On the way to transfession-oriented teaching of foreign languages at engineering universities

The article analyzes the place and role of modern engineers in the life of society, as well as the content of the concept of "engineering activity" in order to identify new requirements for foreign language education of engineering university graduates. It has been revealed that the activity of engineers, firstly, acquires an integrative and innovative character, and secondly, it turns from professional to transfessional one, which entails a reformatting of the social requirements for the foreign language communicative training of an engineer and an expanded interpretation of his foreign language communicative competence. The author suggests possible approaches to the formation of the engineers' foreign language communication skills in the context of the modern needs of their activity, which is undergoing significant changes. When transition from profession to transfession takes place, the requirements for the communicative skills of an engineer are naturally transformed. Project activity and project management are in increasing demand, which implies the formation of temporary teams involving various specialists in solving engineering problems. In this regard, the search for the most optimal ways of communication within project teams and the effectiveness of various models of organizing such communication are becoming relevant. Such groups and projects are often international in nature, and their participants, as a rule, communicate virtually. In particular, the agenda includes the tasks of teaching communication in international engineering companies, interdisciplinary, international project teams, where it is necessary to find coordinated engineering, economic, and organizational solutions, and identify factors that determine the nature and results of discussion of professional and business problems. Being included into the "man - technique - environment" system, dealing with socio-technical facilities, with the development, design, creation of new equipment and technology, new forms of production organization, the engineer is obliged to take into account the socio-humanitarian, ergonomic, psychological, ethical, environmental aspects of the functioning of modern technology and technology. In this regard, it is necessary to develop the communication skills necessary for a modern engineer to create groups; distribute functions in a group (initiator, critic, mediator, etc.); formulate problems, describe the conditions for their solution; find the necessary resources; identify and describe possible risks; manage the discussion; develop agreed solutions; participate in polemics (switching to another topic, evading an answer, partial agreement, agreement with clarification, objection, addition, generalization, summing up, etc.). The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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