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11PEDAGOGY
ESP: CIVIC CONSCIOUSNESS DIMENSION
Cand. of Phil., Ass. Prof. Borysenko O., Cand. of Phil., Ass. Prof. Vysotska S.
Ukraine, Kyiv, Borys Grinchenko University
Abstract. Ukraine has chosen the democratic way of development, initiating radical reforms in practically all spheres of life. There are quite a number of problems to overcome, with the need to perfect the education system being one of them. The response of the government to the challenge is the Education Reform which is to be held within the framework of Ukrainian Education Development Concept for 2015-2025. One of the primary goals of the Education Reform is the development of civic awareness of socially active citizens, the creation of civil society in Ukraine - the society of citizens who care, who are not indifferent, the society of those who are real patriots of the country. Foreign language teaching, namely ESP (teaching English to university students), is to be one of the tools for educating socially active citizens.
Keywords: civic awareness, civil society, education reform, ESP, patriotism, socially active citizens
Introduction. Ukraine has chosen the democratic way of development, initiating radical reforms in practically all spheres of life. There are quite a number of problems to overcome, with the need to perfect the education system being one of them. The response of the government to the challenge is the Education Reform which is to be held within the framework of Ukrainian Education Development Concept for 2015-2025. The Reform is to result in a comprehensive transformation of education which will correspond to the requirements of the changed society. Education should become an effective component of the society, instrument of innovation and development of conscious, socially active citizens able to compete in the world job market. Education should become a guarantee of high social standards1.
Thus, one of the primary goals of the Education Reform is the development of civic awareness of socially active citizens, the development of civil society in Ukraine - the society of citizens who care, who are not indifferent, the society of those who are real patriots of the country. It happened that civic consciousness and patriotism are on the agenda of present-day Ukraine as these concepts were used to be neglected when the country was one of the republics of the former USSR. However, "citizens in possession of ... democratic civic culture are able to protect their private rights, pursue personal interests, and contribute to the public good." Civic education prepares people for life in a democratic society, and the key to personal fulfillment and social responsibility is acquisition of knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed for effective democratic citizenship [8, 1].
The aim and tasks of the article are to observe and analyze the potential of ESP and to highlight the role foreign languages, namely ESP, English for Specific Purposes as a university curriculum subject, in the development of civil society and socially active citizens.
Discussion. The development of civic consciousness is implemented at any stage of education whether it is at primary, secondary or tertiary level. It is to be implemented within the framework of any subject, and should take place practically at each and every lesson. Foreign language teaching is included and has a huge potential in the area as "language is both the vehicle and the most profound expression of culture" [8, 1].
^'Результатом реформи мае бути всеосяжна трансформащя освггаього сектора. Освгга мусить перетворитися на систему, здатну до саморегуляцп - вщповщно до виклишв суспшьного розвитку, яш постшно змшюються. Освгга мае перетворитися на ефективний важ1ль економши знань, на шновацшне середовище, у якому учш й студенти отримують навички i вмшня самостшно оволодiвати знаниям протягом життя та застосовувати це знання в практичнш дiяльностi. Освгга мае продукувати iндивiдiв, здатних забезпечити прискорене економiчне зростання i культурний розвиток краши, св1домих, суспшьно активних громадян, конкурентоспроможних на европейському i свгтових ринках пращ. Освгга мае стати реальною гаранлею забезпечення високих сощальних стандарпв" [18, 3-4].
Nobody argues that, first and foremost, ESP students are to know the foreign language (at least, one) proficiently to be able to use it as a working language. At the same time, students should know how to cope with their rights and responsibilities as citizens and patriots of the country.
If to go back to the recent past, it may be noted that during the Soviet period, teaching foreign languages was imbued with propaganda: textbooks included plenty of study texts about communist "values", Lenin's way of studying foreign languages, about Soviet "peaceful initiatives", Western imperialism and militarism, and other propaganda material. Even today those English teachers who gained the experience of studying and teaching in the USSR remember the active vocabulary of that time, such words and phrases as "arms race, "cruise missiles", "detent", "disarmament", "Lenin in London", "mature socialism", etc.
Nowadays most attention of ESP teachers is paid to language competences: grammar and vocabulary, and the ability to use them in communication, to the development of reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills. Teachers try to master new forms and techniques and use various sources of information to facilitate the process of learning the foreign language to make it more effective and to motivate students. These are the things that foreign language teachers are committed to do. On the other hand, the question arises whether the critical perception of information obtained is emphasized and what the place and role of civic education is within the framework of ESP and how to incorporate it practically into ESP.
