Abstract:

The importance of a foreign language as a means of day to day and professional communication has increased considerably in the last years. The level and quality of foreign language teaching at universities reflects the requirements of society and respects the needs of particular study programs as well as the needs of Slovak professionals in international environment. From year to year, the demands to master foreign languages are increasing not only in Slovakia but also in other European countries and the rest of the world. This relates especially to the acquisition of vocabulary for specific purposes. The importance and need for its acquisition is proved by the continuous development in almost all the fields of human activity. Therefore a special attention to the acquisition of vocabulary for specific purposes is required in education at non-philological universities, which prepare specialists in different fields of science, technology and industry. One of the main advantages of mastering vocabulary for specific purposes in a particular foreign language (e.g. English, Spanish etc.) is the possibility to share the experience and exchange the knowledge with experts and professionals from different countries as well as better possibilities to find the job.

The paper deals with the importance and methods of foreign language teaching and learning at university with the focus on vocabulary for specific purposes. The main research tool is a questionnaire, which was distributed among 2nd year students studying at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia. One of their compulsory subjects is English. They attend lectures on English for Specific Purposes and Business Presentations. The questions in a questionnaire were aimed at determining students´ needs and preferences concerning the acquisition of Business English. Based on the results of the questionnaire we chose the teaching methods which would motivate students and facilitate them the acquisition of Business English (e.g. Superlearning, Farmulti method, Oral presentations, Communicative approach, using media to express vocabulary knowledge, etc.). When processing the data and results of the questionnaire, comparative and statistical methods are used as well. We believe the results we obtained may contribute to the improvement of foreign language teaching and learning process at non-philological universities.

Keywords:

Foreign language teaching and learning, vocabulary for specific purposes, non-philological universities.