Certain aspects of the development of foreign language professional competencies of public administration students

Introduction

Public policies for the education and training of civil servants in all countries of the world address the common goals and objectives of public service. At present, the professional mission of public administration (PA) is determined by the social nature of public service, the main purpose of which is to serve people of various social, economic, political, ethnic and religious groups, and unite them with a common interest both within the state and at the international level. All civil servants, as well as students studying at faculties of PA, must have high foreign-language professional competencies which are needed for the full implementation of public tasks, as well as a worthy representation of the interests of the state at the international level, the assimilation of the best practices of foreign countries in the field of PA, and the cooperation of public authorities at the federal, interregional and interstate levels. As mentioned in the mission documents of the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPAcee), ‘NISPAcee is an arena for East–East collaboration through assisting, mediating and facilitating joint research, educational and training programs and discussions between instructors, civil servants, trainers, public sector managers and politicians.’ ¹ In this regard, the problem of the development of foreign-language professional competencies of students studying at faculties of PA is of particular relevance, and the process of the development of these competencies requires careful study and improvement.

The aim of this study is to analyze the current state of the level of language training of future civil service students (undergraduates, graduates and postgraduates), the formulation of tasks and goals, and the requirements necessary for future civil servants to improve the quality of their knowledge of foreign languages. To improve the methodological support of foreign-language teaching, our research team tried to compose a new program, combining the use of both old and new technologies of studying English for specific purposes (ESP), which includes not only the use of textbooks and teaching aids, but such new technologies as e-learning, online courses, project design and vocabulary study. This new program will help teachers to give students not only a purely theoretical knowledge of foreign language, but to develop the communication competencies of PA students.

Basic fundamental and applied problems (hypotheses) solved in the framework of the study are the following: research and improvement of the process of the development of foreign-language professional competencies of PA students will improve the quality of language training of civil servants in accordance with the new qualification requirements for civil service positions of senior and higher groups of civil servants in the 21st century. The objects of research are the students, undergraduates and graduate students – future civil servants – studying at faculties preparing public administrators at the Institute for Social Sciences (ISS) at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), Moscow. Research methods and methodology include theoretical research, analytical research methods, methodology of empirical research and methods of comparative research. These methods make it possible to perform the research mentioned and to give methodological support to the foreign-language teaching of PA students.

The degree of research development of the studied question has been partially considered by Belcher (2006); Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), Kareva (2013); Graham and Beardsely (1986), Hutchinson and Waters (2002); and Korotkina (2017). However, the theme is not developed fully and requires significant improvements in view of the modern requirements of ‘The Concept of Sustainable Development until 2030’,² adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015.

Foreign language professional competencies development: From theory to practice

This work may be considered as a component of the research in the field of study of the development of foreign-language professional competencies of students at faculties of PA. After analyzing the literature on the subject we have defined the principal objectives and the scope of the research, and the methods we should use.

Scientists who have researched the civil service in Russia and abroad have stated the following, regarding the importance of the problem of improving the foreign-language competencies of future public servants:

The institutions from the public sector, such as different governmental bodies, ministries, the local government, public enterprises, the courts and other public organizations need administrators with good communicative skills in English for their contacts with the international community and the representatives of international organizations in the country on topics and with vocabulary related to the field of public administration and politics. (Kareva, 2013)

Why is the development of foreign-language competencies of the working and future public servants so necessary now? Why is it so relevant in the 21st century? We can say with certainty that the development of foreign-language competencies of the real and future public servants (PA students) and the improvement of studying a foreign language would make a great contribution to the development of the general professional competencies of PA servants:

To provide a full description of the practical steps taken in the field of development of foreign-language competencies at the ISS at RANEPA in the 2018–2019 academic year, some practical aspects have been studied by the author. Some conclusions were made which, in our opinion, could help university teachers working in the field of PA education to improve the process and the results of teaching a foreign language for specific purposes.

ESP and ‘purpose mining’

As outlined above, our particular field of study concerned the foreign-language competencies of the PA students at the ISS at RANEPA. The ISS focuses mainly on social studies, humanities, liberal arts, management, global governance and public policy. At the ISS at RANEPA, undergraduate students study on 20 bachelor’s programs and 19 masters programs including such specialities as politology, management, psychology, public relations, regional studies, philology and sociology.

