Adaptation of the content and methods of teaching chemical disciplines for foreign students of technical fields of training in a multilingual educational environment

Abstract

In the conditions of accelerated internationalization of higher technical education, a significant increase in the number of foreign students in Russian and post-Soviet universities necessitates a fundamental transformation of approaches to the teaching of chemical disciplines, which traditionally constitute the foundation of engineering training. The multilingual educational environment generates complex didactic challenges associated with the simultaneous overcoming of language barriers, terminological interferences between national nomenclatural traditions and the international IUPAC system, as well as the pronounced heterogeneity of incoming preparation among students from various geographical regions. Diagnostic data reveal significant disproportions in the mastery of key sections of general, inorganic, and analytical chemistry: the greatest difficulties are observed in the fields of chemical thermodynamics, kinetics, and electrochemistry, whereas the concepts of atomic structure and the periodic law demonstrate relatively greater accessibility, which correlates with the characteristics of national school curricula. Quantitative analysis covering students from Southeast Asia, Tropical Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and CIS countries demonstrates statistically significant differences in average scores (from 11.2 to 19.4 points out of 40), high variability of results (coefficient of variation up to 61,7% in the African cohort), and moderate correlation between the level of language competence and academic performance (r=0.54). Experimental testing of adaptive models, including content restructuring with an expanded propaedeutic component, the development of bilingual didactic materials with parallel terminological systems, modification of laboratory practicals, and the widespread implementation of interactive molecular structure visualizers, process animations, and infographics, confirms the high effectiveness of a comprehensive impact on the substantive, linguodidactic, and methodological aspects. The integrated model provides an increase in the average examination score by 0.97 points on a five-point scale, a reduction in the share of unsatisfactory results by 3.4 times (from 47,7 to 13,9%), and a pronounced equalizing effect manifested in a decrease in the standard deviation and cumulative positive dynamics of academic performance over two semesters, particularly noticeable among students with the weakest initial preparation. The application of non-verbal semiotic tools acquires special significance as they minimize dependence on verbal competence in understanding abstract chemical models and contribute to the formation of universal professional engineering competencies. The identified patterns substantiate the transition to differentiated educational trajectories with a multilevel module structure that accounts for regional specifics of pre-university experience and ensures an optimal zone of proximal development for each learner in a polycultural academic environment. This systemic approach not only enhances the quality of chemical preparation for foreign students in technical fields but also enriches the overall methodology of subject instruction in the context of globalized higher education, demonstrating the potential of integrating visualization, interlingual support, and adaptive didactic architecture to overcome cognitive and communicative barriers.