the professional competences or soft skills. In the previous studies the author of the present paper also considered the problem of the teachers' professional competence in the narrow context, analyzing its constituents separately. In this paper the comprehensive approach allows us to develop the complex model of the teacher's competency which, in our opinion, can be applied in any teacher-training departments or colleges as the foundation principle in developing the curriculum and in creating assessment procedures. The distinguishing features of the described model allow us to conclude that it has a universal character and represents the latest approaches to teacher-training.
Particular attention is given to such competence as digital literacy of the teacher. Notably, a lot of studies have been devoted to this competence among other soft skills. In this paper it is suggested that digital literacy in all its manifestations must be developed only in close connection and simultaneously with such personal qualities of the teacher as spiritual and moral readiness and responsibility. This idea is of crucial importance in the context of fast development of technology and unexpected rapid changes from offline to on-line teaching due to certain circumstances. The results of the teaching practice observation prove this idea.
It is possible to claim that all the four elements of practical training presented in the study allow us to develop the general professional competency of a teacher according to the complex model described in the present paper. Developing communicative competence of a foreign language teacher, we quite naturally develop their interaction skills, collaboration skills, teamwork skills and other soft skills. Training to solve methodological and pedagogical problem-solving tasks, students get their creative and critical thinking skills developed. Planning and conducting lessons, they develop their time-management and decision-making skills, digital literacy and emotional intelligence.
Based on the model developed, we believe that several types of student portfolios reflecting the main results of their practical training should be used in the course of study. In this paper the idea is considered from the point of view of training future teachers of the English language. The illustration of the portfolio types that reflect all the structural element of the competency-based model can be of practical use in this context. This is one of the practical implications for teacher educators provided in the paper.
_Conclusion
In general, the quality of modern education largely depends on the quality of teacher-training [35, p. 16]. Such a vision of the problems with education, with the results that we get when studying at school and at its completion, requires considerable reflection on how to build the learning process in a pedagogical university and how to make the final assessment of learning results as effective as possible.
In this study the analyses of the research and regulatory documents has been carried out. It allowed to substantiate the complex approach to the competency-based model of a teacher in the context of the current situation, social changes, educational policies and technology development. Besides, observational analyses of some experience of teacher-training added to understanding of the comprehensive character of the model developed and described in the study. It allowed the author not only to present universal and complex model suitable in the present context of the world development, but also to suggest some types of portfolio as a measurement tool for assessing the intending teacher's competency.
From the point of view of an integrated approach to the formation of the intending teacher's professionalism, a number of problems arise that require further scientific and practical development and search for solutions. In particular, whether the problem of assessing professional (hard) competences is quite resolved, measuring the level of personal and social (soft) skills is associated with the search for effective evaluation procedures and tools. In a number of universities, such assessment tools include a student's portfolio. The present paper does not aim to test the developed model and types of the portfolio suggested. However, it is seen as the following research stage in the development of the discussed problem. Further development of the research problem is also seen in the development of the notion of a teacher's digital competence and in the complete reconsideration of the present curricula or rather the content and techniques of the courses used by teacher educators in this context. The surface level of interpreting this term leads to failures in getting the students prepared for practical teaching in modern conditions.
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Информация об авторе Никитина Галина Александровна
(Россия, Саратов) Доцент, кандидат педагогических наук, заведующий кафедрой английского языка и методики его преподавания ФГБОУ ВО «Саратовский национальный исследовательский университет имени Н.Г. Чернышевского» E-mail: dimgalnick2@yandex.ru ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2941-287X
Head of the English Language and Methodology
Information about the author
Department Saratov State University E-mail: dimgalnick2@yandex.ru ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2941-287X ResearcherlD: D-9651-2013
Galina A. Nikitina
(Russia, Saratov) Associate Professor, PhD in Pedagogy
