Psychodidactic problems of learning a foreign language at institutions of higher education

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Psychodidactic problems of learning a foreign language at institutions of higher education

Turchyn O.

Important psychodidactic problems of mastering a foreign language by students at institutions of higher education are examined in the article. First of all, communicative (interactive) methods and forms of acquiring foreign language communicative competence (knowledge, skills, abilities), the formation and improvement of which are an integral part of learning a foreign language and of professional training of future specialists are meant, since communicative competence can be considered as the basis of social competence of an individual. The methodical aspects of acquiring skills and abilities in the process of learning a foreign language by students at institutions of higher education as well as conditions, methods and means of assimilation of knowledge, skills and abilities of foreign language content, etc. are investigated. The systematization problems of acquired knowledge, students ' responsible attitude towards learning a foreign language and the development of a creative linguistic personality in the process of learning a foreign language at institutions ofhigher education are emphasized.

The article stresses the need for the teacher to use pedagogical creativity and the latest methods of teaching a foreign language in order to create prerequisites for effective improvement of the educational process at institutions ofhigher education. The importance of developing the ability of students to organise the educational process, to independently acquire knowledge from various sources of information, avoiding long-term study overloads, which lead to the emergence of states of constant physical and mental stress among students, as well as the ability to systematize the studied material and apply their knowledge in practical life are emphasized.

The article accentuates the ability of a foreign language teacher to perform the role of a motivator, consultant, supplier and analyst of information, a diagnostician, a facilitator and a manager who helps students in solving problems of educational and cognitive nature.

Key words: skill, ability, communicative method, interactive method, communicative competence, creativity, systematization, responsible attitude.

Турчин О.В. Психодидактичні проблеми вивчення іноземної мови у закладах вищої освіти

У статті розглянуто актуальні психодидактичні проблеми опанування іноземною мовою студентами у закладах вищої освіти. Ідеться насамперед про комунікативні (інтерактивні) методи і форми набуття іншомовної комунікативної компетентності (знання, уміння, навички), формування та вдосконалення яких є невід'ємною частиною вивчення іноземної мови і професійної підготовки майбутніх фахівців, оскільки комунікативну компетентність можна розглядати як основу соціальної компетентності особистості. Досліджуються методичні аспекти набуття умінь та навичок у процесі вивчення студентами іноземної мови у закладах вищої освіти, а також умови, методи та засо-би засвоєння знань, умінь та навичок іншомовного змісту тощо. Акцентуються проблеми систематизації здобутих знань, відповідального ставлення студентів до вивчення іноземної мови та розвиток креативної мовної особистості в процесі вивчення іноземної мови у закладах вищої освіти.

У статті зроблено акцент на необхідності використання викладачем педагогічної креативності та новітніх методів викладання іноземної мови задля створення передумов для ефективного поліпшення навчального процесу у вищих навчальних закладах. Підкреслено важливість розвитку у студентів вміння організовувати навчальний процес, самостійно здобувати знання з різних джерел інформації, уникаючи при цьому тривалих навчальних перевантажень, що зумовлюють виникнення у студентів станів постійного фізичного та психічного напруження, а також вміння систематизувати опрацьований матеріал та застосовувати свої знання у практичному житті.

У статті наголошується на вмінні викладача іноземної мови виконувати роль мотиватора, консультанта, постачальника й аналітика інформації, діагноста, фасилітатора та менеджера, який допомагає студентам у вирішенні проблем навчально-пізнавального характеру.

Ключові слова: навичка, уміння, комунікативний метод, інтерактивний метод, комунікативна компетентність, креативність, систематизація, відповідальне ставлення.

Ukraine is now entering a new level in its relations with other countries of the world forming new political, cultural and socio-economic realities. This leads to the growth of the status of a foreign language, primarily English, which performs the role of a universal means of international communication. Speaking about the importance of learning foreign languages for the successful development of free and independent Ukraine, which actually means building a state with the latest social, economic and political structure, we mean that learning any language in general and a foreign language in particular contributes to the comprehensive development of a personality as it creates the conditions for free communication, opens access to the treasures of human culture and international life experience, thus accelerating the progress of the entire society. Now, more than ever, the country needs highly qualified multidisciplinary specialists with knowledge of two, three or even more foreign languages, professionals who are able to absorb everything new and progressive, ready to generate and implement fresh original ideas, as well as to participate profitably in international cooperation and the formation of new attitude towards Ukraine in Europe and in the world [1, p. 3].

These and other problems were covered by L.V. Byrkun, S.Yu. Nikolaieva, Yu. I. Palekha, V.I. Herasymchuk, O.M. Shyian, as well as T. P. Husieva, O.V. Kasatkina, I.V. Kovalchuk, O.L. Lavrynenko, T.V. Ostafiichuk, H.P. Tataurova in their dissertation research.

The organization of the educational process aimed at mastering knowledge and practical skills in a foreign language at the today's stage of the development of education in Ukraine is accompanied by many problems: the inability of students to make independent decisions and to express their own opinion in various situations, the low level of communicative competence of students, etc. Therefore, a teacher of a foreign language at an institution of higher education faces the task of understanding the gist of these problems. It is primarily about determining the criteria and final indicators of students' mastery of a foreign language.

