V. Kasyanova
Kootenai State University named after A.Baitursynov, Kazakhstan
Innovative technologies of teaching a foreign language at non-language
faculties
Analyzing the problems which teachers of foreign languages at
non-language faculties face today, we can say that with the requirements of the
curriculum of teaching a foreign language and a minimum number of hours devoted
to it, preparation of specialists speaking a foreign language fluently is
virtually impossible. In practice,
it often turns out that most of the students studying at non-language faculties
are unready not only to communicate in a foreign language but even, at times,
do not have the necessary vocabulary minimum and do not know the basic rules of
grammar. A.E. Niyazov
believes that the intensification of students’ speech activity is
advantageously carried out at the motivational-incentive and orienting-research
stages, since it is here the difficulties which prevent speech acts appear [3].
These difficulties are the following:
- students do not have a motive that prompts them to
foreign language speech activities;
- they are
often poorly oriented in the subject on which they have to speak;
- students do
not possess the structure of verbal expressions;
- they lack
the vocabulary with which they can build verbal expressions.
Activization of students’ educational and speech activities on the
motivation - incentive stage is associated with the call of the motive to
speak. A person says when he feels the need to express his thoughts, that is,
feels the need of verbal comprehension of reality, finding himself in the
subject of speaking - of thought, which becomes a communicative - cognitive
motive. Increasing educational and speech activity
of students on the orienting-investigative stage presupposes that students
perform research of the conditions of teaching and speech activity, allocate
the subject of speech - thoughts, attract the necessary language and speech facilities. Students
make the choice of means and determine the methods of forming and formulating
their own thoughts in the process of educational communication.
During a limited period of time it is possible to teach
students to speak a foreign language on the problems of their specialty and
understand it by ear, combining traditional and innovative methods. The study
of features of a scientific oral speech must take into account the most recent
data of methodological and psychological sciences, on the one hand, and the
peculiarities of the language of the specialty, on the other.
The
current stage of the development of domestic methodology is characterized by an
increased interest in the use of the method of projects, particularly in
teaching a foreign language, since it helps to integrate students' knowledge
from different areas and gives them the opportunity to apply this knowledge in
practice when they are solving some problem.
V.V.
Kopylova gives the following definition of the method of projects:
"targeted independent activities of students carried out under a flexible
guidance of a teacher, aimed at solving a research or socially significant
pragmatic problem and getting concrete results in the form of the material or
ideal product" [1; 50-51]. According to
V. Kopylova, the project method is the most adequate technology of the
learner-centered education, which makes it possible to use modern axiological
and cultural approaches, to strengthen pedagogical support, socialization, to
involve a student in a variety of environments as well as a student-oriented
situation. In addition, the usage of this method allows to get real practical
results in the form of presentation on the computer, wall - paper, collage,
film, video clips, report, etc. As a result, students’ motivation increases.
The method of projects involves the combination of individual
independent activities with the work in collaboration, in small groups, in the
team. When teaching foreign languages it is mainly the work with a variety of
sources of information, using search and research techniques to identify
different students’ points of view on the matter under consideration, as well
as to formulate their own, summarize the collected material and present it in a
clear, aesthetically meaningful form.
E.S.Polat has become one of the initiators of implementation in practice
of teaching foreign languages the method of projects. She stated that the
project method is the gist of developing, student-centered learning that can be
used at any stage of training. [4] She identifies the following skills that
contribute to a successful mastery of project activities:
1) intellectual (the ability to work with the
information, text: to highlight the main idea, to search for information,
analyze it, summarize, draw a conclusion, etc., the ability to work with a variety of reference materials);
2) creative (the ability to generate ideas, which
require knowledge in different fields, the ability to find not one, but several
ways of solving problems, the ability to predict the consequences of the
decision);
3) communicative (the ability to debate, to listen and
hear the other party, to defend own point of view, backed up by arguments, the
ability to find a compromise with the interlocutor, the ability to concisely
express thoughts.
By
nature of the final product of project activities N.F. Koryakovtseva identifies
the following types of projects in the field of learning a foreign language:
1) constructive and pragmatic projects. For example, a
diary of observations, the development of the situation of the communication;
2) role-playing projects. For example, acting out
situations, dramatization of events, writing students' own plays;
3) information and research projects;
4) projects of a specific case study;
5) publishing projects, for example, an article in the
newspaper;
6) scenario projects;
7) creative projects, for example, the translation
of poems into students' native or foreign language. [2]
Project method forms students' communication skills, culture, the
ability concisely and audibly formulate thoughts, be tolerant to the opinion of
partners in communication and develops the ability to extract information from
a variety of sources, to process it with the help of modern technologies. All
these factors create a language environment that results in the appearance of
the natural need to interact in a foreign language.
Project-based learning does not contradict the traditional ways of
learning. It helps to stir up students since most of them are interested in
acquiring new knowledge. The main
purpose of the use of this technology is the ability to effectively master students'
foreign communicative competence. It includes the following concepts:
- verbal competence is creating the opportunity of
manifestation of communicative skills in all forms: listening, speaking,
writing, reading, translation within a specific topic;
- socio-cultural competence is the formation of ideas
about the social and cultural specificity of the target language;
- linguistic competence is students' acquisition of
lexical units relating to the topic as a necessary basis for registration of
speaking abilities;
- educational and cognitive competence is the
improvement of educational activity in mastering foreign languages;
- compensatory competence is the formation of skills
of overcoming difficult situations in a shortage of linguistic resources.
Besides, the method of projects forms informational competence which
manifests the ability to work independently with reference books, find
necessary information in various sources, and see links with other branches of
knowledge. Moreover, project-based learning contributes to enhancing students'
personal confidence, developing a "team spirit" and communication
skills; providing a mechanism for critical thinking, the ability to find ways
of solving problems and developing
students' research skills.
Using the project methodology is one
of the components of the educational process, as students with different levels
of the language training are involved in the work according to their
capabilities. It is a unique opportunity for a truly communicative language
teaching. The work on the project not only enables the use of a foreign
language at the level of real communication when discussing the progress of the
project, the results, but it also allows the teacher to improve certain aspects
of teaching language speech etiquette.
This technique teaches communication, the ability to use grammatical structures
and makes students not fear to speak a foreign language.
The project technology is effective
and exciting for teachers because it helps to open up the most creative
students who can be successfully involved in the research work. Of course, the
project is not a panacea for all problems, but it is a step forward in teaching
a foreign language. Today, the variety of training options allows the teacher to select and
plan the teaching process on any model, but a pedagogically competent expert
cannot be without a study of the vast arsenal of innovative ideas and
technologies to realize the actual methods in practice. Using the method of
projects in practice is an indicator of highly qualified teachers.
References:
1. Копылова В.В. Методика проектной работы на
уроках английского языка: метод. пособие / В.В. Копылова. - 2-е изд., стер. -
М. : Дрофа, 2004. - 93 с.
2. Коряковцева Н.Ф. Теория
обучения иностранным языкам. Продуктивные образовательные технологии. – М:
Академия, 2010. – 192 с.
3. Ниязова А.Е. Активизация
обучения монологическому высказыванию с помощью наглядной опоры / А.Е. Ниязова
// Обучение иностранным языкам: [отв. ред. М.К. Колкова]- СПб.: КАРО, 2003. -
С. 113-123.
4. Полат Е.С. Метод проектов на
уроках иностранного языка // Иностранные языки в школе. 2000. № 2, 3.