Eurasian
National University named after L.N. Gumilyov
Kazakhstan, Astana
Necessity of competence-based
approach in foreign language teaching
The content of the key
competencies that are formed in the foreign language classroom indicates the
great complexity of its measurement and evaluation. It lies in the fact that,
in system’s development of evaluation through testing, it is possible to
quantify (in points or marks), assess how language awareness of students
(vocabulary, grammar, authentic language use), and the well-formedness of types
of speech activity (speaking, listening, reading, writing, translation).
However, quantitative measurement of key competences of students in mastering a
foreign language is difficult when assessing communicative behavior
(social-communicative and is professional-communicative skills) and productive
activities using a foreign language. It is not the amount of material that the
learner remembers the language or about the language, as rehabilitee and other
productive operations in the mastery of communicative skills that constitute
core competencies. Analysis of pedagogical theory and practice of learning a
foreign language allowed to define the main types of socio-communicative and is
professional-communicative intellect of operations.
The process of assessing the
levels of formation of key competences of senior students in teaching foreign
languages was developed by program of assessment of competencies proposed by O.
N. Oleinikova [1; 23]. The evaluation process includes the following stages:
1) Evaluation planning: the
timing of observations, determination of the types and methods of assessment,
e.g. project summary, sample practice exercises or routine matters, the
definition of evaluation criteria and levels of formation of key competences,
filling out individual maps of observations for each student;
2) Observation of
communicative activities and communicative behavior of students during
performance of various tasks: homework, projects, participation in role
playing/business games;
3) Collection of evidence:
maintenance instructor (evaluator) individual maps of observations of each
student. Individual card of the student is filled by the results of observation
of speech activity of students, tests, practical tasks, role playing/business
games, course work, oral or written exams, etc. The Evidence is also going
learners themselves. The collected evidence as the appraiser and students, form
the "portfolio/portfolio".
4) Decision-making
assessment: the submitted evidence and observations, the evaluator determines
the level of formation of key competences of students.
The most effective method of
assessment of level of formation of key competences, according to R. P. Milrud
[2; 75] is observation. However, diagnostics of level of formation of
professionally-communicative skills that underlie the key competencies of
students is a particular challenge, since these components of key competences
can eventually be manifested only in their professional activities. For their
diagnostics it is necessary to have information about the success (of failure)
activity of graduates in the professional field with which they are more
usually encountered. D. B. Hymes notes that "until you have established a
clear link between identity development and success of professional activity,
it is difficult to determine competence" [3; 35]. In his opinion, the
assessment of competence should be related to bring professional benefits.
As noted by G. P.
Shchedrovitsky, a “model of a specialist” takes into account both the formal
and the situational plan of implementation of the activities in its
individualized and collective collateral. The activity of specialist and
professional in her recurring situations and changing parameters have to be described
and the resulting functional structure of the activity must be translated into
requirements for media activity" [4; 135]. Therefore, in assessing the
level of formation of key competences it is advisable to rely on an approach
that is becoming more and more widespread: the simulation of professional
activities. Simulation of professional activity in educational process based on
the activity approach and includes identification of typical production tasks
and their transformation into a training and production tasks.
Some researchers speak of
quasi-culture (quasi-professional) activity [5;24], which is modeled by
re-establishing in the student the classroom conditions, content and dynamics
of production and personal relationships the people involved and develop in the
students the readiness to implement the respective labor activity [6;36].
Given the above, the problem
of monitoring of quality of formation of professional and communicative skills
can be solved through the creation of professionally-oriented tasks, problem
situations that simulate professional activities. Tasks can be related to the
program of professional topics, and general areas of communication:
professional, socio - cultural and household. A similar situation may also play
out during a role (business) game, test, laboratory practical work, oral
examinations (interviews, interviews, interviews, demonstrating samples of
activities students), coursework (projects), and intermediate educational
practice.
Based on observations of
communicative behavior of students judgments were rendered regarding the level
of formation of key competences by means of foreign language [7; 56].
These include: 1) positive
motivation (readiness) to the manifestation of competence (the presence of a
positive motivation to use a foreign language in future professional
activities; interest in improving the level of knowledge of foreign language,
formation of key competences); 2) value-semantic representations (attitudes) to
the content and result of the activity (awareness of their future profession,
the professional and social aspects of the use of a foreign language;
achievement of results in the study of foreign languages); 3) knowledge of the
underlying choice of the method of implementation of the relevant activities
(learning of speech skills in various types of learning activities: speaking,
listening, reading, writing, abstracting and annotation); 4) the ability,
experience (skill) for the successful implementation of the necessary actions
based on available knowledge (level of training in foreign language; ability to
use a foreign language in the solution of problems of a professional nature,
self-education and self-development); 5) emotional-volitional self-regulation
(satisfaction with their knowledge of a foreign language, personality, and
abilities, results of the training).
Experience of knowledge
evaluation and skills abroad is also of great importance in the development of
the system of monitoring the level of formation of key competences of senior students
in language training. In foreign methodology in recent years there has been a
"closed loop" (feedback loop) [7; 60]. This strategy is that learning
begins with diagnostic testing of students. The results of initial testing are
taken into account when organizing the educational process, the selection of
the material and, most importantly, in summarizing the learning.
This strategy is based on
the principle that a good system of evaluation of students is directly related
to a good training system. Therefore, the results of both the source and
staging, and most importantly, the final testing are significant changes in the
educational process. Assessment of initial and intermediate level of
communicative knowledge, abilities and skills are also widely used by teachers
in our country. However, the test results are considered only as information
about the progress of students, not as a signal to review the practice of
foreign language teaching.
Literature:
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О. Н. Основные тенденции развития и современное состояние профессионального
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г.Казань: Институт среднего профессионального образования РАО, 2003. - С. 23 .
2. Мильруд,
Р. П. Актуальные проблемы методики обучения иностранным языкам за рубежом / Р.
П. Мильруд // Иностранные языки в школе. - 2004. - №3. - С. 75.
3. Hymes D. On Communicative Competence / D. Hymes. -
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1971. – P. 35.
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Г. П. Проблема разработки качества содержания среднего профессионального
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