Application of contextual approach to teaching English for special purposes in higher military educational institutions
Abstract
The article is dedicated to substantiating the reasons for applying a contextual approach to teaching English for special purposes (ESP) in higher military educational institutions. Even though future officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine should meet severe requirements as to the level of English language acquisition, when English teachers enter an ESP classroom in a military university, they meet a lot of low-skilled students with a lack of motivation. The students can be afraid of expressing themselves in a foreign language; sometimes they are afraid, stressed, unwilling to speak up because they may not see any necessity in doing so.
That’s why at ESP lessons teachers should focus not only on the subject-matter of the course but also increase students’ motivation, create a positive atmosphere, develop critical thinking and professional competence, encourage group work for reaching mutual goals. All above mentioned poses a challenge to the teacher, and the solution can be in applying a contextual approach to teaching English for special purposes that implies contextualization of materials to create true-to-life situations and submerge the students into job-related surrounding making them think about their previous experience and ways of its application under different circumstances.
The article generalizes the practical experience of using contextualized materials at the English lessons for special purposes and proves that they help to create a meaningful environment for learners. As the result the students demonstrate an eagerness to express themselves using a foreign language, they are involved in the lesson and ready to work in a team.
So, using contextualized materials at the English lessons for special purposes in higher military educational establishments is an up-to-date issue, as it helps to form necessary language competence of future officers, create additional motivation, and involve students in job-related activities.
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References
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