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23Основные принципы развития языковой компетенции студентов на занятиях по английскому языку в юридическом вузе
Ялаева Наталья Вячеславовна,
кандидат педагогических наук, доцент, кафедра русского, иностранных языков и культуры речи, Уральский государственный юридический университет E-mail: [email protected]
Садыкова Наталья Валерьевна
старший преподаватель, кафедра русского, иностранных языков и культуры речи, Уральский государственный юридический университет E-mail: [email protected]
Статья посвящена разработке профессионально ориентированных подходов к обучению иностранному языку в юридическом вузе. Утверждается мысль о том, что для развития языковой компетенции будущего юриста важно ориентировать образовательный процесс не только на изучение иностранного языка, но и на воспитание толерантности и поликультурности. В статье анализируются основные принципы развития языковой компетенции студентов-юристов. Приводятся примеры заданий, разработанных на основе данных принципов из учебника, подготовленного коллективом преподавателей кафедры русского, иностранных языков и культуры речи Уральского государственного юридического университета. Развитие языковой компетенции студентов-юристов, а также общекультурных и профессиональных компетенций происходит через последовательное, взаимосвязанное овладение предметно-языковыми знаниями, навыками и умениями в сфере профессиональной юридической коммуникации на русском и английском языке. В статье показана необходимость развития коммуникативных умений студентов-юристов, важных для их повседневной профессиональной деятельности.
Ключевые слова: языковая компетенция; межкультурная компетенция, толерантность, поликультурность, методика обучения иностранному языку.
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During the recent years there has been much discussion devoted to the development of modern approaches to the training of law students. It happens due to the following facts: new technologies are introduced into the educational process, a unified educational and cultural space is formed, the professional competence of teachers is improved. The main objective of the education system is to train a competitive specialist.
In this regard, the search for effective methodological and didactic principles in teaching a foreign language is continuing [1], and the concept of context education is being developed [2]. In his works K.M. Lev-itan establishes the idea that the development of professional linguistic personality of a lawyer is influenced by "three main interrelated contexts: linguistic context; national and cultural context (mentality, ways of cognition, world image of representatives of this or that culture); internal context of a student as a representative of his/her national and cultural community, his/ her language and subject competences". [2, p.5]
English classes allow future specialists to improve their knowledge of a foreign language. They also promote tolerance and readiness to accept cultural traditions of other countries and peoples. Knowledge of English, as a means of business and intercultural communication, becomes a personal necessity. Language becomes a kind of a bridge between different cultures, which, in turn, helps develop intercultural communication, contributes to the understanding of the history of people all over the world, and gives the opportunity to understand and respect the national traditions and customs of different countries.
Students' language competence is one of the key factors of international cooperation and mutual work of higher education institutions. It becomes a driving force in learning a foreign language. However, to achieve mutual respect and understanding it is not enough just to know a foreign language. It is necessary to have intercultural competence, which implies knowledge and skills enabling a person to build communication in a certain socio-cultural environment. The said implies understanding the value of a foreign language culture, awareness of oneself as part of the multicultural world, and mastering communicatively appropriate patterns of behavior. Thus, teaching a foreign language has an intercultural orientation, and teachers of a foreign language are intermediaries between language and culture as their task is not only to promote the mastery of a foreign language, but also to expand the understanding of cultural peculiarities of other countries in order to ensure perspective successful communication of lawyers with foreign colleagues.
Teaching legal English at a law school, in addition to solving other general educational tasks, is aimed at preparing the so-called global lawyers - "lawyers capable of working in any environment, who can quickly navigate in situations of changing market connected with the application of knowledge from various branches of law" [3, p.38]. In this case, English as a language of international business communication serves as a guide to competitiveness in the international labor market, and the comparative law opens doors to the possibility of self-realization in the process of using knowledge received at English classes.
Legal communication is built within the framework of business interaction. The culture of foreign business language communication should be developed with respect to the following provisions:
1) "foreign language education" is a means of personal development; its content is a foreign language culture in its multicomponent (namely educational, training, developing and cognitive) composition;
2) a student should master a foreign language culture in the course of modeling situations of real communication in a foreign language on the topics of professional education; in the process of communication students themselves should make efforts for learning, developing and creativity;
3) a student must realize the meaning of his/her participation in communicative activity and in understanding a foreign language culture, which will ensure his/her personal professional development as a participant in business foreign language communication;
4) situations of business communication should be very close to situations arising in professional activities, which allows to create a system of relationships between students when speaking a foreign language;
5) communicative relevance in the choice of material for the class is of paramount importance; material used during classes must be modern and meaningful.