The psychological dictionary defines a skill as “a mental new formation, thanks to which an individual is able to perform a certain action rationally, with appropriate accuracy and speed, without unnecessary expenditure of physical and neuropsychological energy” [9, p. 98]. The term “skill” reflects the very fact of habituation to a certain action which, thanks to this, is performed automatically, without significant participation of consciousness in its regulation [6, p. 61].

By analogy with the definition of a skill, ability can be defined as the optimal level of perfection of a certain activity (in our case - speech). The main types of speech activity include the following: the ability to speak, write, listen, read, each of which is synthesized from a group of skills [6, p. 62].

Productive abilities (speaking and writing) are based on reproductive skills: lexical, i.e, skills to choose, combine and use a lexical unit in oral and written speech; grammatical, i.e., skills to choose morphological and syntactical design of a unit of oral or written speech; calligraphic and orthographic writing skills, i.e, skills of graphic rep-resentation of speech and writing words according to the rules of orthography [6, p. 62].

Receptive abilities (listening and reading) are based on receptive skills: lexical, i.e., skills to recognize sound or graphic images of lexical units and their direct understanding; grammatical, i.e., skills to recognize grammatical and to predict syntactical structures of oral or written speech; perceptual, i.e., skills to perceive and recognize letters, letter combinations and punctuation marks in written speech; auditory, i.e., skills to perceive and recognize sounds, sound combinations and intonation in oral speech [6, p. 62-63].

Thus, the formation and improvement of various communicative and speaking skills and abilities are an integral part of learning a foreign language.

We cannot deny the fact that modern higher education should be aimed at using a language as a tool for dialogue and a means of communication, at forming students' communicative competence which will contribute to their professional training in various spheres of social production, services, public activities, as well as at the development of students' abilities, etc. [3, p. 1].

The development of a communicatively competent person is possible not only in the process of studying academic subjects in a native language, but also taking foreign language classes. Mastering a foreign language contributes not only to the acquisition of certain linguistic knowledge, skills and abilities by students, but also to the formation of skills and abilities in the practical use of a language, the development of communication skills at the intracultural and intercultural levels as far as communication as a socio-psychological process is impossible without the establishment of complex sign-symbolic interactions between communicants [3, p. 1].

Communicative competence is defined as an integral formation built on the combination of mutually relevant cognitive attitudes, practical abilities, values, emotions, behavioural acts, knowledge and abilities, i.e., everything that is necessary for active communication and interaction, such as: personality's ability to navigate in a communicative situation, to understand the motives, styles of behaviour, causes and consequences of frustration, both of one's own and of communication partners; the ability to achieve the goal of communication in the most effective way; mastery of technology and psychotechnics of communication. Communicative competence as a complex ability permeates all spheres of human life and affects the success of relationships and activities, assuming the formation of perceptive, interactive and reflexive skills, conflict and role competence, competence in communication according to a subject - object scheme (external behavioural level of communication), as well as to a subject - subject scheme (deep personal level of communication). This makes it possible to interpret communicative competence as the basis of a personality's social competence [3, p. 5].

A factor providing the development of students' communicative competence is a communicative approach to learning a foreign language. It allows to develop true, authentic practical communicativeness, to find reserves for combining it with theoretical training of students [3, p. 6].

Thus, communicativeness should be the methodological content of modern foreign language classes. psychodidactic learning foreign language

The main idea of a communicative method is that students, in order to become effective language users, should not only acquire knowledge (for example, know lexical, grammatical or pronunciation forms), but also develop skills and abilities to use language forms for real communicative purposes [1, p. 7]. Thus, students learn communication in the process of communication itself. Accordingly, the choice of certain exercises and tasks should be communicatively justified by the lack of information, student's choice and reaction (information gap, choice, feedback). The most important characteristic of a communicative approach is the use of authentic materials, i.e., those used by native speakers. Therefore, speech interaction between students and a teacher is carried out in various forms: pairs, triads, small groups, with the whole group. Students master all four types of speech activity at the supraphrase and text levels with limited use of their native language from the very beginning. Not only correctness but also the pace of oral speech and reading are the object of assessment.

The following key principles of a communicative method are singled out:

* students' cognitive processes are stimulated;

* students are encouraged to express their thoughts, feelings and to use their own experience;

* students take an active part in the learning process;

* students are encouraged to work together;

* students participate in learning activities that simulate or create real or realistic situations;

* students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and to develop learning skills;

* a teacher performs different roles - informer, resource consultant, monitor - at different stages of a lesson [1, p. 8].

To achieve communicative competence, i.e., communicative abilities formed on the basis of speech knowledge, skills and abilities, a foreign language teacher uses the latest teaching methods aimed at achieving communicative and cognitive goals. Modern methods of teaching foreign languages based on a humanistic approach are aimed at a personality's development and self-improvement, his/her reserve capabilities and creative potential, the also create prerequisites for effective improvement of the educational process at institutions of higher education. One of the variants for the implementation of this approach in modern methodology is an interactive teaching method allowing to solve communicative and cognitive tasks by means of foreign language communication. Interactive activity includes the organization and development of dialogic speech aimed at mutual understanding, interaction, solving problems which are important for each of the participants of a learning process.

