The expansion of foreign language programs in higher education institutions should not only increase students' language base, but also serve the strategic goals of universities and the state.
These views were expressed by Honored Teacher, former MP Sona Aliyeva in a statement to AzEdu.az.
According to her, today strong language preparation is no longer an additional advantage, but a basic condition for access to international competition:
“If the foreign language skills of students and faculty at the university are not strong enough, active participation in “Erasmus+” and other global exchange programs is also limited. This directly affects the international partnership opportunities of universities and their position in rankings. At the same time, the publication of articles by young researchers in prestigious scientific databases such as “Scopus” and “Web of Science”, their participation in international conferences and integration into the global academic environment also depend on foreign language knowledge.
In the modern world, not knowing English is not just a communication problem. This creates a serious intellectual limitation in education, science and the labor market. A large part of global scientific and technological information, innovations, programming languages and management models are primarily formed in English. A student who does not know this language often has to be content with literature that is late, outdated and limited in the local language.
Today, large holdings, international organizations, foreign companies and strategic departments of state institutions in Azerbaijan also require English as one of the main criteria. A graduate who does not know the language cannot compete in the labor market, falls behind in career advancement and often settles for lower-paying, technical executive positions. In this regard, teaching some specialized subjects, especially in areas such as ICT, data analytics, artificial intelligence, finance, law, medicine and engineering, in English is essential. But the main issue here is quality, not form.
Teaching subjects in a foreign language should not only aim to create the appearance of an “international program” on paper.
Especially in the field of technology and artificial intelligence, artificially translating terms into the local language sometimes weakens the essence of teaching. The student should learn these fields with international terminology so that tomorrow they can work in the global labor market, read foreign sources, join international projects and express themselves comfortably in a professional environment. A student who masters a specialized subject in English not only learns the language, but also learns to think, analyze, solve problems and manage projects in that language.
However, if this process is not structured correctly from a methodological point of view, it can have the opposite effect. If the faculty is not able to freely lecture, conduct discussions and answer students' questions in a foreign language, or if students' language level does not allow them to master these lessons, this means a decrease in the quality of education, not development.
Therefore, the transition to teaching in a foreign language in universities should not be carried out hastily and for the sake of appearance. First, strong “Foundation” (preparatory year) programs should be created, students' academic language base should be formed, and teachers' language competence should be confirmed with international certificates. If our universities want to enter the global academic environment, rise in international rankings, create joint laboratories, startup projects and dual degree programs with industry giants, they should approach the issue of foreign language not just as a subject, but as a strategic development tool.”