Students study many foreign languages at the ISS. Among them are English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabian and others. However, the first foreign language for all the students is English, as the lingua franca for all studying PA as a future profession, so our research first of all concerned the students as learners of English. Studying English as the first foreign language is obligatory for all students at the ISS at RANEPA. Learners of English at the ISS at RANEPA study both general English and ESP. What is ESP? It is defined in professional literature in this way: ‘English for specific purposes (ESP) is that area of English language teaching which focuses on preparing learners “for chosen communicative environments”’ (Graham and Beardsely (1986). Its communicative orientation is also highlighted by Hutchinson and Waters (2002), who defined ESP as a branch of the tree of English language teaching (ELT).

Before compiling programs for every professional profile in PA departments, a needs analysis should be carried out so that the language required in specific contexts is clear to students. The students should use English in their future profession, so a general analysis of the needs of students should be made. Needs analysis before studying the English language as a professional language should, of course, be applied to study materials proposed by the teacher. As the scope of students’ needs in studying professional English for use in the PA field is vast, our opinion is that analysis such as so-called ‘purpose mining’ should also be applied. What is ‘purpose-mining’? This term was introduced by Scrivener (2019). He said that ESP involves more than just working with texts and examples relevant to a particular professional area. He insisted that needs analysis before studying a foreign language as a professional language is a more general phenomenon. The formulation of tasks and goals in studying a language should be narrowed to meet the full requirements of a student. It should include, for example, the following questions, suggested by Scrivener (2019):

Ask a learner ‘Tell me one specific task that you need to use English for. When the students answer that, ask further questions that uncover more and more wide-ranging details. Each time you get an answer, ask more, like a miner digging deeper into the situation, moving slowly from the general situation to specific task difficulties and language problems. Aim to build up a focused detailed picture of a single occasion where your student needs English. Simply talking it through in this way can be helpful for a learner as they clarify for themselves where some real problems are. Beyond this it can form the basis of Real-play and Reformulation activities.’

Foreign-language competencies to be developed

Foreign-language professional competencies are based on the integration of the four language domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Learners are expected to achieve these competencies in both English and Russian in their discipline of study by the time they complete their degree. In Dual Language Professional Competencies Performance Outcomes and Performance Indicators (2013), foreign-language competencies are described in the following way:

Listening: Learners understand messages spoken by others, and are able to listen carefully, using specific techniques to clarify what they have heard. Learners apply listening skills as individuals and members of a group in a variety of settings such as lectures, discussions, conversations, team projects, presentations, and interviews.

Speaking: Learners orally communicate effectively in professional and social settings. Learners speak appropriately according to the situation and make messages understood, using correct grammar, sentence structure, tone, expression, and emphasis.

Reading: Learners read fluently, comprehend, and acquire knowledge through a broad range of written materials, both traditional and electronic print, pertaining to their discipline. Learners use strategies and processes for constructing meaning before, during, and after reading.

Writing: Learners demonstrate their knowledge through writing for a variety of audiences and purposes through different writing styles that include standard rhetoric themes, business letters and reports, financial proposals, and technical and professional communications. Learners develop high-levels of writing skills and produce documents that show planning and organization as well as conveying effectively the intended message and meaning.

The set of competencies refers to students’ learning, academic outcomes, and the students’ career readiness.

Textbooks and exams

Two years ago, all the teachers of English at the ISS used different textbooks for teaching, and so during the exams there was no uniformity in the development of students’ foreign-language competencies. This year the situation has changed. As all public servants should have a common basis for the development of their professional competencies including their foreign-language competencies, they should pass the unified exams for acquiring foreign-language certificates. In our case, these exams are the Cambridge Exam for the First Certificate in English (for the first and the second courses) (Mann et al, 2015: 176) and the Cambridge International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam (for the third and the fourth courses) (Brook-Hart and Jakeman, 2013). These exams should be passed by all students at the ISS. They present the common English language support for all the students studying at different faculties of the ISS.

Such changes in the program of studying professional English for PA students make it possible to adjust the program to the needs of the students so that a closer connection with the qualification requirements of public service students can be achieved. In our opinion, it is a more practical approach to the development of the foreign-language professional competencies of students. All teachers use the same textbook by Mann et al. (2015) for all the specialities of the first and second courses. On the third and fourth courses, all students use the same textbook, by Brook-Hart and Jakeman (2013). Thus, uniformity in teaching a professional foreign language is achieved by teachers in the exams for obtaining a First Certificate in English (FCE) and an IELTS Certificate during four years of study. The certified teachers of English – the native speakers – usually take these exams. Teachers of English at the Academy are responsible for the results of these exams as they help students to prepare for them.

In the 2017–2018 year of study, not all the students passed these exams successfully. One of the reasons for this was insufficient preparation for the exams, not much time for preparing for the exams, and a lack of uniformity in textbooks and teaching aids. All the drawbacks of preparing for the exams were taken into account and corrected in 2018–2019, so the students showed much better results during their exams. Some students, however, who were not properly prepared for the exams, are going to take them in the next year of study.

