Samosenkova T.V.

Doctor of Pedagogic Sciences

Nazarenko E.B.

Candidate of Pedagogic Sciences

Martirosyan A.G.

Candidate of Pedagogic Sciences

Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod, Russia

LANGUAGE AND SPEECH ABILITY AS THE BASIS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEECH MASTERING

From the perspective of psycholinguistics, teaching a foreign language (including Russian) speech is the development of language and speech abilities of man, as well as the processes of generation and perception of speech by means of certain psycholinguistic methods, which basis is provided for not only by communication but also by mental processes, states and properties of the individual. Notion of language ability is generally accepted in modern psycholinguistics. Language and speech are closely interrelated and interdependent in the peculiarities of generation and functioning and form a single phenomenon of human language, since speech represents the embodiment, the implementation of the language, which manifests itself only in speech and fulfills its communicative purpose only through it.

Language, being learned through social, i.e. in the process of perception from the surrounding people, «after learning belongs to man and becomes part of a functioning mind» [«Modern psychology » 1999 : 266]. Study and research of language in isolation from speech is unnecessary and impractical. Also, it makes no sense in terms of psychology of foreign language teaching, communicative linguistics and linguistics of the text to oppose the language and speech, as they coexist, rather than confront. А.А. Potebnya noted that «language is a means not to express willing to think but to create it» [Potebnya, 1958]. V.A. Artemov defines speech as «process of expressing the thoughts of man, his feelings, desires through language to influence others in the process of communication in various kinds of speech activities and public relations» [Artemov, 1969 : 186]. Man seizes not only the language but also speech, and these two processes occur in parallel, hence it is necessary to distinguish not only the language but also speech ability.

In scientific literature there are various definitions of language ability. So, А.М. Shahnarovich specifies language ability as «multilevel hierarchically organized functional system formed in the psyche of the native speaker in the process of ontogenetic development» [Shahnarovich, 1990 : 617]. The scientist determines the language ability as the speech mechanism, but refers it to the field of language, speaking about «opposed the language as a system and language as the ability (language as the speech mechanism)» [Arama, Shahnarovich, 1997 : 63]. By definition of А.А. Leontiev, language ability – is «psycho-physiological mechanism for the possession and acquisition of language» [Leontiev, 1970]. This definition of language ability is based on L.V. Sherba’s position about «psychophysiological speech organization of the individual as a system of potential linguistic representations» [Linguistic Collegiate Dictionary, 1990 : 617].

There are two main views about the nature of language ability, one of them belongs to the western psycholinguistics and postulates the biological nature of language ability, inherent in man at birth and developing gradually with a child. From the standpoint of domestic psycholinguistics, language ability is a social entity that develops in the process of communication. Interest in the processes of development of language and speech abilities goes back a long way.

Ch. Buton (Charles Ch. Buton. «La linguistique applique». Paris, PUF, 1979, pp. 7-24) reviewed the main approaches to studying the nature of language and speech, and, respectively, language and speech abilities. According to his conclusions first systematic observations related to the end of the 18th century, when German scientist D. Tidemann published a review of his son’s speech development (Tidemann 1787). In his view, ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. In A. Gregoire’s works (Gregoire 1937, 1947) acquisition of language is seen as a gradual approach to mastering the rules, allowing producing the correct utterance. Such an approximation is possible only through the influence of the environment. Consequently, the process of language acquisition, development of language and speech abilities is understood as a social phenomenon. Mourer (Mourer 1952) developed his theory of phonological development, which even now is considered to be the most reliable by many psychologists and phonetists. He also underlines the phenotypic aspect of speech development, considering the processes of assimilation of speech as determined by environment, resulting from its effects. The first, and for a long time the only one who held a different view, was Jean Piaget. Numerous studies have led the scientist to new scientific approach to the study of man: genetic epistemology. From the perspective of Piaget, long before the first signs of verbal behavior all of what a child has acquired in sensorimotor and cognitive plans, prepares and facilitates the emergence of speech. Thus, it is clear that verbal development is not an isolated process, but one of the aspects of overall human development, heavily dependent on the overall development. Each stage of this development determines the way forward, which effects speech positively, and without which its formation would be impossible. According to Piaget, the effect of phenotypic factors in the development of speech is subject to genotype factors.

The approach of linguists to the study of the processes of the formation of speech, language and speech abilities emerged, writes A.A. Zalevskaya, regardless of the approach of psychologists. The first theoretical hypothesis in this field is that of R. Jakobson (Jacobson 1969), who believed that the order of mastering the elements of the phonological system is well-defined, and universally meaningful. The researchers of various nationalities have already noted this striking uniformity. According to their observations, a child, gradually, in the process of development of speech, is building his own system of language, which then begins to match the adults’ language model. B. Moskowitz (Moskowitz, 1971) develops ideas of Jacobson and considers phonological development as acquisition of units and rules governing their combination. Olmsted did not support these views and considered that the order of acquisition of phonemes depends on the frequency of their production and perception ease (Olmsted 1971). In fact, it is a return to the theory of environment with some modifications of behaviorists’ nature. Waterson’s works represent the latest theoretical trends. According to his theory, the infant initially has sensitivity to the regular melodic forms bearing articulated segments, subtle nuances which a child does not perceive. In the utterance, seen as a sound unit, a child first distinguishes some phonemic features not necessarily aware of at the same time, in what sequence they are pronounced. Thus, the child seeks to identify a certain type of circuit, consisting of special set of properties that are encountered in quite a number of forms used by adults.

