Keyword: «theory of generations»

Effective educational process requires clear and precise vision either of its social background and development tendencies or of the student as its subject. Contemporary university students differ greatly from those ones involved in similar training 20-30 years ago. Therefore, the above-mentioned fact could be viewed as one of the most effective resources in finding the way to more efficient education. So we addressed to the theory of generations by Neil Howe and William Strauss described in the Fourth Turning theory. In this article the theory of generations is shortly presented. More than that, the article also portrays psychological features of today students as representatives of Y and Z generations. At the same time it presents practical approach to considering these features in the educational process of teaching English at engineering departments in Petrozavodsk State University.

Formation of common cultural competences of a modern student has a number of features. It is connected with the fact that at present young people are a product of "a digital era". The modern youth is quite often called "Z Generation". The article deals with the features of representatives of this generation and provides recommendations concerning the organization of educational process according to these features.

The article examines certain provisions of the theory of generations by Neil Howe. Particular attention is paid to the process of the formation of behavior and social-communicative interaction of people of different generations, including "digital natives". The issues of using the digital educational environment tools are considered separately, taking into account the current vectors of transformations associated with the peculiarities of higher mental functions in modern students.