What principles can contribute to the implementation of multidimensional intercultural tasks in the English language classes at the university? In our opinion, such principles are:
1) the principle of fostering knowledge about cultural diversity;
2) the principle of comparing cultures, norms of behavior, and social relations;
3) the principle of "self-awareness" at the border of cultures, forming the culture of self-presentation in a cross-cultural environment.
The first and the second principles can overlap and integrate in different exercises. They are applied when students begin to get acquainted with the diversity and cultural complexity of other countries and peoples.
One of the ways to implement these principles in practice is to use a form of discussion during classes. The topics are chosen depending on the purpose of the lesson, for example, issues of education, peculiarities of the judicial proceedings in different countries, and human rights. Exercises used to implement these principles prove to be effective [4]:
Jigsaw activity. Group work.
The class is divided into expert groups. Group A reads Text (a) "Legal Education in the UK: Structure and Features of Learning", Group B reads Text (b) "Universities in the USA: Legal Universities, Institutes and Higher Schools". Then the groups are remixed. Now each expert has to teach his new group his knowledge on the topic. After exchanging the information, students are expected to be ready to answer the questions.
1. Why is the training in the UK and the USA worth considering?
2. Are there options for the students to apply for a grant for study?
3. What are the key requirements of the UK's legal universities for entrants?
4. What are the peculiarities of getting legal education in the USA?
After you read the text and answered the questions, please specify what the main differences between the UK and the US legal education systems are. Use Internet sources if necessary [4, pp. 45-46]. Internet Activity.
Study information about stages of criminal procedure and its peculiarities in the USA. Visit the American website specializing in legal information retrieval: https://www.justia.com/criminal/procedure/stages-criminal-case/
and official website of the United States government: https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/steps-federal-criminal-process
a) Pair work. Share information with your partner [4, c.154].
Exercise 31. a) Study information about jury trials in different countries: https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/jury-service/types-juries https://www.gov.uk/jury-service a) Pair work. Speak about jury trials in the USA, the UK and Russia. Make reports. Use the Internet to find additional information [4, p. 165].
The first principle can be applied in the following way: either in class or at home, students are given the task of conducting research on a certain topic and presenting its results in the classroom orally or in writing (presentation, wall newspaper, video clip, etc.). The teacher recommends students to use various sources of information, such as newspaper and magazine articles, including those published in Internet resources, interviews, correspondence with friends from other countries and cultures, films, and fiction. Project activities, which traditionally attract students' interest and allow them to cultivate a tolerant attitude toward people and their religious and family values, also have considerable potential. All these forms and methods of work allow developing intercultural competence of students and getting feedback to the teacher for organizing the monitoring of the learning process.
The second principle, the principle of making a comparison between cultures, norms of behavior and social relations, is used in classes where a teacher incorporates a group work, and the participants of the groups get acquainted with information on the topic in a given aspect and share it with the partners in the
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form of dialogue or polylogue. The following exercises are methodological examples of implementing the second principle:
Employment law
Internet Activity.
a) Group work. Study information about employment legislation in the USA, the UK and Russia. Visit the official web portal of the United States federal government:
https://www.usa.gov/labor-laws;
United Kingdom public sector information website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/working/contract-working-hours
Russian consulting company website: https://www. awaragroup.com/blog/labor-law-and-russian-business
b) Share the information you have learnt with your group.
Work with a partner and write about similarities and differences of employment legislation in the UK, the USA and Russia (see Unit I-II for useful language) [4, p. 328].
The principle of "self-awareness" at the border of cultures and forming a culture of self-presentation in a cross-cultural environment is realized through understanding the cultural differences between one's own culture and the culture of the country of the target language. Students learn to put themselves on a supra-cultural level and to achieve a communicative goal with the help of a foreign language. In this regard, it is especially important to organize business games that can take place in the format of an international conference, where students can act as both organizers and participants. Students are divided into groups. Each group represents their own country and speaks at the conference. The groups that represent other countries ask questions and discuss the topic. Thus, the students actively participate in the conferences that focus on human rights issues.
Another example of a business game is a role play - a job interview for an opening position at a multinational corporation, where students act as both employers and employees.
Duties and functions of lawyers
Read the questions and role-play the dialogue between an employer and a perspective employee.
Why do you want to become a lawyer?
Tell me what education you have relevant to the position.
What do you think some of the main personality traits of a successful lawyer are.
Is there any importance of interpersonal skills for a lawyer? If yes, then why? [4, p.85]
Another task can be a role-play game, the purpose of which is giving legal advice, which is an active training of abilities that are significant for the implementation of professional activities of a future lawyer:
Company law
5 Role play. Work in groups (pairs). One of you is g a lawyer. Advise your clients who want to start a new £ business which form to choose. Give your pros and ° cons. Ask your clients questions about their wishes as Si to the size of the company, availability of capital, re-
sponsibility for decision-making. Your clients should ask you about advantages and disadvantages of each of the legal forms and answer your questions, and then come to the mutual decision which form to choose [4, p.176].
