AN ANDRAGOGICAL APPROACH TO FORMING FACULTY COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Abstract

This paper explains the rationale for the usage of an andragogical approach in developing faculty foreign language competence fueled by the urgent need to increase the professional mobility and to encourage the academics’ participation in international conferences. By means of a survey and literature analyses, the andragogical assumptions revealed were adjusted to the target audience – researchers. It was achieved by identifying the learners’ needs, defining their specific characteristics. This analysis resulted in the competences to be developed, characteristics to be accounted for in the educational process of mastering the fluency of researchers in English. It also showed that andragogical assumptions correlate with the qualities of researchers and should be introduced into the educational process increasing learner’s autonomy. The results can be used for the development of the educational programs for continuous education.