CINEMA AS A VISUAL CLINICAL LABORATORY IN THE METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES TO FUTURE PSYCHOLOGISTS

Abstract

The article substantiates the relevance of integrating authentic audiovisual content into the educational process of training future psychologists within the discipline of “English for Specific Purposes”. The author proves that in the era of globalisation of professional education, the use of psychologically driven motion pictures ceases to be an auxiliary tool and becomes a fundamental necessity. Cinematography is seen as a unique linguistic space where professional terminology is intertwined with deep emotional subtext and non-verbal signals, allowing students not only to master vocabulary but also to develop professional intuition and empathy. It has been determined that feature psychological films serve as a “visual clinical laboratory” for diagnostic observation and critical thinking. Particular attention is paid to the methodological development of the author’s column ‘Psychology in Cinema’ for the future textbook “English for Specific Purposes: Psychology”. The author has selected several iconic films (“The Wife”, “Experimenter”, “Girl, Interrupted”, “Exam”, “Good Will Hunting”) and classified them according to psychological, linguistic, ethical and deontological criteria. The article focuses on the development of a three-stage methodology for working on the feature film “Coda: Life with Music”. The content of the pre-viewing, viewing and post-viewing stages is described. The author argues that students should watch the film independently beforehand to reduce emotional tension, adapt linguistically, and free up classroom time for more intensive conversational practice. It has been proven that the proposed approach helps to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real psychological practice, forming the professional communicative competence of future specialists. The conclusions outline prospects for further research, including empirical testing of the effectiveness of the developed textbook and the implementation of artificial intelligence tools to create interactive observation protocols.