To implement the said methodological principles a teacher is required to possess a high level of knowledge in the subject he/she teaches and a high intellectual potential in the sphere of intercultural relations and modern information technologies. To convey the ideas of tolerance and multiculturalism to students, teachers need to navigate the flow of information, know the political situation, and be aware of current trends. It is important to participate in international conferences, communicate with native speakers, and engage in research activities. One cannot but agree with A. Fantini that a modern university teacher participates in international events while working and acting in his/her own country, bringing important cross-cultural experience based on intercultural competence into his/her activities, which helps him/her to be effective in his/her field of activity [5]. Consequently, we must conclude that the teacher should be more careful planning the content of classes focusing on intercultural character.
Thus, language competence is the key to cross-cultural dialogue. It is necessary to stimulate this dialogue precisely at the stage of a student learning. The tasks solved in English classes help to overcome difficulties in intercultural business communication, promote the inclusion of future lawyers in a dynamic multicultural world, which contributes to the development of a multicultural linguistic personality when teaching a foreign language in a law school.
Литература
1. Гурвич П.Б. К вопросу о специфике методики преподавания иностранных языков как науки// Иностранные языки в школе. 2013. № 4. С. 3-9
2. Левитан К.М. Контекстный подход к развитию языковой личности юриста // Традиционные и инновационные технологии развития профессиональной языковой личности студентов: материалы международной научно-методической конференции; Отв. ред.: Левитан К.М. 2019 С. 3-9
3. Садыкова Н.В., Ялаева Н.В. K вопросу о формировании поликультурной языковой личности на уроке английского языка в юридическом вузе // Полиязычная образовательная среда: модели и технологии: материалы III Всероссийской научно-практической конференции с международным участием. Министерство образования и науки Российской Федерации, Уральский федеральный университет имени первого Президента России Б.Н. Ельцина; Ответственные редакторы: Т.П. Рассказова, С.А. Иванова, Е.Н. Фёдорова. 2018. С. 38-43
4. Английский язык для юристов: учебник / К.М. Левитан, С.В. Павлова, М.С. Пестова, Н.В. Садыкова, Л.А. Соколова, М.А. Югова, Н.В. Ялаева. М.: КноРус, 2021. 552 с.
5. Fantini A. Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence [Электронный ресурс]. - Режим доступа: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1815&context=csd_ research, (дата обращения: 15.05.2021)
THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPING STUDENTS' LANGUAGE COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT A LAW SCHOOL
Yalaeva N.V., Sadykova N.V.
Ural State Law University
The article is devoted to the development of professionally oriented approaches to teaching a foreign language at a law school. The article states that in order to develop language competence of a future lawyer it is important to focus the educational process not only on learning a foreign language, but also on fostering tolerance and multiculturalism. The article analyzes the main principles of developing the language competence of law students. The authors give examples of the tasks developed on the basis of these principles from the textbook prepared by a team of lecturers from the Department of Russian, Foreign Languages and Culture of Speech at the Ural State Law University. Development of linguistic competence of law students, as well as general cultural and professional competence, is carried out through consistent and interrelated mastering of subject-linguistic knowledge, skills, and abilities in the sphere of professional legal communication in Russian and English languages. The article shows the necessity of developing communication skills of law students important for their everyday professional activities.
Keywords: linguistic competence; intercultural competence; tolerance; multiculturalism; foreign language teaching methodology.
References
1. Gurvich P.B. On the issue of a foreign language teaching methodology as a science // Foreign Languages at School. 2013. № 4. pp. 3-9.
2. Levitan K.M. Contextual approach to the development of a lawyer's language personality // Traditional and innovative technologies of a student's professional language personality: materials of international scientific and methodological conference; Ex. editor: Levitan K.M. 2019 pp. 3-9.
3. Sadykova N.V., Yalaeva N.V. On the issue of forming a multicultural language personality at the English classes at a law school // Multicultural educational environment: models and technologies: materials of III All-Russian scientific and practical conference with international participation. Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin; Ex. Editors: T.P Rasskazova, S.A. Ivanova E.N. Feodorova. 2018. pp. 38-43.
4. English language for lawyers: textbook / K.M. Levitan, S.V. Pavlova, M.S. Pestova, N.V. Sadykova, L.A. Sokolova, M.A. Yugo-va, N.V. Yalaeva. M.: KnoRus, 2021. 552 p.
5. Fantini A. Exploring and Assessing Intercultural Competence [electronic resource https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/view-content.cgi?article=1815&context=csd_research], (date of access: 15.05.2021).
