Keywords

JEL Codes

1 Introduction

Bachelor in linguistics and literature can identify a linguistic or literary problem and reflect on it. They can find a solution to linguistic issues and effectively detect the relevant information based on their knowledge. Ultimately, linguists will be able to place the problem and its solution in the correct cultural context, appreciate its social significance, and effectively and appropriately communicate.

To achieve this goal, bachelors acquire the following basic competencies in the learning process (Khutorskoy, 2003):

  1. 1.

    Bachelors actively and passively acquire the languages mentioned in their diplomas and become familiar with the contexts in which these languages are used. They also use their knowledge to communicate freely with other people.

  2. 2.

    Students should be familiar with different literary genres and have a deep knowledge of relevant literary theories to shrewdly read literary texts and analyze them. Linguists also have the necessary understanding of the historical evolution of literature in English, Russian, and Turkish. Students can place literary texts in a broader social context. Bachelor in linguistics will get the ability to analyze theatre texts, performances, and films based on an understanding of the underlying theories of these arts and their evolution (Berns, 1994).

  3. 3.

    Bachelors in linguistics have an overview or contain general information about language theories and current linguistic evolution, the conceptual set of variations of English, Russian, and Turkish (e.g., history, geography, and socio-linguistics). This knowledge allows undergraduate students to analyze and critically interpret linguistic phenomena.

  4. 4.

    If undergraduate students are taught by an experienced researcher, they can combine the theoretical knowledge they have acquired with advanced research methods. By using state-of-the-art or advanced heuristic tools, they can efficiently and quickly interpret, process, identify, and evaluate information (Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2005).

  5. 5.

    Bachelors in linguistics should have general knowledge of the cultures associated with the chosen languages (English, Turkish, and Russian).

Bachelors in linguistics acquire the indicated set of competencies during 4 years.

The relevance of the research is that it proves that instrumental and technical competence can be considered the key aspect of linguistic competence. Instrumental competence is a comprehensive ability to effectively interact, characterized by social responsibility, independence, or self-sufficiency, and achievement orientation (Leung, 2005).

The research object is instrumental competence in developing communicative knowledge, skills, and abilities of a specialist in foreign languages and views on regional and national cultural studies.

The research subject is the development of instrumental competencies of students studying linguistics at today’s universities. The research objectives are as follows:

  1. 1.

    To promote knowledge of the instrumental competence;

  2. 2.

    To identify scientific views on the instrumental competence of students studying linguistics at universities;

  3. 3.

    To explore the ability to perceive, generalize, and analyze information;

  4. 4.

    To set goals and choose ways to achieve them.

The authors clarifies the concept of “instrumental competence,” which is understood as the ability of an individual to put into practice public speaking based on skills, attitudes, and knowledge, considering the specifics of the native and any other culture.

2 Methods

The authors applied the following means of comparative-typological methods to achieve the research objectives: description, observation, comparison, and contrast (Baranov, 2007; Belyaeva, 2007; Berns, 1994; Bolshakova, 2011).

The structure of this research comprises an introduction, methods, results, a general conclusion, and a bibliography. Every part is summarized with a conclusion. The general conclusion comprises the research results of each part. The bibliography shows the list of sources used. Interpretation is divided into two groups: simultaneous interpretation and sequential interpretation. Interpreters usually specialize in one of the two because each requires special linguistic and psychological training. Simultaneous interpretation is the most complex form of interpreting. It was first used in the Nuremberg (the trial of 1945–1946, in which the main Nazis were tried). In the case of simultaneous interpretation, the interpreter makes the interpretation while listening (2–3 s behind). Simultaneous translation is carried out in a special cabin using technical tools. In this case, the speaker’s speech is transmitted through the headphones to the interpreter; the interpreted text is given to the recipients using the microphone (Belyaeva, 2007, pp. 36–40). One of the types of simultaneous interpretation is whispering. The interpreter works anywhere, not just in the cabin, with or without a headset and microphone. Simultaneous interpretation is the most complex form of interpreting because it requires the interpreter to be able to simultaneously listen to one language, interpret it into another language, and speak the target language while keeping up with the orator. The simultaneous presence of these three actions requires hard work, adapting the facts of one language to another, predicting what will be said, and making a decision in an instant. In interpreting events, interpreters usually provide translation from the foreign language into the native language.

Medical experiments have shown that the interpreter’s heart beats at 160 per minute. Thus, the heart of a person carrying a load beats slower than that of someone who performs simultaneous interpretation (Vsevolodova, 2007, pp. 63–64).

Simultaneous interpreters usually work in groups of three or four people; they are replaced every 15–20 min. It is a very difficult type of activity. Consequently, the salaries of simultaneous interpreters are also very high.

Based on this classification, we can conclude that the essential characteristic of the competencies of business communication in a foreign language includes in its structure narrower competencies, the formation of which cannot occur in isolation from the study of other academic disciplines; therefore, it is especially important to consider their interrelation and interdependence (McArthur, 1992). The following three main components are highlighted: intercultural (knowledge of the basics of culture), communicative (knowledge of the basics of business), and socio-linguistic (knowledge of a foreign language) (Zubov & Zubova, 2004, pp. 5–7, 19–22, 166–173).

3 Results

These programs should be based not only on consolidating a basic system of linguistic knowledge, skills, and abilities but also on introducing students to the basics of business, ethics, and culture.

