SELECTION OF LEARNING MATERIAL FOR BUILDING LEXICAL COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH PROFESSIONALLY ORIENTED ORAL COMMUNICATION OF PROSPECTIVE ECOLOGISTS

Abstract

The analysis of topical issue in teaching English for specific purposes, namely the problem of selection of learning material for building lexical competence in English professionally oriented oral communication of prospective ecologists, has been carried out. The aim of the article is to substantiate units, sources and selection criteria of learning material for building lexical competence in English professionally oriented oral communication of prospective ecologists. During the investigation the following research methods are used: analysis of scientists’ findings, generalization, arrangement with the aim of finding out how this issue is being elaborated and giving grounds to units, sources, and selection criteria of learning material for building lexical competence in English professionally oriented oral communication of prospective ecologists. It has become evident that use of learning material is designed to build and develop in prospective ecologists system of lexical knowledge, language and speech abilities and skills, lexical awareness, communicative and learning strategies ‒ the components of lexical competence in English professionally oriented oral communication. The units of learning material selected for building lexical competence in English professionally oriented oral communication of prospective ecologists are envisaged as lexical units. It has been proved that authentic texts, audio-texts and videos of English professionally oriented oral communication that occur between prospective ecologists are the sources from which learning material is selected. A number of selection criteria and criteria of incorporation of lexical units into lexical glossary have been defined: professional bias, thematic and semantic value, stylistic appropriateness, ability to collocate, frequency and functionality. Keywords: foreign language for specific purposes; selection of learning material; units of selection; sources of selection; selection criteria; lexical competence; English professionally oriented oral communication; prospective ecologists.