However, the needs analysis showed that more attention should be given to developing the communication skills of PA students, such as listening, speaking and writing. The final exams for PA students at the ISS at RANEPA include sections such as ‘Social and Political Vocabulary’, online courses with specific professional vocabulary, and project design (for the third course of study). Such factors as attendance, and participation in work during lessons contribute to the final mark of every student. We analyzed students’ work during the first and second terms of the year 2018–2019 in four groups of liberal arts students (80 students) and found that progress had been made during the year with the use of the new approach to learning. The placement tests at the beginning of the year and the tests in March 2019 of 80 students were compared, and we could see that the students showed progress in their results.

Vocabulary study

One can read these words in an article by Knox (2013): ‘Administrators not only need to know about communications, they need to be able to communicate.’ The first thing necessary for effective communication and understanding is a common professional vocabulary. Thus, the development of a professional foreign-language PA vocabulary is so important when teaching future public servants.

Professional communication on the topics concerning PA is based on the general vocabulary studied during four years of study (FCE certificate, IELTS certificate), the uniformity of teaching professional foreign language is thus achieved.

New forms of English practice have been introduced to the process of teaching professional English at the ISS. Among them are courses such as ‘Social and Political Vocabulary’ (one-third of the whole program; two-thirds of the program cover getting ready for the common exams (FCE or IELTS), supplementary online courses for the third and the fourth courses of study with a specific professional vocabulary, project design based on a specific professional vocabulary, and research work and participation in students’ conferences. Also, a short course on academic writing is taken by students to help them in writing their research.

The programs depend on the specific study profile of an undergraduate or postgraduate student; for example, management, psychology, politology, regional studies, public relations, philology, journalism, etc. The vocabulary of every course reflects the specific character of the course. The online courses’ vocabulary and the terms for the courses are chosen by the teachers of profile education, and the courses are compiled also in close collaboration with teachers of profile education and language teachers. This form of work was applied in a previous year of study (2017–2018), and was constantly being developed last year (2018–2019).

In our opinion, an overall understanding of the main PA terms would help towards better cooperation between PA servants in Europe. We think that an international PA English vocabulary for undergraduates, master of public administration (MPA) and PhD students and practitioners of European governmental institutions should be compiled and published. Before that, a thorough analysis should be performed concerning the scope of terms and the English professional vocabulary necessary for future public administrators and for their better cooperation. It could help to avoid discrepancies in understanding the main ideas of PA service in different countries. Also, such an international vocabulary could help to build education modules on the basis of English language departments and chairs in academic areas (academies, universities, schools of PA, etc.). However, it is not a simple task, but one which requires much time and effort. In addition, some requirements for general linguistic knowledge should be observed; for example, knowledge of clear and concise PA terminology in the mother tongue for better orientation in English PA terminology. These terms should include the English equivalents for the names of authorities and governing institutions (at least in neighboring countries). An analysis of the websites of authorities’ departments should be made, the structures of the authorities and governing institutions should be compared, and their similarities and different features should be found. An international PA vocabulary could help teachers of professional PA English. During lessons, the practical steps of using the international PA vocabulary should include finding names for PA departments in both English and the mother tongue; modeling working situations in English, when public servants communicate with citizens; and compiling easy-to-read documents using PA terminology. The ‘Social and Political Vocabulary’ course at the ISS at RANEPA should partially fulfill these tasks, and a vocabulary analysis of this course could be included as a part of the international PA vocabulary. This course should be improved and widened during the following year of study, taking into account the thorough analysis of students’ needs and purposes.

Active forms of teaching

As has been outlined, to develop the full proficiency of public servants one should develop their proficiency in foreign languages in four fields (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in line with modern technologies for teaching a foreign language. Among them are innovative methods and technologies: modular training technologies, business and role games, collective problem-solving, and group discussions. The programs of study for different PA profiles should be worked out in close cooperation with the teachers of profile disciplines. Teachers of English should also provide an opportunity for students to use special computer programs.

One of the most effective ways of developing language competencies is the case-study method. Students acquire all the above-mentioned competencies (listening, speaking, reading and writing) through thorough examination of particular cases (best practices). For better understanding of their future professional environment, teachers compare the best Russian versus European practices (mostly of neighboring countries). Thus, case studies may help undergraduates to avoid linguistic discrepancies in future. As Kareva (2013; 1477-1481) puts it, teachers may create an effective learning environment using the particular terminology for the case, so students will use an audience-centered language and provide reader-friendly documents for their future career. Feedback (after case studies) helps teachers and students to evaluate the effectiveness of the study, to understand clearly all the difficulties and discrepancies in problem-solving.

