Emma Yu. Ogorodnikova

Relevance of the study is determined by the need to train physicians for professional activity in the context of digital transformation of healthcare, which requires new pedagogical technologies integrating the development of soft skills into foreign language training. The discipline “Foreign Language” has significant didactic potential for developing meta-subject competences, but traditional methods do not fully realize this potential and fail to account for the current trends in digitalization of education. The aim of the article is to theoretically substantiate and experimentally verify the effectiveness of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (ELT) in foreign language training of medical students for the targeted development of soft skills. The study is based on D. Kolb’s empirical cycle. An original pedagogical technology has been developed, combining the four-phase ELT model with digital tools, artificial intelligence elements, and gamification. The experiment was conducted at Pacific State Medical University in the period from September 2025 to February 2026 with the participation of 35 second-year students (experimental group – 17 students, control group – 18 students). The level of soft skills development was assessed by three independent experts using a standardized assessment battery. In the experimental group, a statistically significant increase in soft skills was recorded: average gain of 28.2% versus 7.3% in the control group (p < 0.01), with the highest dynamics in “self-management” (+31.7%) and “effective thinking” (+28.9%). Foreign language communicative competence in the experimental group improved by 38.7% on the lexico-grammatical test, by 43.1% in oral speech, and by 47.3% in written speech (in the control group – no more than 20%). The level of subjective satisfaction of students in the experimental group with the applied technology was 94.1%. Scientific novelty lies in the substantiation and testing of a model that combines the phase structure of Kolb’s cycle with digital tools, AI, and gamification, which makes it possible to purposefully form meta-subject competences of preservice physicians in a digital foreign language environment. Theoretical significance consists in expanding scientific understanding of the integration of digital didactic tools into the Experiential Learning Theory model in the context of medical education; the combination of personalization, micro learning, artificial intelligence and gamification with the phase structure of Kolb’s cycle has been substantiated. Practical significance is expressed in the creation of a reproducible didactic construct that can be adapted for foreign language training of medical students, as well as used in other disciplines and fields of study for the systematic development of soft skills.