The thesis deals with the actual problem of formation of sociocultural competence of future navigators of international voyages in the process of studying social and humanitarian disciplines. It is emphasized that nowadays the institutions of higher maritime education face the problem of improving the quality of professional training of graduates to the level of international standards, in particular, professional English language training. This will contribute to the development of the sociocultural competence of future navigators of international voyages, who will work in a multicultural and multilingual environment.
It is stated that the growing needs for communication and cooperation between countries and people with different languages and cultural traditions require significant changes to the approach of teaching, updating the content, forms, methods and means of training in the institutions of higher maritime education. It has been reflected in a number of international and domestic normative legal documents. The current state of sociocultural training of specialists has been studied and summarized in the thesis. The peculiarities of the professional training of future navigators of international voyages have been revealed (saturation of the contents of social and humanitarian disciplines with sociocultural information; in-depth study of the English language of professional orientation and the formation of the ability to intercultural communication in the multicultural environment; the use of special modern methods and means in the educational process that simulate the real conditions of professional activity).
The definitions of the basic concepts of the research have been defined: sociocultural competence, sociocultural competence of future navigators of international voyages. The sociocultural competence of future navigators of international voyages is interpreted as an integrative entity that includes a combination of sociocultural knowledge (including a foreign language), abilities, skills, experience and personal qualities that provide the ability of future navigators to work in the intercultural field, solve professional tasks in a multicultural environment effectively, avoid ethnic conflicts.
The structure of sociocultural competence of future navigators of international voyages has been determined. It includes the following components: a communicative component that includes language competence, spoken competence, strategic competence; sociocultural component, which includes ethnographic competence, linguistic-ethnographic competence, sociolinguistic competence; personal qualities that ensure the ability of specialists to work in the intercultural field, effectively solve professional problems in the multicultural environment, and avoid ethnic conflicts.
Key words: formation, sociocultural competence, future navigators of international voyages, social and humanitarian disciplines, professional training, pedagogical conditions.
