No 4 (2016)

This paper attempts to analyze modern approaches to training to read and to emphasize the approaches used with a beneficial effect on shaping the strategic competence in training to read for specific purposes. Within this subject, four approaches are considered, including a communicative active approach, specific purpose approach, reflexive approach and cognitive communicative approach. The strategic competence in the process of training to read for specific purposes is defined as a personal ability to use the range of means/actions based on the obtained knowledge and skills in order to understand the idea of a text. The strategic competence is based on knowledge, skills and abilities to use educational strategies for mastering competences in speech and language and also communicative strategies, knowledge of psycho-cognitive characteristics of students in technical higher education schools. The process of training to read foreign texts for specific purposes should be based on the cognitive communicative approach where the process of reading is considered to be an intellectual process. Here two aspects are of particular importance: the way readers state the idea of a text and the information they receive from it. Shaping the strategic competence in the process of training to read for specific purposes improves the skills of mature reading skills, lexical and grammar skills, digestion and conferment of knowledge, and intellectual development of students. The main principles of training within cognitive communication approach lie in conscious teaching that makes students flexible when choosing the strategies for reading texts for specific purposes. Reading strategy is a targeted and regulated sequence of definite actions of a person, which achieves the desired results in reading. When guiding students in choosing proper strategies, one should consider reading mechanisms that function during the perception, prediction and comprehension of the information. The study proves that the process of shaping the strategic competence needs to be based on inquisitive reading, with an account for psycho-linguistic models of the reading process development. The range of strategies depends upon the reading tasks. During inquisitive reading, a student pays attention to the detailed perception of a text, thus preparing oneself for the intuitive perception of the text form and detailed understanding of the content. Thus, this methodology is based on the cognitive communicative approach, where reading mechanisms are regarded in accordance with intellectual processes occurring in students’ minds during comprehension and extraction of the proper information from texts for specific purposes.

The paper is devoted to the way the concept of general cultural competency is interpreted by the Federal State Education Standards of Higher Education. General cultural competency of a graduate is regarded as one of the learning outcomes and as a crucial factor of the student’s personality development. The author addresses the description of the outcomes arising from mastering major educational programs, covering diverse profiles and levels of vocational training. The aim pursued is to reveal the way these results correspond to the requirements to train a new type specialist characterized not only by high professional qualities but also by general personal culture and educated behavior. The author points at some shortcomings linked with the description of the results of educational activity in terms of general cultural competency, testifying to a low degree of standardization of these results postulated by the Federal State Education Standards. Since the 3+ generation standards eliminate the exposed shortcomings only partially, there is a hope that they will be completely eradicated by the 4th generation of the federal standards. The author agrees with the optimistic view shared by the scientific and pedagogical community on the advances in reforming Russian higher education. The author believes that the existence of the revealed problems accompanying the introduction of the Federal State Education Standards, in particular those concerning the description of the results of the educational activity in terms of general cultural competency, shall not question the very possibility and necessity of such a description. This situation can only testify to the complexity of the described object and point at the necessity of thorough revision of the conceptual apparatus used within the Federal Standards. The idea that modern higher vocational education is as inconceivable without its general cultural component the same way efficient personality development is impossible without personal culture development, remains unaltered.

The article concentrates on the criteria development problems related to assessing students’ translations in the process of their education; examines the methods of evaluation applied by various scholars. Many attempts have been made over the last fifty years to analyse and assess translation quality ranging from Naida and the analysis of the final product to Darbelnet’s identification of nine parameters according to which the quality of a translation should be assessed, and from Vermeer’s skopos theory to evaluation through discourse analysis by Bensoussan and Rosenhose. The article examines several models, which have been created by institutional organisations: the Canadian Language Quality Measurement System (Sical) developed by the Canadian government’s Translation Bureau, ATA (American Translators Association) has developed a scheme, which includes twenty-two error types , Blackjack, developed by the British translation agency ITR containing 21 error categories etc. The article deals with the problem of translation error classifications, the author reviews existing classifications and points out a challenging task of identifying error types in students’ imperfect translations works.

