DEVELOPING SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCE OF FUTURE ENGINEERS IN THE TRAINING PROCESS OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

Анотація

Nowadays, Ukrainian economic society is experiencing a strong demand for competent engineering
specialists with higher education, who are able to communicate in a foreign language (English). The
developed sociocultural competences allow engineering graduates to ensure successful activity in the society.
The article analyzes the elements of professional competence of a future engineer, reveals the concept of
sociocultural competence and defines its components.
The authors of the paper identify ways and methods of developing sociocultural competence of future
engineering graduates in the process of teaching English for Special Purposes, in particular when using
modern means of information and communication technologies. It has been emphasized that authentic
materials, selected and organized properly, are the most effective means of reflecting, understanding and
mastering the specifics of the culture and speech behavior being studied. The authors’ reasoning is based on
the principle of communicative orientation of foreign language teaching. The authors underline that in the
process of communication between representatives of cultures, the differences between these environments
lead to certain difficulties in communication, which is explained by different processes of decoding the
received messages, so they conclude that it is necessary to cultivate students' cultural sensitivity, develop the
ability to correctly interpret specific manifestations of communicative behavior in different cultures and,
therefore, improve practical skills and abilities. The authors conclude that it is effective to form the
interrelation of professional and sociocultural competences for quality training of future engineers in English
for Special Purposes. Only a comprehensive approach contributes to the organic integration of a future
specialist into a new cultural environment, and, consequently, prepares him/her for effective functioning in
the conditions of intercultural communication. In the future, the developed socio-cultural competence will
contribute to personal growth, intellectual development, cultural tolerance, and the development of the
professional career of future engineering specialists, as they will be able to carry out successfully
professional activities with business partners in English.