Nikitina Natalya

National Technical University of Ukraine “KPI”, Ukraine

Optimization and activization of students' self-study of a foreign language

Today, higher educational institutions are on the path of globalization and internationalization of the educational process. Formation of students' foreign language competence is not only cultural, but also in a professional environment is the responsibility of language teachers. University graduates should be prepared for professional careers in industrial, economic, market, and cross-cultural spheres. Students should be able to apply their professional practice skills obtained in high school.

An important factor that contributes the effectiveness of learning a foreign language at the University, is its focus on the professional activity, as well as embracing all methods and aspects of learning / teaching a foreign language.

Higher education students should receive theoretical and practical professional knowledge, skills and abilities to master the use of the knowledge, methods of research, but also be able to independently acquire new information, process it and apply it in practice.

Self-study is an integral part of the educational process. Today, self-study is receiving increasing attention, as it contributes to the students’ independence, creative approach to teaching and learning the subject, cognitive functions etc.

It is known that the knowledge obtained independently assimilated better than those obtained with the help of the teacher. Developing the information individually, the student is faced with challenges and overcoming them, the student is not only better secures the material obtained, but also receives positive emotions and direct experience with this information. During the development of a material independently student works directly to the material, looking for different ways of solving various problems, accumulating their cognitive, intellectual and emotional features. Self-development of information also carries a strong motivation of students to study a foreign language.

Students’ self-study of a foreign language covers such activities as: first, homework without the direct control of the teacher, and secondly, in the curriculum of higher education institutions independent work processing of specially selected professional and text direction have planned. In addition students’ self-study includes such activities as writing essays or preparing to international conferences.

One direction of the higher education institution is to sharpen the focus on the formation of an independent creative individuals capable of self-education, self-development, independent of search activity. It aims to find and use of active methods of acquiring knowledge, developing the student’s critical thinking and readiness for independent creative work. Self-study includes, in its broadest sense, work during the classroom sessions, consultations, preparation at home, in the library etc.

In the study of a foreign language students’ self-study plays a particularly important role. Feature of any foreign language is that it can not be taught, it can only be learned. The teacher should create all possible conditions to maintain and motivate students to learn a foreign language. Student himself must understand the need of learning foreign language and have a strong motivation to do so. The task of the teacher is to create a positive atmosphere in the audience, to diversify the learning process, to make it accessible, modern and efficient. In this case, students' self-study will be a logical extension of classroom and positive process of learning a foreign language.

Self-study, in essence, is the analysis conducted by a student’s own cognitive needs deepening, widening, improvement of a set of various foreign language skills to what he has already learned and mastered. In addition, the students’ self-study of a foreign language is the definition of their own personal, intellectual opportunities, in particular, the objective assessment of planning extracurricular time.

For students of higher educational institution self-study of a foreign language may include the following activities: to develop knowledge – reading texts in a foreign language, noting the text, planning the text, work with dictionaries, work with multimedia and the Internet to organize and consolidate the knowledge – treatment of the familiar text, vocabulary and grammar exercises to it, annotating, referencing texts in a foreign language, writing letters, essays, reports, preparation and processing of the dictionary (lexical minimum for each subject), the preparation of information to speak at seminars, conferences, and for the formation of skills – the use of the obtained grammatical and lexical knowledge in practice (exercise simulators with the sample), the decision variant of problems and exercises, participation in conferences etc.

Students’ self-study of a foreign language should cover all types of linguistic activity. Specially selected texts of professional orientation, scientific articles on the topics of scientific and innovative information in scientific papers and books in foreign languages. When reading the information in a foreign language, the students not only improve their professional knowledge, but also deepen cross-cultural and linguistic characteristics (student focuses on grammar and vocabulary speed characteristic of a given field of activity).

Speaking (monologue and dialogue speaking) implies a presence interlocutors or audience (in the case of speaking a monologue). But speaking as an end result includes preparatory stage. The student preparing for self-speaking reads, learns and trains in monologue form the material of the subject.

The writing, as a kind of verbal activity, has the character of self-study. Although originally a teacher motivates students by giving them a writing assignment, then the student is working independently, preparing the material. Writing may include preparation of grammar or vocabulary exercise, but can also be more creative. It’s about preparing a written essay, research paper, or just information on professionally designed theme. In this case, the student not only performs a written work, but looking up with it and is considering new and useful information.

Listening can also have the character of self-study, if the student previously received audio material from the teacher to handle it in extracurricular time.

Nowadays, there are many innovative technologies of learning foreign languages, which can be applied in self-study. This is the use of the Internet, and the case-method studies and the use of interactive boards (students prepare their own information), and other types of multimedia.

Also, students can prepare the information on a given subject with the use of slides in PowerPoint.

Activation of student’s self-study gives a positive result not only in learning a foreign language, but also develops him as a professional.

Literature:

1. Батрак Г.Е. Предпосылки и принципы самостоятельной работы. Днепропетровск, 1974. - 123 с.

2. М.Г. Гарунов, П.И. Пидкасистый. Самостоятельная работа студентов. - М.: Знание, 1978.

3. Бутягина К.Л. Содержание и организация самостоятельной работы по иностранному языку в учебное время: Автореф. дисс.канд.пед. наук. -М., 1992. 16 с.

4. Паршина И.В. Самостоятельная работа учащихся по иностранному языку. // Иностранный язык в школе. №2. - 1987. - С. 40-42.