The development of emotional intelligence of psychology students while teaching a foreign language

Emotional intelligence plays an important role in the development of students’ communication skills. The ability to recognize one’s emotions and other people’s feelings is one of the factors required for effective interpersonal interaction. The article discusses the components of emotional intelligence (awareness of one’s emotions, managing them, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others and handling relationships) identified by Peter Salovey and John Mayer, as well as explains its importance for learning a foreign language. The results of the study obtained on the basis of an analysis of the theoretical aspects of this problem and the application of empirical methods such as observation, discussion, assessment, etc. confirm that a high level of emotional intelligence contributes to more effective learning of a foreign language, increasing students’ motivation and interest, the development of skills necessary for effective intercultural communication. Psychology students need a high level of emotional intelligence not only for personal communication, but also for their future professional activities, so special attention should be given to the development of emotional competence while studying all disciplines, including a foreign language. As a result of the study, a set of exercises was developed in order to increase psychology students’ emotional intelligence while teaching English. The ability to recognize and describe one’s emotions, understand the feelings of other people, formulate one’s point of view, respect the opinions of interlocutors, express agreement / disagreement and maintain friendlycommunication in English are necessaryfor the development of professional foreign language competence of psychology students.