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ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH COMPETENCE OF A LINGUIST AND TRANSLATOR IN THE SYSTEM OF LIFELONG PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
M.A. Kovardakova,
E.V. Romanova
One of the distinctive characteristics of the current stage of life in Russia is the rapid development of international and political contacts and the establishment of many international organizations, communities, associations, joint ventures, firms and banks. Furthermore, the development of global computer networks has made it possible to communicate with foreign colleagues, dramatically increasing the demand for highly-skilled professionals with a good command of foreign languages. As a result of all this, the labor market needs skilled linguists and translators with highly developed professional competence. Training such specialists is the task of higher education institutions, while the system of postgraduate education should provide conditions for further development of their professional competence. Correspondingly, it is necessary to establish a system for continuing lifelong development of competencies of specialists. Continuity is an important aspect of such a system.
At present, we can observe a considerable gap between requirements of employers in the labor market and knowledge and skills received by young specialists through their studies in higher education institutions. According to surveys of an independent agency ReitOR, up to 28% of employers note that qualifications of specialists do not meet the requirements of their jobs. The issue of continuity in the development of professional competence of any specialist, including a linguist and translator, becomes even more difficult due to the transition of the higher education system to the two-level system of training. The question arises as to the connection between competencies of bachelors, masters and working specialists. Competence has its own integrated model which encompasses four levels of development: knowledge and knowledge
management; abilities and skills in using knowledge; intellectual and creative potential of an individual; and emotional and moral attitudes to the world [3].
Many professional competencies of a linguist and translator (communicative, information, conflict management, legal and social) have been currently investigated. The development of research competence still lacks a sound theoretical basis and many of its aspects have not been sufficiently studied, albeit there are some works on the subject (S.V. Abakumova, I.A. Kovalenko, Y.V. Krivenko, F.V. Leontovich, A.M. Mityaeva, V.G. Sotnik, M.V. Stepanova, A.P. Tryapitsyna, etc.). At the same time, the role of the research component in the activities of a linguist and translator is rather relevant. Research activities of a linguist and translator complement functional characteristics of his or her professional activities. As a researcher, a translator can evaluate successes and see qualitative deficiencies in professional work of his or her colleagues in an
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objective and competent manner, remediate subjective difficulties and produce innovation.
An analysis of the Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Education in Linguistics has shown that the bachelor's program gives the first priority to the enhancement of general and generic (and to a lesser extent specialized) professional knowledge and development of mainly analytical and execution competencies. Even if the standards for bachelors' education include the goal of developing research competence, in practice, a bachelor is regarded as a doer who is mainly expected to solve tasks set [2]. At the same time, a linguist with a bachelor's degree should be competent in the methodology of research, be actively involved in innovation processes, receive and develop new ideas, be able to scientifically justify ideas, know how to organize research efforts, etc.
The development of research competence holds an important place in the master's program. Masters should be capable of mastering new methods of research and changing the scientific and operational profile of their professional activities [2]. A master is a highly skilled researcher who should know the methodology of research. Upon completion of studies, a graduate from the master's program should be able to use the conceptual framework of philosophy, theoretical and applied linguistics, theory of translation, linguistic didactics and theory of intercultural communication to solve his or her professional tasks; use modern technologies for collection, processing and interpretation of experimental data; broaden and deepen his or her scientific competence; use the knowledge of the theoretical essentials and practical methods of solving professional tasks in learning and research; independently handle relevant problems of theoretical and practical significance.
Further development and improvement of both the overall integrated professional competence and of research competence is provided by postgraduate education, which is a segment of the system of lifelong professional education. Postgraduate education should develop a range of skills required by a linguist and translator for research activities, such as the development of new synthetic techniques and individual subject-specific methods of professional activity; organization of new information and communication entities in the course of communication; analysis of the basic trends in the development of the system of linguistic education; review, generalization and use of colleagues' experience, etc.
In our opinion, providing continuity in the development of research competence of specialists in higher and additional education institutions requires that the following conditions be satisfied.
First, the needs of operating specialists for supplementation or replacement of old knowledge with new knowledge should be thoroughly investigated. As opposed to higher education, which provides development of basic professional competencies only, postgraduate education of linguists and translators should give them an opportunity to gain necessary knowledge, skills, qualities and value orientations as and when they are required.
Second, the training process in postgraduate education should be distinguished by enhanced subjectivation and creativity [1], which takes a more active implementation of the andragogical model of teaching in the educational process. In this model: (a) due to objective factors (such as the established
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personality, independent economic, social and psychological status, extensive life experience, facing serious problems solving which requires more learning, focus on the immediate use of knowledge and skills received from training), the learner plays the leading role in managing his or her learning, defining, in cooperation with the teacher, all of its parameters, including goals, content, forms, methods, means and sources of learning; and (b) the teacher acts as a consultant and expert in learning techniques, assisting the learner in managing the learning process.
Third, additional professional education should ensure variability and flexibility of methods, forms and conditions of training (including diverse durations of training), exchange of best practices, changing stereotypes, deeper insights into problems by organizing practical work that requires a new vision and new skills [1].
Fourth, additional education should more actively utilize the research-based method of training which essentially involves applying a scientific approach to solving learning tasks. In this case, the work of students follows the logic of classical research, using all the methods and techniques inherent in activities of researchers.
Fifth, students in translation should be involved in real research projects to develop their skills in participating in oral and written profession-oriented communications and subsequently present the results of the research both in a group and individually (a report, discussion, presentation, library research, article, project, thesis).
References
1. Комарова, Ю.А. Дидактическая система формирования научно-исследовательской компетентности средствами иностранного языка в условиях последипломного образования [Текст]: автореф. ... дис. д. п. н. / Ю.А. Комарова. - СПб. - 2008. - 49 с.
2. Лебедев, Е.В. Формирование исследовательской компетентности у будущих менеджеров в процессе их подготовки к профессиональной деятельности [Текст]: автореф. ... дис. к. п. н. /Е.В. Лебедев. - Ярославль, 2009. - 184 с.
3. Савенков, А.А. Аспекты компетентности [Текст] / А.А. Савенков // Директор школы. -2004. - № 6. - С. 40-48.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translations Bureau
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