TEACHING AND LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
TEACHING AND LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Aigerim Kyzaibay
Master's degree student of Al- Farabi Kazakh National university,
Kazakhstan, Almaty
ABSTRACT
The article discusses one of the creative approaches to teaching a foreign language for special purposes - the "case method", the essence of which lies in the independent foreign language activities of students in an artificially created professional environment. It is noted that the cases are extremely rich in content and have the potential to take into account the knowledge already acquired by the student to study the language of the specialty and develop managerial skills. According to the results of applied research conducted by the authors, it was found that this method can be used as extremely effective in achieving the goals of teaching a professional foreign language and intercultural adaptation.
Keywords: methodology of teaching foreign languages, case method, case study.
The transition to a multi-level training system at the present stage dictates the need to change approaches to the content of the educational process, create new forms of its methodological support, as well as understanding the role of the teacher in the innovative paradigm of student-centered, creative learning.
The variety of methods and ways of mastering a foreign language in a higher educational institution leads to the need for a rational choice of one of them or the optimal combination of complementary methods and technologies, which implies the need to generalize knowledge about the methods and techniques of organizing foreign language communication. Currently, intensive teaching of foreign languages is implemented in various developing, newly created and existing methodological systems. This is due to the variety of specific goals of teaching a foreign language to various contingents of students, as well as the variety of learning conditions.
Linguistic sociocultural approach inherent in almost all foreign language schools. The communicative approach is guided by British and American Bell language schools International , OISE , St. _ Giles International , Rennert Bilingual , NESE . The intensive method is designed for business people who expect to master specific language skills in a short time. Often, an intensive course is enough to use the language in a professional field: in business correspondence, when making presentations and telephone conversations, and preparing commercial offers. "Direct" ( direct ) the method is known as the Berlitz method , the basic principle is the complete exclusion of the student's native language from the learning process, the goal is to teach the student to think in a foreign language. The business (activity) approach involves the study of a foreign language in combination with the practice of communication in the professional field. This opportunity is provided by language schools in New York, London, San Francisco, Toronto and other world business centers.
The formation of a certain level of foreign language professional communicative competence is an actual and effective basis for further foreign language professionally oriented communication of university graduates. However, it must be borne in mind that when teaching a professional foreign language, various functions of speech and methods of its application cannot be of equal value. Along with the instrumental (simple transfer of information), regulatory (regulation of activities), personal-emotional and artistic (role-playing games, figurative speech), heuristic (expression of one’s understanding), social (communication outside one’s narrow circle) and information-scientific, analytical , reference.
The case method, which has won a leading position in the modern practice of studying abroad, by developing the mastery of these speech functions, makes it possible to acquire knowledge of a specialty in a foreign language, increase the level of one's professional competence and self-esteem. At the same time, the learning goals defined earlier in the methodology: communicative setting, language goal, mental and educational goals, etc., remain relevant. The leading role in the theoretical development of the method and its practical application belongs to P. Duff ( P. Duff ), S. Foltis ( C. Faltis ) J. Heap ( J. Heap ) [ 1; 2; 3].
In Russian educational practice only in the 90s. In the 20th century, when there was a rapid renewal of the content of all disciplines, favorable conditions were created for the use of interactive teaching methods in general and the case method in particular. Among caseologists - theorists and practitioners, one should mention domestic specialists G. Bagiev , G. Konishchenko , V. Naumov, A. Sidorenko, Yu. Surmin , P. Sheremet. In the system of methods of A.R. Galustov “in experimental learning, the role of active methods (didactic and business games, educational discussions and heuristic conversations, research seminars, educational conferences, poster presentations, analytical commenting on books and articles) aimed at preparing students has been significantly strengthened” [4, p. 17].
"Case method" ( English with ase method , case method, case study , case - study , method of specific situations), is a teaching technique that uses a description of real (economic, social and business) situations.
M. Dolgorukov relates the method " case study " to "advanced" active learning methods [5]. An increase in the student's "baggage" of analyzed cases increases the likelihood of using a ready-made decision scheme for the current situation, forms skills for solving more serious problems. Situational learning teaches the search for and use of knowledge in a dynamic situation, developing the flexibility of thinking.