PA graduates need to possess fluent, concise and audience-focused writing skills as well as to understand government and the non-profit sector’s discourse community. Such forms as collective problem-solving and group discussions would be of great help to students in mastering communication skills. The main goal of applying all these forms is to encourage students to speak freely on a subject through setting clear communicative tasks.

Business and role games are also helpful for improving foreign-language competencies such as listening, speaking and reading, as well as professional competencies of PA servants such as team-work and collaboration. Learners demonstrate and deepen their understanding of discipline knowledge and skills, applying these to real-life professional situations and environments. Such games provide learners with opportunities for practice that result in a deeper understanding of the information obtained and the development of skills.

Problem-solving requires that learners formulate and propose solutions using the vocabulary and terms characteristic of the discipline of study. Problem-solving requires that learners understand ideas, ask and answer questions, convey their own ideas, and explain their thinking processes. Language competencies such as reading and writing are developed during problem-solving. This method can be combined with team-work which develops language skills such as, first of all, listening and speaking. Team-work also requires skills such as reading and understanding professional texts, and the ability to select the necessary information from a wide variety of sources including both written texts and visual media. Problem-solving develops skills such as writing letters for business correspondence, and using email and other types of communication. All this may help PA students to contribute effectively to group work and discussions, and to develop the writing competencies of PA students.

E-learning and online courses

Using e-learning technologies and digital media related to the discipline of study helps students to obtain the necessary information and ideas, solve problems, make up projects, communicate with each other on the actual topics, make homework, etc. In addition, it will help future public administrators to gain the necessary skills for real-life work, because digital means are becoming more and more popular in PA work and in work with citizens.

PA students will get good practice for their future work while taking part in online courses. The introduction of online courses into the process of teaching PA English at the ISS at RANEPA as a supplementary teaching method may be considered as a new direction in developing foreign- language competencies. Online courses are included into a general process of e-learning at the Academy. The courses are different as to their contents and depend on the specific study profile of an undergraduate or postgraduate student; for example, management, psychology, politology, regional studies, public relations, philology or journalism. The courses are created by teachers competent in various fields of study in close collaboration with English-language teachers. The themes of study and the vocabulary are chosen by the teachers of profile disciplines, and English-language teachers also contribute to compiling the programs. This form of work was applied at the ISS at RANEPA in 2017–2018 and was constantly being developed during 2018–2019. Online courses are created for areas of study at the ISS such as liberal arts, psychology, management, politology and some others. The necessary literature for students is given by the profile teachers, so the following two tasks are fulfilled: studying the theme of the profession and studying professional English by students in different specialities. One more important task is to help students to adapt to e-learning at university and to make their studies easier. Students utilize the technological tools and digital media relevant to their discipline of study to access information, process ideas, solve problems, manage projects and communicate during their studies. The results of the online work of a student are taken into consideration when giving marks for final exams, so special attention should be paid by the students to e-learning in general, and to online courses in particular.

Project design and students’ conferences

One should also mention such a form of language competencies development as project design, which is widely used at the ISS in the third and fourth courses of study. Writing a project design helps students to develop their competencies in several directions: it develops their creative activity and special competencies in the subject they learn; it helps in their research skills development and the development of their communicative skills; and, of course, it helps substantially in the development of foreign-language competencies, because the above-mentioned projects should be written in English. The results of the students’ researches are delivered at students’ conferences.

Examples of the projects carried out during the 2017–2018 year of study at ISS by the students of the public relations department include the following: ‘The use of mass-media in political and economic purposes: Manipulation by social opinion’, ‘Communication in the modern world’ and ‘Public relations in internal medium of organization’. The latest students’ conference of the ISS at RANEPA, which was held in March 2019, was ‘Global Challenges Forum ‘19’. The materials of the conferences are published at RANEPA. The authors of the best research works are awarded prizes.

The short course on academic writing is taught in the third year of study at the ISS at RANEPA to help students to use professional English when writing their research papers and making their project design. The Center of Academic Writing is based at the ISS at RANEPA. It is headed by Professor Irina Korotkina, a distinguished specialist in PA education and the author of many books on academic writing.

Exams are taken in all new parts of the programs. Questions on these areas of study are also included in general exams, and participation at conferences should also be taken into consideration when a teacher gives the final marks to every student for the whole year of study.