Analytical ability is one of the most important capabilities of linguists (Abdiev, 2008). Each person has developed logical thinking in one form or another, but the level of its development is different. Some people are inclined to make intuitive decisions, and some ponder each step for a long time. Analytical people are said to have analytical minds. One can find out the level of development of their abilities using free online tests for an analytical mindset.

“Psychologists and HRMs view analytical skills as the ability to think about a specific situation and come up with a suitable solution. A person with a logical mindset studies the causes and consequences of their own or other people’s actions and draws conclusions” (Chukharev, 2009; Alekseev, 1997; Apresyan, 1966; Baranov, 2007).

An analytical mindset, that is, a predisposition to thinking and logical conclusions, is useful in everyday life and at work. However, there are professions for which advanced analytical thinking is an essential skill.

Each position that involves data processing and study of documentation is demanding on the ability to analyze information. Some companies use analytical thinking tasks, aptitude tests, and capacity testing for personnel changes.

The analytical skills test is a great opportunity for applicants to prove their competence. For employers, tests are also a convenient and inexpensive tool for selecting new and promoting existing employees. Simultaneously, it is quite difficult for an unprepared person to show a decent result. Methodical training is the only way to improve the result (Ovchinnikova & Uglanova, 2009, pp. 92–102).

Problem-solving is the primary competence of the person of the future. Leadership development expert Pavel Merinov (2022) told what complex problems are, how to make decisions, and why feedback is an important part of solving a problem.

American psychologist and professor Joy Paul Guilford created the concept of multidimensional intelligence—a model of thinking based on specific mathematical measurements (Guilford, 1936, 1950). Guilford proposed solving problems by alternating between “divergent” and “convergent” thinking. That is, it is necessary to focus on the goals that help solve the problem at this stage: create options for choice or make this choice.

Problem-solving is a sequential creative-analytical process. We analyze the situation, look for the problem’s causes, formulate it, and come up with solutions. The problems can be as follows:

  • Problem 1. The mother instructed her son to bring home exactly seven liters of water from the river. She gave him two jugs of three and five liters. How can a boy measure exactly seven liters of water using only these two jugs?

  • Problem 2. Imagine that regular private flights to Earth orbit became possible and comparable in cost to the average travel to another country. Think about what to do for the representatives of the tourism industry on Earth. Write down the thoughts that come to mind.

To solve problems with greater satisfaction with the result, it is necessary to go beyond the cognitive aspect. Dr. Robert Hogan (Hoganassessments, 2012) suggests considering our reactions to bad decisions, collecting feedback, being open to further development, and being receptive to coaching (coach ability):

  1. 1.

    Behavioristic: at this stage, the training programs are built according to the formula “stimulus-response,” the learner is transformed from a passive learner into a learning object, and the programs perform the function of simulators;

  2. 2.

    Cognitive-intellectual: programs are focused on students, giving them the freedom to choose the level and type of action, thereby activating their cognitive functions (Marchuk, 2007, pp. 97–99).

Nowadays, computer learning of foreign languages is a separate area of knowledge and practical actions aimed at using computers in teaching and learning languages, which has its own methodology, software tools, goals, and objectives. The use of computers ranges from traditional training programs to advanced virtual learning environments, multimedia programs, and the use of various forms of communication and storage of information on the Internet, in particular, e-mail, corpus and concordance, podcasts, etc., for didactic purposes (Baranov, 2007, pp. 112–137).

One of the software shells that allows composing simple exercises in the form of crosswords, sentences with missing words, texts with mixed sentences, etc. is the Hot Potatoes program (Marchuk, 2007, pp. 38–44) When organizing a distance course, rational construction plays a special role: the selection of individual topics, the selection of theoretical material, tasks, and exercises for each topic, and a flexible system of test tasks (Zakharov, 2005; Apresyan, 1966; Baranov, 2007; Belonogov et al., 2004; Belyaeva, 2007; Berns, 1994; Bolshakova, 2011; Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2005; Chukharev, 2009; Dignen, 2011; Guilford, 1936, 1950; Hoganassessments, 2012).

To conclude this section, we state that computer-based learning of foreign languages is a very promising area of modern linguodidactics (Lan et al., 2021). Simultaneously, one should not consider computer training resources as a substitute for a teacher. Computer training resources should be considered as a way to expand the traditional occupation to organize and perform routine work, develop students’ skills through training, increase students’ activity, and create opportunities for self-education (Alekseev, 1997).

Along with the methods of using computers (automatic analysis and synthesis of oral speech, automatic text input, automatic text analysis, the use of text corpora, computer language teaching, etc.) (Apresyan, 1966; Belonogov et al., 2004), there are other areas of intersection of linguistics and informatics: extracting knowledge from text, automatic indexing and categorization of documents, hypertext technologies in linguistics, etc.

4 Conclusion

So, the results obtained proved that instrumental and technical competence can be considered the key aspect of linguistic competence. Educational and methodological support (recommendations for the work program and the fund of assessment tools) for the formation of instrumental competence, includes the following:

  • Goals and objectives;

  • Content adequate to the content of professional training of bachelors of psychological and pedagogical education;

  • Methodological elements (cognitive, meaningful, and reflexive-evaluative);

  • Forms of theoretical and practical training sessions and independent work of students;

  • Methods (didactic games, trainings, and cases) and results.

The practical significance of this study is that foreign language teachers are trained in progressively structured professional development courses. The development and implementation of conferences, programs, and special knowledge are based on the materials of the work (Dignen, 2011). Instrumental competence has become a theoretically framed means of professional flexibility for linguistics students, practically tested and fully confirmed.