The impact of microlearning strategies on the dynamics of developing foreign-language terminological competence in students of non-philological specialties

Abstract

In the context of the ongoing transformation of the educational space and the increasing requirements for the professional communicative training of specialists in non-philological fields, the issue of effective development of foreign-language terminological competence is becoming particularly significant. Traditional approaches to teaching foreign languages in higher education institutions often fail to ensure an adequate level of acquisition of professional vocabulary due to limited instructional time and the large volume of specialized terminology. Objective. The purpose of the study is to provide a theoretical justification and experimental verification of the effectiveness of microlearning strategies in the process of developing foreign-language terminological competence among students of non-philological specialties. Research methods. To achieve this goal, a комплекс of general scientific and pedagogical methods was employed, including the analysis and generalization of scientific sources on the development of professional lexical competence, comparative analysis of didactic approaches to organizing the educational process, modeling the structure of foreign-language terminological competence development, a pedagogical experiment aimed at verifying the effectiveness of microlearning strategies, as well as statistical processing of students’ academic performance results. Results. Within the framework of the study, a comparative analysis of traditional and micromodular approaches to organizing foreign language learning for students of non-philological specialties was carried out. Based on the obtained results, a model for developing foreign-language terminological competence was designed. The model involves a sequential integration of micro-modules including terminology introduction, contextualization of lexical units, interactive micro-exercises, repetition, and the integration of professional vocabulary into communicative practice. The conducted pedagogical experiment demonstrated a positive dynamic in the acquisition of professional terminology among students of the experimental group where microlearning strategies were applied. The obtained results confirmed an increase in the level of foreign-language terminological competence, manifested in higher accuracy in the use of professional vocabulary and faster vocabulary acquisition. Conclusions. The study proves that the use of microlearning strategies contributes to the optimization of the process of developing foreign-language terminological competence among students of non-philological specialties. Structuring educational material into short modules combined with interactive exercises and systematic revision ensures more effective acquisition of professional vocabulary and its integration into foreign-language communication practice. The proposed micromodular learning model can be implemented in the practice of foreign language teaching in higher education institutions in order to enhance the effectiveness of forming professionally oriented communicative competences.