Results and points for practitioners

The aim of our research was to find out which components of the new programs of PA studies at the ISS at RANEPA could contribute to the development of foreign-language competencies of PA students. The principle ‘from theory to practice’ should be observed when compiling such programs because, as we know, former studies were based mainly on theoretical and historical texts about PA, which, although they helped a lot in the theoretical education of PA students, still could not help them in practical communication with each other and with citizens, and did not develop the practical skills necessary for their work as public servants.

First of all, the basis for studying a professional English language should be created. In our case such a basis was provided by the courses for the FCE (the first and second courses of study) and IELTS exam (the third and fourth courses of study) to provide uniformity in English language competencies development for all the students at the same level. It is important because all the students enter the Academy with different language competencies, so they need some common knowledge and skills to start with.

The necessity of a thorough analysis of students’ needs and a deeper analysis such as so-called ‘purpose mining’ should help in creating practical programs for every profile of the study and for students at different levels. Questionnaires concerning the needs analysis should be distributed among students in every speciality. Of course, it would be helpful to make the same analysis for potential employers of the students, but this is not so easy, so we used only the needs analysis of the ISS students of four specialities (liberal arts, psychology, management and politology). This analysis helped teachers to build programs for developing skills and competencies (reading, listening, writing and speaking) that were pointed out by the needs analysis of the students.

One more important thing following from the needs analysis results is the necessity for compiling programs in close collaboration with profile teachers who can help a language teacher to choose the topics for discussion and the appropriate vocabulary for every speciality. Profile teachers can also supply students and language teachers with a list of professional literature on different profiles of study.

We have found that the development of a professional foreign-language PA vocabulary is very important when teaching future public servants. After a thorough students’ needs analysis we reached the conclusion that, overall, an understanding of the main PA terms would help towards better cooperation between PA servants in Europe. The epoch of globalization and closer international communication in the 21st century requires the creation of an international PA English vocabulary and PA vocabularies in other languages. The course ‘Social and Political Vocabulary’ was created and introduced at the ISS at RANEPA, for every profile of study. It took approximately one-third of the whole program of study in every profile. The course ‘Social and Political Vocabulary’ created at the ISS at RANEPA may be considered a contribution to the international PA English vocabulary. In addition, the course will help students to develop all the above-mentioned English-language competencies for their practice while studying or working as PA servants.

Modern technologies for teaching a foreign language should be used during studies to make them closer to practice. Among them are modular training technologies, business and role games, collective problem-solving and group discussions. They are widely used at the ISS at RANEPA in line with e-learning technologies and digital media in all the disciplines of study. E-learning technologies help students to obtain the necessary information and ideas, solve problems, make up projects, communicate with each other on the actual topics and make homework, etc. They help future public administrators to gain the necessary skills for real-life work, because digital means are becoming more and more popular in PA work and in work with citizens. E-learning contributes a lot to the development of foreign-language competencies as part of the development of general proficiency competencies of PA servants, so at the ISS at RANEPA special attention is paid to the e-learning of students.

An example of e-learning is the creation of online courses for the different specialities of PA students in their third and the fourth courses of study at the Academy. They cover profiles of study such as liberal arts, psychology, management, politology and some others. Creating an effective learning environment and compiling the English programs of the courses is done in close collaboration with profile teachers. A list of obligatory and supplementary literature in English on all the subjects of study is also provided by profile teachers.

One more stage of work in the third and the fourth courses of study is project design work. Students are taught to carry out a research project, make up a project in English, and make a presentation at the students’ conferences of RANEPA, or at other conferences with an appropriate subject or topic. The course on academic writing helps students to obtain the skills necessary for presenting the results of their work.

Our research showed that the development of foreign-language competencies and the practice-oriented study of professional English at the ISS at RANEPA made it possible for PA students to be closer to the real-life goals of PA, to fulfill their PA tasks better after graduation from the Academy.

All new parts of the ESP programs at ISS will be included into the assessment procedure during the final exams, and the results will demonstrate the grade of students’ readiness for using English for communication purposes and for work with citizens in their future work as PA servants.

Conclusion

The main fundamental and applied results of the research, in our opinion, contribute to the creation of an educational and methodical base for the formation and development of the foreign-language professional competencies of students, undergraduates and postgraduates, studying at faculties of PA. The materials and the results of the research may be used by practitioners in PA and public policy education, which will make it possible to improve the quality of language training of future civil servants.

The potential use of the research is extensive. The results of this research may be used:

for methodological support of professional training of people who are going to hold positions of senior and higher civil service;

Further work for developing the foreign-language competencies of PA students should be done at the foreign-language departments of universities, and we hope that this research will contribute to it and help ESP teachers in other countries to create an effective learning environment for future public servants.