It seems that nurturing patriots is closely connected with the development of students' media literacy which happens to be taught as a separate university subject in Ukraine. However, other subjects, mother tongue, social studies, and foreign languages, may contribute to media literacy development and become invaluable either in the form of lesson components or extracurricular activities.
Digital and media literacy proficiency is an indispensable skill for everyone at the age of global technicalization and computerization as media becomes an essential daily need. It plays a significant role in creating and shaping public opinion and strengthening society. "Media is the sword arm of democracy" and acts as "a watchdog to protect public interest against malpractice." It creates public awareness [12]. "Today, media literacy is as central to active and full citizenship as literacy was at the beginning of 19th century," was remarked by V. Reding [9], ex-European Commissioner for Information Society and Media. Media literate people are able to use the benefits and opportunities offered by progress and innovation in the new media environment, have access to the world cultural heritage and traditions of democracy, and to democratic values. Media literacy has become "a necessary part of active citizenship and is the key to the full development of freedom of expression and the right to information. It is therefore an essential part of participative democracy and intercultural dialogue", the EU Commission on Education and Training stated [15, 14].
There are different approaches to media education and consequently to media literacy. Some people associate it with the ability to critically evaluate information, to produce and share it; others concentrate on the ability to use various modern technology equipment and gadgets. However, the majority of media educators see their job, first of all, as guiding students to think critically about the information presented to them through mass media sources [5; 11; 14]. Media environment creates a specific media reality around each person and greatly influences the formation of a person's education, culture, worldview, and values [19, 1].
At present, the process of the implementation of changes and reforms in Ukraine is complicated by the war unleashed against this country, by the so-called "hybrid war" with military operations combined with disinformation and propaganda attacks. They try to weaken and discredit the state, to deprive it of international support as well as the support and trust of Ukrainian citizens. It seems that despite the fact that people have access to information, they definitely experience problem with analyzing and evaluating it. There are quite a few people who seem to be media illiterate as they cannot perceive and assess information; they take what is on the surface and do not apply any efforts to concentrate, to filter the information and to analyze it. As a result, some students from Western Ukraine speak about the "civil war" in the East of Ukraine. In fact, there is no civil war, but occupation by the neighborring state. Others blame the Ukrainian government of "unleashing" the war; there are people who say that the USA and the EU states initiated the war, with Ukraine being just an instrument in their hands. They accuse Western countries, the USA and the EU of inciting the war, with some people sincerely believing that the NATO soldiers actively participate in the battles. Students indignantly ask the question why Ukrainian actors and actresses should not go on tour to the aggressor country to entertain the occupant and earn money, with the war being no obstacle. They do not understand why some Russian films are banned in Ukraine. There are also Ukrainian citizens who do not follow the situation in the East at all and continue living their usual life though there are victims
of the war everywhere in the country, those killed, wounded, and displaced. Some people praise the dictatorship of Stalin despite the Great Terror and other campaigns of political repressions in the Soviet Union; there are Ukrainians who would like to live in the aggressor country. What is alarming is the fact that those young people have attended the compulsory university course of media education.
Technical skills how to use smart phones, surf the internet, and become users of social networks are mastered by people more or less easily, especially by younger users. They may be mastered without any special training, just by observing and imitating others or by following instructions. At the same time, critical perception of information presented may be challenging and needs special training. People may be quite experienced readers and can write without grammar mistakes, but they may be totally inexperienced in perceiving information, analyzing it, understanding what is true, and what is lies and manipulation.
Thus, to be able to respond to the challenges of the new communicative environment, people should be media literate, capable to interpret information autonomously and critically [15, 3].
As R. Jackson noted, "meaningful learning happens when students try to make sense out of the world by filtering new information through their own existing knowledge and schemas. Meaningful learning occurs when students create their own knowledge, concepts, rules, hypotheses, and associations from personal experiences. Our job is to help our students find their own voices and develop their own understanding of the subject matter." [2,174]. In other words, the central goal of any education is to develop students' ability to think for themselves [17, 4].
