Oral Communication in a Foreign Language Competence Development in Academic Contexts

Abstract

A contemporary European university requires the competence that enables a student to understand lectureson the subject in a foreign language, to participate in academic discussions, to study in various joint programmesat Lithuanian and foreign universities, to participate in student mobility exchange programmesand international projects, to feel confidence and self-esteem in any academic and professional context. Thedevelopment of academic English communicative competence of the students with no previous experienceof academic language learning in a high school and integration of academic context (in addition to professionalone) into the language subject programmes has become inevitable in higher education. This indicatesthe problems related to foreign language teaching at university level and presupposes the need to transitionof teaching a foreign language for academic and professional purposes. Oral communication, especially in aforeign language, has become particularly important due to transition to innovative teaching methods. Thus,the purpose of the empirical research was to find out about students’ oral communication skills in a foreignlanguage necessary for successful functioning in the academic and professional discourse. This particulararticle is aimed at revealing teachers’ evaluation of students’ oral academic English skills in comparisonwith their importance as viewed by the teachers. The issues of academic speaking skills, the results of thepilot research and the methodology research were presented in a number of international conferences in thepresentations on the topics regarding academic English skills development in higher education (Tuomaitė,2014; Tuomaitė, 2015; Tuomaitė, 2016; Tuomaitė, Butlerienė, 2015; Tuomaitė, Knyza, 2014).

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.31.19049