Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education

The modern world requires engineering specialists with excellent hard skills as well as soft skills that contribute to better communication, creativity, and self-realisation of a person. The authors discovered that modern educational standards are starting to focus on soft skills development, propos...

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Main Authors: Olesya Dmitrievna Medvedeva, Anna Vladimirovna Rubtsova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:Education Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/276
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spelling doaj-cb46d442602449d9b1def040f52c70b12021-06-30T23:06:56ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022021-06-011127627610.3390/educsci11060276Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language EducationOlesya Dmitrievna Medvedeva0Anna Vladimirovna Rubtsova1Department of Foreign Languages, Institute of Humanities, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 St. Petersburg, RussiaGraduate School of Applied Linguistics, Translation and Interpreting, Institute of Humanities, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 St. Petersburg, RussiaThe modern world requires engineering specialists with excellent hard skills as well as soft skills that contribute to better communication, creativity, and self-realisation of a person. The authors discovered that modern educational standards are starting to focus on soft skills development, proposing requirements for educational programs that contain competencies covering soft skills. To fulfil such needs, there is the productive method of foreign language teaching that implies interactive technologies and masters foreign language communicative competence and soft skills at once. Therefore, the study aimed at developing a technology of soft skills development in engineering foreign language education using the productive method and checking its effectiveness. The authors designed a questionnaire and investigated engineering students’ opinions on a need to develop soft skills, which revealed high relevance of the topic, and the possibility of their development while studying a foreign language, which proved the productive method’s prospects. Based on findings received and literature analysed, we implemented case studies, problem-based learning, and essay writing in the technology and designed assessment criteria. Testing of the technology was performed by a pedagogical experiment, where qualitative and quantitative methods were applied. To critically analyse the results, we used Cronbach’s alpha, which revealed good reliability of the questionnaire, and <i>t</i>-test showed high efficiency of the technology that improved students’ soft skills.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/276soft skillsproductive methodforeign language teachingengineering studentseducational standardsprofessionally oriented foreign language
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Olesya Dmitrievna Medvedeva
Anna Vladimirovna Rubtsova
spellingShingle Olesya Dmitrievna Medvedeva
Anna Vladimirovna Rubtsova
Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education
Education Sciences
soft skills
productive method
foreign language teaching
engineering students
educational standards
professionally oriented foreign language
author_facet Olesya Dmitrievna Medvedeva
Anna Vladimirovna Rubtsova
author_sort Olesya Dmitrievna Medvedeva
title Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education
title_short Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education
title_full Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education
title_fullStr Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education
title_full_unstemmed Productive Method as the Basis for Soft Skills Development in Engineering Foreign Language Education
title_sort productive method as the basis for soft skills development in engineering foreign language education
publisher MDPI AG
series Education Sciences
issn 2227-7102
publishDate 2021-06-01
description The modern world requires engineering specialists with excellent hard skills as well as soft skills that contribute to better communication, creativity, and self-realisation of a person. The authors discovered that modern educational standards are starting to focus on soft skills development, proposing requirements for educational programs that contain competencies covering soft skills. To fulfil such needs, there is the productive method of foreign language teaching that implies interactive technologies and masters foreign language communicative competence and soft skills at once. Therefore, the study aimed at developing a technology of soft skills development in engineering foreign language education using the productive method and checking its effectiveness. The authors designed a questionnaire and investigated engineering students’ opinions on a need to develop soft skills, which revealed high relevance of the topic, and the possibility of their development while studying a foreign language, which proved the productive method’s prospects. Based on findings received and literature analysed, we implemented case studies, problem-based learning, and essay writing in the technology and designed assessment criteria. Testing of the technology was performed by a pedagogical experiment, where qualitative and quantitative methods were applied. To critically analyse the results, we used Cronbach’s alpha, which revealed good reliability of the questionnaire, and <i>t</i>-test showed high efficiency of the technology that improved students’ soft skills.
topic soft skills
productive method
foreign language teaching
engineering students
educational standards
professionally oriented foreign language
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/6/276
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