"Evaluation is crucial to literacy: imagine the World Wide Web user who cannot distinguish dated, biased or exploitative sources, unable to select intelligently when overwhelmed by an abundance of information and services. Being able to evaluate content is no simple skill, rather critical evaluation rests on a substantial body of knowledge regarding the broader social, cultural, economic, political and historical contexts in which media content is produced" [5, 5]. Thus, specific filters to select material found, read, and distributed should be formed on the basis of criteria of cultural quality, ideology, market pressure or professional production values. As a result, media literate students are able to read the media, to write it, to critically understand and evaluate, "understanding the explicit and implicit media messages in different situations" [7, 92]. So, the above are the skills to be covered and developed in the process of teaching and learning, ESP included. "This provides educators with the opportunity ... to help students understand political principles and practices., and learn values and skills necessary for effective civic participation" [8, 1].
Access to information available in foreign languages gives students a chance to triangulate, to discuss and evaluate the information obtained, with the teacher not imposing and dominating, but directing the discussion, presenting more facts and arguments for students to reflect on. Teachers give students a chance to gain an insight into socio-moral situations, and to exchange points of view with respect for different opinions. Teachers are responsible for moral development of their students and their socio-political opinion forming, giving them a chance to make up their own minds about political and social issues [4, 4].
Civic consciousness development may focus on discussing democracy, social problems, society and its institutions, on promoting particular social norms, on active construction, on an individual's social performance and participation in society. "Moral values to be developed in such a perspective are "justice," "autonomy, and "social and moral commitment". Those discussions may not be restricted to the political domain but to the everyday relations between people, and to individuals' identity development, citizens' rights and duties. That way students will be encouraged to actually apply their knowledge and skills, and to act morally and socially, to become more reflective and dialogical and therefore susceptible to changing attitudes [op.cit., 2].
Change is a slow process; it does not come overnight, and it is quite natural that it may cause resistance, confusion and disappointment among some part of people. So, it seems that speaking about some positive developments in Ukraine and success stories is also required. In class it is necessary to present positive examples about more successfully developing countries. A lot of information of that kind may be found on the Internet in the form of articles, news items, and videos. They are about issues challenging Ukraine, for example, about the ban on plastic bags, usage of renewable sources of energy, humane attitude to animals, etc. Such materials may be used for warming up at the beginning of the lesson; they may complement the ESP syllabus, make the lesson bright and motivating, and present a kind of "food for thought" to students. Modern English textbooks are also a valuable source of information which is vitally important for Ukraine: material on sustainable development, environmentalism, horizontal management, etc. ESP lessons will be more motivating and make students start thinking and analyzing if feature films are incorporated in the syllabus. For instance, such a "light"
comedy as Legally Blond-2 raises the issue of inadmissibility of testing cosmetics on animals; Erin Brockovych presents people who care and do their best for the benefit of the community, etc. Because of the lack of time, students may watch films individually, at home, but then discuss them in class.
In the past people were more receivers of information than its producers. Today new technology presents ample opportunities for people to write and to produce texts, written or symbolic, making them active users of emails, social networks, blogs, tweets, etc. Thus, ESP classes may also contribute to the development of writing and media producing skill. It benefits their learning, cultural expression and civic participation [5, 5]. Students understand better the techniques and conventions of media if they experience creating media themselves. What is more, citizens of a democratic country should have the right to self-expression [3, XI-XXIX; 6, 71; 10, 21; 13, 14-25; 1, 6].
It should be also mentioned that ESP teachers are in the forefront of participants of international academic exchange programs, which came to Ukraine when it got independence, and those who inform students about them. Today's researchers, academics, and students have an opportunity to participate in various international events. That is not about emigration. That is about developing professionally, borrowing world experience, applying it in Ukraine, and turning Ukraine into a prosperous, developed, civilized, and democratic country. This is real patriotism. Participation in international programs and projects is not just an opportunity available to Ukrainian university students. It is their duty.
Results and conclusions. Definitely, in present-day Ukraine, the development of civic engagement, civic consciousness and patriotism are on the agenda. It should be paid utmost attention to and taken into consideration in the area of education where, besides professionalism, one of the goals is to teach "student democratic citizenship skills in a complex, technological world" [17, 1] and to provide young people with "the habits of inquiry and skills of expression they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, and active citizens in today's world" [10, 21]. There is a need for integration of the efforts of all teachers into a unified effective system of civic education which is to play an indispensable role in developing civil society.
The present stage of the development of Ukraine, profound changes and reforms as well as the "hybrid war" unleashed against the country by the aggressor place a greater demand on ESP teachers and make them think how to incorporate civic concepts into teaching the language.
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