PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH TO STUDENTS OF TOURISM FACULTIES

Abstract

The present article examines the psychological and pedagogical foundations of teaching English to students specializing in tourism studies. In contemporary higher education, the growing integration of international tourism and intercultural communication has increased the necessity of professionally oriented foreign language instruction. The research analyzes the role of psychological factors such as motivation, communicative anxiety, cognitive activity, and professional interest in the process of mastering English for specific purposes. Furthermore, pedagogical approaches including communicative language teaching, competency-based education, task-based learning, and interactive instructional technologies are investigated as effective mechanisms for developing students’ professional communicative competence. The article emphasizes that tourism students require not only linguistic knowledge but also intercultural, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic competencies necessary for professional interaction in multilingual environments. The study is based on theoretical analysis, comparative methodology, and the examination of contemporary educational practices in foreign language teaching. The findings demonstrate that psychologically supportive educational environments combined with professionally oriented pedagogical methods significantly improve students’ communicative abilities, professional readiness, and academic motivation. The article concludes that integrating psychological and pedagogical principles into English language instruction contributes to the formation of competitive tourism specialists capable of effective communication in international professional contexts.