Abstract:

Student motivation is a pre-requisite for successful learning. Different ways and methods are applied in the process of studies to stimulate the students for acquisition of the planned study courses.
At the Latvia University of Agriculture, English for Specific Purposes is taught at all nine faculties in the compulsory study course Professional Foreign Language. The aim and the objectives are the same, but the content differs among the faculties as the syllabus for the course is constructed in relation to the specialty the students have chosen to acquire. It determines the scope of the special terms to be learned, as well as the themes of the texts used in training the students’ foreign language skills.
In the course of English for Specific Purposes all four language skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking – are developed.
English for Specific Purposes incorporates syllabus and course design based on student needs analysis, collection and selection of materials, choice of the appropriate methods for acquisition of the teaching/learning content. Advice of employers is of great help in these activities, as they can suggest the most adequate objectives for teaching/learning relevant to the present situation in the labour market. The present article analyses the results of the enquiry among the employers in the necessary skills for future specialists in engineering that could be acquired and trained in the study course.
It has been stated by the previous research of the author that besides the professional competences, foreign language and cross-cultural communication skills play an important role in successful professional career of future specialists. It is important that these skills are trained and developed at the university. Due to the small number of credit points for the acquisition of the course the teachers of foreign languages are trying to use different extra-curricular activities that help motivate the students, as well as improve their different skills necessary for their future work.
Student international scientific conferences have proved to be one of the most efficient ways to involve students with the aim to improve their skills and competences. In 2013, the eights international scientific conference “Students on their Way to Science” will be organized by co-operation of three faculties of the Latvia University of Agriculture - the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Forest Faculty. The number of participants is increasing every year, in 2012 there were about 300 contributors from 17 countries. In such conferences students develop not only their foreign language and cross-cultural communication skills, but also all the other skills necessary for their future career. International contacts are established for further co-operation and the students have an opportunity to present and share their research results at the same time getting to know the experience of their colleagues in other countries and higher schools who have obtained relevant results in their common research areas. If the students are satisfied with their performance and the achieved results they are motivated for further success.

Keywords:

Student motivation, skills, learning, English for Specific Purposes.