Digitalization and diversification of the process of development of foreign language communicative competence of future officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Abstract

This article highlights the place of digitalization of professional training in Ukrainian higher military educational institutions. In addition, the phenomenon of diversification of the educational sector is considered as the basis for the trend of development of the educational system by means of information digital technologies. In the context of pedagogical analysis, the process of developing foreign language communicative competence in an educational institution focused on training future officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is studied. The study draws attention to a number of the most important components of the modern process of developing the foreign language skills of future officers. Attention is paid to one of these components – the foreign language learning environment and its formation. This paper examines the characteristics and analysis of the impact of the formed foreign language environment on cadets, students, all those who are in the center of the process of developing the foreign language communicative competence of military education. The efficiency of using digital technologies for the development of a foreign language environment is analyzed. The following concepts are highlighted in the article: “digitalization”, “digital technologies”, “diversification”, “virtual environment”, “digital technologies”, “video medium”, “foreign language communicative competence”, “linguistic immersion”, “socio-cultural approach”, “psychological aspects”, “socio-cultural adaptation”, “language barrier”. We present the interpretation of the concepts based on the accepted international sources, our own understanding of these concepts and the processes in which they occur. The article presents the results of interviews with cadets (students) who agreed to participate in an experiment on the development of foreign language communication by the method of immersion in a foreign language environment using digital technologies. The cadets answered questions about their life experience, inner feelings, and psychological state that they encountered during the experiment. In the practical part of this study, we paid attention to the cadets' personal assessment of the quality of their communicative foreign language abilities before and after the training immersion. The paper emphasizes the position and impressions of cadets regarding the use of digital technologies to achieve the effect of immersion in a foreign language environment and, as a result, the development of their foreign language communicative competencies. Based on the analysis of the survey results, the authors of the study have identified the most important points that they consider it necessary to recommend paying attention to in order to achieve a qualitative result of foreign language communicative competence development.