Abstract:

The article presents for discussion the issues of optimization of extended foreign language education through administrative and pedagogical support in universities and higher schools of student foreign language clubs (on the example of the student club of English for future journalists). It is as a multicultural, multilingual space that unites students who want to master the skills of intercultural communication in future professional activity. The author’s scientific interest in the problem under study and its relevance is determined by the demand for journalism in specialists with a high level of foreign language communicative competence. It is not only a means of intercultural communication with foreign colleagues for a modern journalist but also a tool for accessing information coming from around the world to the media sphere of the global Internet. During student practice in the editorial offices of the periodical press, broadcasting companies, and television centers, students watch the rather active reincarnation of traditional journalism into convergent journalism (online journalism or multimedia journalism) when using the new technical base and the latest digital technology in the media sphere to solve professional problems. In the context of ongoing changes in the field of journalism and expanding the boundaries of international cooperation, students can realize the fact that knowledge of a foreign language in the field of professional activity gives a chance to more quickly adapt to the team and gain access to exciting work. The article informs that there is an extensive network of organizations of extended foreign language education in Russian higher educational institutions. It covers language courses, intercultural and language centers, international friendship clubs, youth travel agencies, international student unions. Students can learn a foreign language, starting from any level of language proficiency, at the same time engaging in communicative and cognitive-searching activities. These are journalistic “investigations” on the ground in the region, research projects, participation and subsequent media coverage of student meetings, forums and student conferences, international events. In this perspective, the English student club is considered as an innovative structure of extended foreign language education. The innovative nature of this structure is that it is created at the request of students and together with students; has openness and accessibility for students of other specializations. Moreover, it combines cultural, historical and modern traditions of the English club; stimulates the development of student self-government; provides a strengthening of contacts with foreign student associations and a high level of student mobility, allowing to engage in exchange programs, educational and cultural tourism and research projects. Consequently, as the author believes, the student English club is not just a means of improving the skills of speaking in English; it is, first of all, a space for the development of a viable cultural, linguistic persona with a willingness to integrate into the socio-cultural life of the life field.

Keywords:

English student club, a viable cultural, linguistic persona, intercultural communication, convergent journalism, extended foreign language education.