The study discusses the issues related to the analysis of current trends in education using e-learning and distance learning technologies and describes the goals and objectives of the portal «Education in Russian», one of the largest domestic online distance learning platforms designed by Pushkin State Russian Language Institute. The author considers the experience of implementing additional vocational programs in the field of teaching Russian as a foreign language within the distance learning portal «Education in Russian» and gives an outline of new online vocational programs on topical methodological issues of teaching Russian as a foreign language. The paper presents the results of the research conducted among the participants of professional retraining programs. The study involved analysis, synthesis, and statistical methods. The results of this study show a high demand for online programs of additional vocational education among Russian teachers in Russia and abroad. The paper includes a list of Russian regions and foreign countries that are represented among active participants of retraining and vocational training programs. The study results show that the students of the «Education in Russian» portal are very much interested in mastering distance vocational programs devoted to the proposed issues, obtaining new competences and improving skills in the theory and practice of teaching Russian language using e-learning technologies. The development of distance education using the resources of the portal «Education in Russian» requires further development and implementation of programs of additional vocational training for Russian and foreign teachers of Russian language and literature. The task of expanding the list of distance programs with up-to-date content requires involving highly qualified teachers, experts and specialists through the development of mechanisms to motivate groups of authors, based on the best Russian and foreign practices.

The popularity of streetball is increasing every day. The game features high speed and a wide variety of attacking and defending actions. A streetball game played on small area places special demands on the technical, tactical, psychological and physical fitness of the players. Players need to have a universal skill set and be ready to act as a playmaker, a striker or a centre. Therefore, for greater efficiency, training and improvement of technical-tactical actions (TTD) is parallel to mastering the technical and tactical interactions. The paper determines semester structure in the annual training of student basketball players. It includes the following mesocycles: retractor, basic, precompetitive, competitive and recovery-support and four-week schedule for training students for competitions, where special attention is paid to improving speed, coordination abilities and tactical interactions. Experimental learning technology allows us to create the conditions for a step-by-step development of autonomous modules, implement interim control coinciding with the completion of each module. It also allows giving more attention to the quality development of technical and tactical techniques (TTP), specific actions in streetball through consistent training, highlighting priority elements in technique and tactics. Applying modular technology in training sessions enables basketball players to improve the performance of TTD and competitive-gaming activity via special exercises. It has an overall positive impact on the quality of the training process, allows us to focus on the structure of learning material and design a training program.

The paper studies modern approaches to assessing physical fitness of university students. Physical fitness indicators demonstrate the impact physical education makes on the health condition of students. Teachers’ control of physical abilities of students ensures high quality of the teaching and learning process. Immediate access to current information concerning physical fitness of students allows the teachers to make timely adjustments. The aim of the study is to develop the criteria to assess physical fitness of male students of Nizhnevartovsk State University. The study is based on the following methods: review, testing, mathematical statistics and graphical representations of material. The study involved 209 female students of non-sports faculties of Nizhnevartovsk State University. We analyzed the state of physical fitness using a wide range of tests. Based on the results, we identified result distribution trends inside each group of students. The tests showed a good level of speed and strength abilities, flexibility, as well as above-average coordination. However, the strength of the upper shoulder muscles was poorly manifested. The data helped us to determine the criteria to assess individual physical fitness of students, which will allow improving the teaching and learning activities at the University.

The purpose of this work is to study the competitive activity of highly qualified biathletes via analyzing the racing and shooting components of their qualification. In order to identify the significance of racing and shooting component in the final sports result, we have analyzed the correlation between the final sports result (the placement in the race) and indicators of competitive activity of highly skilled biathletes. The analysis is based on technical protocols («SIWI-DATA») of the Biathlon World Cup 2015-2016. The results showed that the contribution of the racing and shooting components in the final result in various distances is uneven in its level and manifestation. The contribution of the racing and shooting components in various competitive programs depends on both physical abilities and functional mechanisms of sportsmen, but also on external weather factors, thus predetermining their selective impact. Therefore, in order to achieve high results biathletes must have equally good racing and shooting qualification and be able to use them in accordance with the competitive conditions.