Abstract:

The paper emphasizes communicative competence in the English language as an essential quality for survival in the modern globalized world, especially in case of ESP taught to students majoring in non-linguistic fields.

The subject of the analysis is the application of the competency based approach which is aimed at the development of the students’ language, communicative and professional skills necessary for the future graduate, who will be able to solve professional problems, carry out intercultural communication and use modern information technologies. The process of developing competences includes a variety of methods which create difficulties and stressful situations for students learning foreign languages.

The authors of the paper acknowledge the harmful consequences ensued by the problem of heavy study load and aim to suggest working towards the health-saving educational goal in order to reduce intense pressure of academic responsibility and promote undergraduates’ achievement as well as strengthen their motivation for showing better examination results. The techniques for creating positive English learning environment are outlined, which include but are not limited to multimedia technologies and a set of engagement activities. The authors provide some examples of the educational Internet resources designed for ESP students which motivate educational process, stimulate cognitive activity and create quasiprofessional environment in the framework of contextual learning.

The main research methods are the theoretical analysis of literature, interviews with university teachers, students’ polling, monitoring and analyzing teachers’ activities and analyzing the formation of professional competencies at the university. The theoretical analysis of the literature shows that a set of engagement activities as well as the educational Internet resources outlined in this paper provide authentic and encouraging materials, as necessary components for creating a modern course for ESP students.

The interviews of teachers and students, as well as the analysis of the formation of professional competencies of students, showed that the development of language skills occurs together with acquiring necessary competencies in positive educational environment.

In the final part of the work, we make a conclusion that the set of engagement activities illustrated in the paper has been successfully implemented into the classroom settings of higher educational institutions and proven to be increasingly efficient and stress-free in quality learning as well as teaching.

The research may be of interest for specialists in the field of linguistics and pedagogy, namely teachers of higher education (bachelor's, master's), undergraduates and graduate students. The results of the research can be applied both in theoretical studies and in the improvement of the training courses for ESP students.

Keywords:

Communicative competence, multimedia technologies, ESP, teaching materials, the competency based approach, outcomes.