Despite the quarantine restrictions in the recent past and the current full-scale war, which has limited the opportunity to act, to socialize fully, the educational process continues, although it requires appropriate innovations and concrete changes. The question of the formation of soft skills, which are the basis for full-fledged development and successful self-realization in further education, remains relevant. These are a kind of universal skills that are characteristically manifested in activities. Soft skills are on the same level as professional skills and are necessary for employment and effective work.
Job Search and Career Expert, A. Doyle, states that “soft skills are non-technical skills that relate to how you work. They include how you interact with colleagues, how you solve problems, and how you manage your work” [6]. She believes that “soft skills include interpersonal (people) skills, communication skills, listening skills, time management, problem-solving, leadership, and empathy, among others. They are among the top skills employers seek in the candidates they hire because soft skills are important for just about every job” [6].
H. Pyrozhok brings some information about the background of the problem of soft skills and affirms that “such skills should be defined as a collective term uniting universal, functional competencies, the formation of which allows one to be successful regardless of the specifics of a person’s activity” [3, p. 29]. It has been suggested that “in the era of digitalization, the ability to learn continuously, the desire of self-developing and constant improving one’s knowledge and professional skills should become the main skill of soft ones” [1, p. 147].
It should be noted that the majority of higher as well as professional pre-higher educational establishments make regulations on the policy of soft skills development [4; 5]. These regulations specify the main directions and tasks of soft skills development. Educational establishments support the recommendations of the World Economic Forum regarding the development of soft skills and believe that the dominant idea of the concept of soft skills formation is “the creation of the so-called “emotional intelligence” of the students who are able not only to acquire professional competences, but also to form: social and communicative abilities (communication skills; interpersonal skills; group work; leadership; cooperation; social intelligence; responsibility; ethics of communication; building relationships; ability to work in a team and express one’s own opinion); cognitive skills (critical thinking; problem-solving skills; innovative thinking; intellectual workload management; self-education skills; information skills; time management); personal qualities and components of emotional intelligence (emotional intelligence; honesty; optimism; stress tolerance; punctuality; flexibility; creativity; motivation; empathy). It is obvious that none of the skills are mutually exclusive, and the planned development of each category of soft skills contributes to the professional success of young specialists positively” [4].
Time management is a time management technique including rules and principles that help a person to organize his/her time properly and achieve maximum efficiency in any business. Time management is based on several principles, among which we define the following key ones:
- setting the correct goal – it allows you to focus on one thing, but it must be achievable and realistic;
- motivation – the desire to save time and satisfy primary needs;
- effectiveness – this technique helps to do more things in a shorter time, under the terms of correct distribution and use of time [2].
It is clear that time management skills help students overcome difficulties preventing them from completing tasks in time. At the meetings of the scientific group “English in Intercultural Communication” of Kherson State Agrarian and Economic University we actively discuss the matter of soft skills in general and the principles of time management in particular. So, for example, working with the text “Top Five Study Tips” [7] contributes to the development of self-knowledge, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills, on the one hand. Moreover, the students come across some peculiar language structures that emphasize the concept of “emotional intelligence” such as: get creative, socialize and relax, get motivated, plan your time, etc.
Future studies could fruitfully explore this issue further by analyzing English texts language structures of which reflect cognitive skills, for instance.
References:
1. Бахмат Н. В. Розвиток soft skills здобувачів початкової освіти в умовах інклюзії. Вісник Черкаського національного університету імені Богдана Хмельницького. Серія «Педагогічні науки». 2022. Вип. 1. С. 144–152.
2. Кандагура К. С., Трунова В. Д. Навички тайм-менеджменту – soft чи hard skills? URL: https://www.economy-confer.com.ua/full-article/3434/ (дата звернення: 20.08.2023).
3. Пирожок Г. Ю. Значущість soft skills для формування особистості здобувача передвищої освіти в умовах військового стану. Педагогічні науки. 2022. Вип. 100. С. 28–33.
4. Положення про формування soft skills в учасників освітнього процесу Харківського національного педагогічного університету імені Г.С. Сковороди. URL: http://hnpu.edu.ua/sites/default/files/files/Normat_dokum/Piojenn/Formuvanya_soft_skills.pdf (дата звернення: 24.08.2023).
5. Положення щодо політики розвитку soft skills через систему професійного розвитку у Чернівецькому медичному фаховому коледжі. URL: https://www.medkol.cv.ua/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/75 (дата звернення 24.08.2023).
6. Doyle A. What Are Soft Skills? The Balance. URL: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-are-soft-skills-2060852 (дата звернення: 23.08.2023).
7. Top Five Study Tips. URL: https://zno.osvita.ua/english/149/ (дата звернення: 23.08.2023).
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