With regard to man’s mastery of grammar, the problems of its formation are fundamental for understanding the development of the child’s speech and learning a foreign language speech of adult learners, psychologists and linguists also consider this issue first and foremost from the standpoint of formation of the child’s speech in their native language. It is recognized that a child has a certain level of his own grammatical competence. It appears that the child’s speech is developing on the basis of genetically inherited capital, herewith the development leads to the gradual discovery of the special rules that allow to transform the underlying structure inherent in surface structures of a specific language - the language of the environment that surrounds a baby at birth.

Thus, scientists came to the assumption that there is a recorded in the genotype congenital speech mechanism, through which special skills might be worked out for each specific language as a result of the impact of environment on the level of phenotypic factors. A child is considered as biologically prepared for verbal activity. If you take a risk and assume that this preparedness does not disappear with the growth of the man, but is not used as useless, we have excellent conditions for the development of foreign language speech of adult learners, relying on their innate abilities to master the speech in any language.

At this interpretation, the underlying structure of speech, regarded as innate and postulated as universal, constitute the basis on which a child (and, in our opinion, an adult), under the influence of the environment shapes its verbal ability in the use of a particular language. The acquisition of language by a child comes to mastering the rules of transformations that are specific at each level - phonemic morphological, syntactic and semantic. Transformations allow to transfer relations that exist at the level of underlying structures, into remarks at a superficial level.

Thus, we see that there is no need to downplay the significance of social and biological began as in the development of speech, language and speech abilities of humans so as in man himself. Language ability is laid biologically and genetically, but is formed and developed socially.

Considering the biological and genetic side of language ability, we are talking about a specific human organization, allowing a man to be capable of language and speech basically. This organization is a necessary base and an integral component of the internal speech mechanisms providing the human psyche with the opportunity to perceive and process external language codes, transforming them into internal codes. Only on this basis, the language ability as a psychic and psychophysiological function can operate. Of course, language ability has inevitable individual differences arising as genetics (heredity), that is the way and the principles of the development of language abilities are identical, but different people master a foreign language (and Russian including) at different pace and with varying degrees of ease / difficulty. Talking about social side of language ability, we note that it is formed in the process of communication and learning, what confirms its undeniable social nature. Thus, the language ability is a phenomenon unique to the person, in principle, and is subject to development throughout life, with respect both to the native language and speech, and a foreign language and, consequently, a foreign language speech.

Speech ability of a person is closely linked to his nervous activity, therefore, processes of speech perception and production may be considered from the viewpoint of psychophysiology, as the processes of perception, comprehension and reproduction of speech are exposed to similar mechanisms and has the same pattern.

Talking about mastering of the Russian speech by an adult foreign students, it is interesting to compare this process with the process of mastering the native speech by a baby. The brain of a newborn baby is almost pure and free from the information, but biologically and genetically it is already ready and able to work. Gradually, in the process of purposeful activity, communication and education of a child, when receiving an increasing amount of information from the environment, its psycho-physiological apparatus produces an increasing number of internal neural connections, the so-called speech codes responsible for language acquisition. That is, under the influence of society the speech ability is being formed, developed and improved. The fact that a child is able to master simultaneously two or more languages, not having theoretical knowledge of the language and ways of its functioning in speech is perfectly known. When mastering the native language the logical paths are not used, because they are the result of learning, and the use only of the sensory, motor, communication and reception of imitation is a necessity, not an advantage. It is true that man who is mastering second language, has already joined the object with the sign of the native language, and so he referents signs of being studied language with the objects indirectly, through the linguistic system of the native language based on the associative and logical connections. Use by a student of logic paths in the study of foreign (Russian) language is a necessity, as he classifies, summarizes, compares the facts of the language. If the mastery of the native language and knowledge of the world occur simultaneously, then for the person having known the world, the mastery of language and knowledge of the new world is conditioned by own language.

When an adult is mastering the foreign language speech there is «reset» of the psycho-physiological apparatus so that it, extending speech ability, develops new neural connections - speech codes, in order to make speech activity in a foreign language very close to natural.

Thus, the formation and development of speech ability should be viewed as a process of building a network of neural connections of the brain that are responsible for the perception, understanding and production of speech. Such links are created with the help of multiple effects of external stimulus, speech and accompanying signals on sense organs, and through them on the system of analyzers. Also, the formation of links is the result of repeated reproduction of speech signals, i.e. the generation of speech. The key point in the development of a large number of necessary neural connections is not frequency of repetition of speech signals, but the diversity and richness of incentives, backed by personal emotions and meaningful experiences that accompany the verbal expression.

Literature

1. Arama B.E., Shahnarovich A.M. Intonation and modality. – M.: Institute of Linguistics RAS, 1997. – 124 p.

2. Artemov V.A. Psychology of teaching foreign languages. – M.: Prosvesheniye, 1969. – 279 p.

3. Charles Ch. Buton. «La linguistique applique». Paris, PUF, 1979, pp. 7-24.

4. Linguistic Collegiate Dictionary. – M.: 1990.

5. Modern psychology. – M.: 1999.

6. Potebnya A.A. From the notes on Russian grammar. – v. 1– 2. – M., 1958.

7. Shahnarovich A.M. To the problem of linguistic ability (mechanism) // The human factor in the language and generation of speech. – M.: Nauka, 1991. – pp. 185-220.

8. Zalevskaya A.A. Introduction to psychological linguistics / Publishing House: RSUH. – 1999. – 382 p.