E.N. Zakharova believes that “ competency -oriented professional education is aimed at mastering activities that ensure readiness to solve problems and tasks based on knowledge, professional and life experience, values, and other internal and external resources” [6, p. 33].
The use of the case method in English classes in a professional environment pursues two complementary goals, namely: further improvement of communicative competence (linguistic and sociocultural) and the formation of students' professional qualities. Acquaintance with the case (reading a professionally directed text, in which the problem is formulated in the specialty, in the original or with slight reductions and slight adaptation, and subsequent translation), independent search for a solution (internal monologue speech in English), the process of analyzing the situation during the lesson ( monologue and dialogic speech, prepared and spontaneous, also in English) are all examples of communicative tasks.
Classroom communication associated with working on a case, which is characterized by dispute, discussion, argumentation, description, comparison, persuasion and other speech acts, trains the skill of developing the right strategy for speech behavior, observing the norms and rules of English-speaking communication. Students' comments on the content of the case are evaluated by the teacher on the following skills: analytical, managerial, decision-making skills, interpersonal communication skills, creativity, oral and written communication skills in English (lexico-grammatical aspect). Therefore, the case method includes at the same time a special type of educational material and special ways of using it in the teaching practice of the English language.
According to the results of our applied research, it has been established that the case method can be used as extremely effective in achieving the goals of teaching a professional foreign language and intercultural adaptation. However, the use of this method in teaching a foreign language should be methodically substantiated and ensured. This is necessary both at the level of organizing the educational process for the educational program as a whole, and at the level of planning it by an individual teacher. The disadvantages of using this method of organizing training include the fact that it is difficult to guarantee the independence of the performance of all tasks in the case of individual students.
The case method in foreign language classes is recommended to be used in groups with a certain stock of knowledge in the specialty and a sufficient level of foreign language proficiency. In addition, being a complex and effective teaching method, the case method is not universal and is effective only in combination with other methods of teaching foreign languages, because. does not in itself constitute a mandatory normative knowledge of the language. Nonetheless the use of the case method in the study of a foreign language increases the level of knowledge of a foreign language in general.
The method develops creative thinking; develops presentation skills; develops the ability to lead a discussion, argue answers; improves the skills of professional reading in a foreign language and information processing; teaches to work in a team and develop a collective solution. Under the conditions of interactive learning, students increase their sense of personal involvement in the educational process and form responsibility for their own educational results. Discussion, analysis of real situations, brainstorming, business game, project task lead to the creation of a favorable psychological atmosphere in the classroom, to the strengthening of the speech and intellectual activity of students, increase their sense of self-confidence and create a semantic context of communications.
The pedagogical potential of the case method is much greater than the pedagogical potential of traditional teaching methods. The case method is an extremely effective tool that allows you to apply theoretical knowledge to solving practical problems. The problem of introducing the case method into the practice of higher professional education is currently very relevant, which is due to the general direction of the development of education, the focus not so much on obtaining specific knowledge, but on the formation of professional competence, skills and abilities of mental activity, and the development of personality abilities.
References:
- Patricia A. Duff. Case study research in applied linguistics. NY: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2008. P. 233.
- Faltis C. Case study methods in researching language and education // Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Vol. 8: Research Methods in Language and Education / NH Hornberger, D. Corson (Eds.). Dordrecht; Boston; London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, pp. 125-127.
- Heap J. Conversation analysis methods in researching language and education // Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Vol. 8:Research Methods in Language and Education / NH Hornberger, D. Corson (Eds.). Dordrecht; Boston; London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997, pp. 217-225.
- Galustov A.R. Teaching students the organization of self-educational activity of schoolchildren // Bulletin of the Adygei State University. Ser . Pedagogy and psychology .
- Maykop S. A practical guide for a tutor of the system of open education based on distance technologies / ed. A.M. Dolgorukov . Moscow: Center intensive technologies education ,
- Zakharova E.N. On the competence-based approach in educational activities // Bulletin of the Adyghe State University. Ser . Pedagogy and psychology. Maikop , 2011, no . 4. S. 32-40.