At present, the formation of the professional competence of the graduate is becoming a special topic. World educational practice considers the concept of «competence» as the main one, since it, first, unites the intellectual and skills components of education; secondly, it contains the idea that the main goal of education is not the process itself, but the process itself the students achieve a certain result. The concept of «professional competence» reflects the result of professional training. Having an integrated nature, this characteristic determines the degree of professionalism, the ability of a specialist to solve complex problems arising in real situations of professional activity, using knowledge, professional and life experience, as well as effective decision-making strategies.
Professional competence is considered as a set of key, basic and special competencies.
Key competencies are necessary for any professional activity and are manifested in the ability to solve professional tasks based on the use of information, communication and social and legal norms of the person's behavior in society.
Basic competencies reflect the specificity of certain professional activities and allow to build an educational process oriented towards the achievement of the objectives of a particular level of education; to establish interaction with other participants of the educational process; design and implement professional self-education.
Special competencies reflect the specificity of a specific subject area of professional activity.
All competencies develop in close interconnection with each other, which contributes to the formation of a future specialist and ensures the development of professional competence, which is an indicator of its success.
Thus, professional competence is a complex psychological concept that serves as the basis for an effective professional activity of a specialist. It includes the totality of knowledge, skills, abilities and ability to apply them to real objects and processes, as well as professionally significant and personal qualities such as purposefulness, independence, responsibility, organization, creativity, etc.
The training of a highly qualified specialist and the development of professional competence are impossible without the organization of his lifelong learning, which implies the need for continuous education both during training at a higher educational institution and outside the educational system, taking into account the continuity of all educational levels. In the conditions of transition to continuous education, systematic, purposeful, independent work of students is considered as one of the important components of the educational process, a means of increasing the professional and educational activity of future specialists. Independent work and the ability to work independently in the educational process become not just a wish, but an obvious necessity.
In this regard, emphasis is placed on active methods of mastering knowledge, developing the creative abilities of students, individualized education, taking into account the needs and capabilities of the individual. During the training the student acts as his active and full participant, and the process is aimed at stimulating the student's independence, freedom of his creativity and personal responsibility for learning outcomes.
Taking into account the fact that the dynamic scientific and social development of society inevitably entails rapid obsolescence of the knowledge and skills received by students in the course of training, future specialists should acquire a stable skill of constant independent acquisition of new knowledge, carrying out a continuous educational process and professional self-improvement.
Independent work of students is an important means of increasing the professional-cognitive and creative activity of future specialists. Taking into account the personality-oriented nature of independent work, the emphasis is on active cognitive activity of students in mastering the studied subject, organization of the learning process in accordance with their educational needs and individual characteristics.
Independent work of students requires intensive thinking, solving various cognitive tasks, keeping records, comprehending and memorizing educational and other information. Such work is of great importance: it is an essential factor of theoretical and practical preparation of students for forthcoming activity, formation of necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, moral and psychological qualities. In a broad sense, independent work is understood as the totality of all independent activity of students, both during classroom studies, and outside the audience. And extracurricular independent work is of great importance, since it is the indicator of the creative activity and initiative of students in the course of solving the set problem problems. In determining the concept of «independent work» it is also important to take into account the role of the teacher and the degree of his participation in the student's activities. It should be emphasized that the independent work of the student is not a chaotic process, but a systematic, self-educational activity of the students directed by the teacher. Representing a variety of individual and collective activities of students, independent work is carried out under the leadership, but without the direct participation of the teacher. Limited participation of the teacher involves changing the approach to the learning process: students need to be armed with methods of acquiring knowledge, as well as certain skills and skills in organizing their activities, giving them the opportunity to independently seek the necessary solutions. The role of the teacher is to direct the independent work of students in the right direction, to eliminate the emerging difficulties associated with mastering the teaching material, while creating an atmosphere of creativity and active thinking activity. Thus, the nature of the relationship between the teacher and the student is fundamentally changing. These relationships are manifested in the teacher's cooperation with students aimed at developing the skills to independently acquire new knowledge and are the key to successful achievement of the goal. A less important element of the characteristic of independent work of students is the control of the teacher's degree of consistency of the achieved results with the tasks assigned, which promotes the activation of creative activity students. For the successful implementation of the student's independent work, ment of sustainable students' interest in their chosen specialty and methods of mastering its features, which are dependent on the level of complexity of the tasks proposed for independent work; the relationship between teachers and students in the educational process; involvement of students in the future profession's future activities. Effective performance of independent work is directly related to the interest in achieving the result, that is, with the motivation of the student.
Motivation is understood as motivating motives that cause creative activity and determine the direction of interest. Professional motivation is the action of specific motivations that motivate the choice of a profession and the continued fulfillment of the duties associated with this profession. The strongest motivating factor is the preparation for further effective professional activity. There are several types of motivation:
1. External motivation — implies the dependence of a professional career on the results of studies at a higher educational institution. It is characterized by an interest in gaining knowledge, understanding their significance for successful future professional activity. This motivation is more remote in time, designed to achieve the final result of training, however, it has a significant stimulating effect on students.
2. Internal motivation is determined by the student's abilities, his propensity to study at a given higher educational institution. It is closely related to the emotional side, the student's attitude to the process and the content of training, and determines the activity that manifests itself in the desire for a particular type of activity.
3. Educational motivation — manifested primarily in the awareness of the students the usefulness of the work performed. In this regard, a special role is played by the student's psychological attitude to the importance of his training activities, both in terms of vocational training, and in terms of widening the horizon, the general erudition of the future specialist. It is important to form the student not only knowledge, skills and skills necessary for independent work, but also an interested attitude, the need for independent cognitive activity. The student should clearly realize that the results of independent work will help him to improve his educational level and the level of professional competence.
The development of motivation is also facilitated by the participation of students in various forms of creative activity, in research work carried out in cooperation with teachers, as well as their joint preparation and participation in scientific seminars, conferences, etc. An effective way to increase motivation is to introduce intensive teaching methods into the learning process which promote the activation of learning and the formation of students' initiative and independence aimed at achieving a certain cognitive result. A serious motivational incentive is the student's rating, given the fact that many students need public recognition. In this regard, the role of monitoring the activities of students by the teaching and inclusion of the results of the independent work of students in the indicators of current performance, on which the overall rating depends.
Summarizing the above, it can be concluded that motivational readiness for independent learning activities plays an important role in the formation of the professional competence of the student. Taking into account modern requirements in the field of education and new trends in the field of educational services, the goal of organizing students' independent work is to develop their skills and independent, purposeful work, first with educational materials, and then with scientific information. This implies the development of the ability to analyze and logically comprehend information received from various sources, improve previously acquired knowledge, continuously improve their professional level.
References:
- Akhanov A. Independent work of students // Higher education in Russia. 2005. № 11.
- Galskova N.D, Gez N. I. Theory of teaching foreign languages. Linguodidactics and methodology: a textbook for students-linguists. Moscow: Publishing Center «Academy», 2004.
- Mikheeva N. F. New tasks in the field of teaching foreign languages. Questions of philology. Moscow: Publishing House of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2007.
- Teaching foreign languages: a methodical guide for teachers, graduate students and students: a collection of articles / Ed. M. K. Kolkova. St. Petersburg: Karo, 2003.
