Case, situation

The beneficial sides of using Case study in the Flipped Classroom to develop the communicative and professional competence of students.

In modern professional education ­of students of EMI, the case method is widely used study , or the method of specific ­situations (from English case - case, situation,is a method of active problem-situational analysis based on learning by solving specific problems and situations (cases). It was first used in the educational process at Harvard Law School -in 1870; the introduction of this method at the Harvard Business School began in 1920.

Currently the case method study is actively used in teaching a foreign language. The use of this method is most effective when teaching students of non-linguistic universities the language of business communication and the language of their specialty.
The purpose of the case method study is the analysis of a specific situation proposed by the teacher and additional information materials (using the potential of a group of students), the development of an optimal solution and its presentation to the audience. There is no single correct solution, so at the end of the presentations, the best solution can be chosen . The very process of analyzing the situation and finding a solution is of great value for teaching students. This method, as the German methodologist K. Nodari notes , allows students to analyze various real situations , focusing primarily on the application of practical skills and, thus, it is not a simple reproduction of previously obtained theoretical knowledge.
Work on a problem situation occurs in groups of students, and it can be divided into the following phases:
• analysis of the presented material, formulation of the problem;
• search and collection of additional information (if necessary);
• discussion of various options for ¬solving the problem;
• choosing the best solution based on a comparison of all proposed options ;
• presentation and defense of the solution.
Let's take a closer look at these phases.
Material analysis can be carried out with taking into account a specific issue or cover all aspects of the situation, depending on the -wording of the task. If the case is voluminous, then acquaintance with it occurs in advance in the form of independent work of students. When reading the information for the first time, the student should have a general impression of the subject of the case; it is important to understand the knowledge from which economic.
mic disciplines will help to solve the situation (viewing reading). When re-reading, it is proposed, using the skills of selective reading, to select the information that is necessary to solve the case, write out the basic concepts, names, numbers. Later, learners should focus their attention on processing in detail only the necessary information (reading with full coverage of the content), since cases are especially often given redundant information.
The search for additional information is rarely used, as it requires additional time. If one of the objectives of the case is to learn how to work with various sources of information, then this phase is necessary.
The discussion of various options for solving the problem takes place in groups (3-5 people). If the level of language training of students is high enough, then the discussion takes place in a foreign language, otherwise, in order to save time, the discussion can take place in their native language. The teacher controls this process.
Learning to lead a discussion , express one's point of view, argue, prove, object can take place in the classroom on the basis of small cases.
The presentation of the decision may be presented both orally and in writing. After the oral presentation, the teacher organizes a discussion of the presentation, directing it in the right direction with the help of questions.
The problem situation, depending on the purpose and objectives of training, can be formulated both briefly and be a text, the volume of which can vary from 0.5 to 3 pages. The main thing is that the situation should be actual, taken from the life of a real-life company. “There can be many cases, but for any of their varieties, working with them should teach students to analyze specific information, trace cause-and-effect relationships, highlight key problems and (or) trends in business processes.
All situations ( cases ) have a certain structure:
1) description of the situation (case);
2) assignments and questions for discussion;
3) applications with additional factual -information in the form of documents, photographs, graphs , tables, diagrams, etc.
One of the first to notice on the potential of the case method study in this area was David Cotton , author of the textbook series Market leader ".
However, it should be noted that, except for the textbook by David Cotton (English), there are actually no works on this problem on the educational literature market. The reason for this is the complex, time-consuming process of preparing a specific situation ( case ). A foreign language teacher must solve two problems: selecting a situation from the business world and methodological processing of this situation, i.e. adapting it to the needs of teaching a foreign language.
Answering the question of where to get specific situations (cases), Alexander Mikhailovich Zobov answers that “the best way to get specific situations is to give birth to them yourself”. Even for professionals teaching economic disciplines, this is not an easy task. For foreign language teachers, it would be more acceptable to use ready-made situations from textbooks on marketing, management (etc.) and didacticize them.
Applying the case method study makes high demands on the level of students' preparation. On the one hand, they must have certain knowledge of special subjects in order to solve the case , and on the other hand, they must speak a foreign language at the B2-C1 level.
Despite all the difficulties, the case method study has a number of advantages that have made it so popular in teaching a foreign language for business and professional communication.
Using the method of specific situations allows:
• take into account the professional and personal interests and needs of students, their individual psychological characteristics ;
• control knowledge;
• apply all forms of classroom work of students: individual, pair, group, frontal;
• develop all types of speech ¬activity: reading (review, selective, detailed), speaking (monologic, dialogical speech), writing (planning, writing an essay, etc.), listening and translation ;
• to carry out interdisciplinary communications;
• stimulate the creative activity of students;
• to form various competencies necessary for students in their future professional life .
Today, the question that the training of specialists in any field should be carried out on a new conceptual basis within the framework of a comptentative approach.
From the point of view of the competency based approach , the method of specific situations forms and develops a number of “key competencies ” .
The modern interpretation of the concept of " communicative competence" implies its complex structure, which includes linguistic, subject, socio-cultural, strategic, methodological competences .
Linguistic (linguistic) competence is defined as “the potential of a person’s linguistic (linguistic) knowledge used for communication ”.
As noted above, using the case method study assumes that students have certain basic knowledge of the language. When forming linguistic competence through the case method study , much attention is paid to work on the vocabulary and grammatical structures of the language of business and professional communication. The main emphasis should be placed on the pragmatic aspect of texts in the specialty. One of the tasks of professionally oriented education is the formation of students' ability to create logically connected written and oral texts corresponding to a certain situation of communication . Case method study allows you to successfully solve this problem. In the light of the development of the communicative competence of students, more attention should be paid to the structure, logic of constructing texts.
In connection with the foregoing, the question arises of what kind of speech actions should be practiced in the classroom in a foreign language of business and professional communication in order to develop the communicative and professional competence of students. We propose to limit the number of such actions to the main ones most often found in texts on the specialty:
- present factual material, state ¬your point of view;
- define;
- explain, interpret;
- argue, prove;
- generalize;
- classify;
- draw conclusions.
This list can be supplemented taking into account the features of a particular text. To present the results and participate in the discussion , it is necessary to train students:
- approve;
- make assumptions, put forward hypotheses;
- express doubts;
- to challenge the point of view of the opponent, to ¬object;
- justify your opinion;
- express agreement with the point of view of the ¬opponent;
- recommend;
- express fears, warn against negative consequences.
The teacher should pay special attention to the language structures used in speech actions, noting their specificity for the language of business communication. For example, after reading the text and understanding it, reproductive exercises can follow, aimed at conveying the main content of what has been read, while the student’s choice of one or another speech action must be conscious. Using case studies requires some planning and preparation but can be an exciting method in the language-learning classroom. Students are more actively engaged when solving a problem than when just reading a text and answering questions. The method allows EFL learners to practice different types of language skills in communicative situations and combine linguistic skills with analytical and/or interpersonal skills. In addition, the case-study method is highly adaptable in terms of topic areas, complexity of content, linguistic difficulty, and length. If necessary, teachers can write their own simple cases or create more-complex case studies in collaboration with colleagues who teach specific subject areas. Students themselves can create original case studies as a way to relate the method to their own interests and experiences