DEVELOPING EMPATHY AS A FLEXIBLE SKILL IN FUTURE JOURNALISTS IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING ENGLISH
Abstract
This article examines the pedagogical potential of English language teaching in the context of purposeful development of empathy as a soft skill in students majoring in Journalism. The relevance of the study is determined by the increasing demands of the media industry for affective and communicative competencies of specialists, as well as the insufficient development of methodological foundations for integrating emotionally oriented instruction into foreign language training of future journalists. The article analyzes theoretical concepts of empathy in psychology and pedagogy and considers its place in the system of transferable skills of a media professional. The relationship between foreign language communication, intercultural competence, and the development of empathic thinking is identified. The methodological tools of the study are described, including diagnostic procedures, assessment rubrics, and performance-based assessment technologies. The results of a pedagogical experiment conducted at a language university are presented, demonstrating a statistically significant increase in empathy indicators among students of the experimental group. The pedagogical conditions, methodological techniques, and formats of instructional tasks most effectively contributing to the development of empathy in foreign language education are discussed. The conclusion is drawn that the purposeful inclusion of empathy-generating practices in the English course for journalism students is a theoretically grounded and practically effective pedagogical solution.