STEM-Oriented Foreign Language Teaching: An Experimental Study of Engineering Students in Turkmenistan

Abstract

The aim of the research is to analyse the role of the STEM approach in the formation of students’ foreign language competence and determine its impact on the development of professionally oriented language skills and motivation. The methodology is based on a quasi-experimental design using mixed data collection methods (testing, questionnaires, observation). The participants were 64 business informatic students, divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental programme combined English language learning with STEM components, including project tasks, digital tools, authentic materials, and elements of research. Statistical analysis of the results allowed for an objective assessment of the approach effectiveness and displayed the influence of STEM integration on learning outcomes. The main results showed that students in the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in lexical competence, communication skills and internal motivation. A positive correlation was found between the increase in language knowledge and motivation, which indicated the interconnection between cognitive and affective factors in learning. The conclusions emphasised that the STEM approach was an effective means of improving the quality of English language teaching for special purpose, promoting the integration of theoretical and practical knowledge, the development of critical thinking, collaboration, digital literacy, and cultivating key competencies for the 21st century in order to ensure modernisation of foreign language teaching in higher education.