Students learn to solve complex problems based on the analysis of circumstances and related information, express alternative opinions, participate in discussions, make balanced decisions and consult with different people in the process of communication.

A teacher should take into account the fact that topics for discussions should not be limited. One of the features of interactive educational forms is that they motivate students not only to express their own point of view but also to change it under the influence of arguments of their opponents.

It is advisable to pay attention to the means of expressing conscious and unconscious content in the communicative process in order to develop communicative competence of students taking foreign language classes. The use of a foreign language by a student is based on personality's complex cognitive, mnemonic and psychodynamic processes the joint activity of which is manifested in a student's statements [3, p. 6].

Today a teacher faces the task of reorienting the educational process to the formation of its subjects' ability to independently acquire knowledge from various sources of information and apply it in practical life which requires professional skills, erudition and creativity of linguist teachers [7, p. 1].

Creativity may be defined as a personality's trait manifesting itself in increased sensitivity to problems and their non-standard solutions, the ability to produce new original ideas and ways of their implementation [7, p. 5].

Procedurally, pedagogical creativity is manifested in the development of new approaches to learning; in the rationalization and modernization of the content, forms, methods and means of educational work; in multivariate use of theoretical knowledge and practical skills. It is also considered as personality's integrative property characterised by the presence of special knowledge in a certain subject field, general erudition, pedagogical intuition, highly developed intelligence, flexibility and originality of thinking. Pedagogical creativity of teachers of foreign languages is characterised by a specific content, as it requires their desire and ability to create a developmental and creative speech environment [7, p. 5-6].

Motivation for creative pedagogical activity produces individual's positive emotions, is accompanied by inspiration, leads to the creation of new ways and methods of transferring and acquiring knowledge. The final product of a creative teacher is the realisation of creative potential through the preparation of publications, creation of his/ her own pedagogical technologies, preparation of students for competitions, personal participation in competitive projects [7, p. 8].

The quality of learning a foreign language depends not only on the pedagogical creativity of teachers but also on the creativity of students, therefore, at this stage of the development of education in Ukraine, institutions of higher education face the problem of introducing psychological means of students' creativity development. These means should develop a young person as a thinking, creative personality capable of solving not only educational and professional but also meaningful life problems in order to facilitate self-realisation in the socio-cultural space [2, p. 1].

The formation of students' ability to creative speech activity requires the use of a special set of psychodidactic tools for the development of their creativity aimed at covering different sides of a personality - communicative, motivational, characterological, reflexive, intellectual, psychophysiological, etc. [2, p. 7].

A creative speech personality is a person who is considered from the point of view of his/her ability to perform creative speech acts. Speaking about a creative speech personality of students we touch on the facet of a creative personality which indicates its attitude to a language and readiness for creative activity. Taking this into account, the organisation of students' creative speech activity should provide for their assimilation of language knowledge, the acquisition of their own creative speech experience, the fixation of a focus on creative communicative behaviour, the development of empathy and peak experiences from creative solution of complex communicative conflicts [2, p. 7; 5].

Assimilation of knowledge at a high school requires a special organisation of the educational process, first of all, the activities of students themselves as subjects of assimilation. Students are tasked with learning the proposed material, but methods and techniques for memorising it are rarely offered. Each student often invents and uses his/ her own, not always rational, way of memorising and learning the material [4, p. 1] which can lead to overloads and states of constant physical and mental stress.

It is important to motivate students to conscious perception, systematic repetition and consolidation, testing and replenishment of knowledge of a subject in order to prevent overloads. For this purpose, a teacher should emphasise the importance of independent work for mastering the entire system of knowledge of a subject [8].

The ability to learn independently is very important, as well as the ability to help others to learn independently. Thus, a teacher performs different roles, i.e., the roles of a motivator, consultant, supplier and analyst of information, diagnostician, a facilitator and a manager who helps students in solving the problems they can face in the process of their independent educational and cognitive activity.

In addition, it is also very important to explain to students how to distribute their own strengths reasonably, to choose exactly what is the most relevant to a specific topic, as well as to teach how to systematize the learned material and to use their own personal qualities correctly.

The operation of systematisation may be defined as a complex psychological process which consists of separate interconnected elementary mental operations performed by students in a certain sequence, step by step. The result of systematisation is an object called a system [4, p. 6].

Psychological mechanisms of systematisation as a method of voluntary memorisation are initially formed as a thinking action comprehensively and step-by-step, in the process of specially organised training, and the indicator of its formation is transposition, i.e., the transfer of the developed ability from one educational situation to another [4, p. 13].

Students come to understand a foreign language as a system gradually, with the help of intermediate generalisations. The system should become the result of the study of specific language and speech phenomena presented in such a sequence that is determined by both the laws of learning and the structural logic of a foreign language [4, p. 13].

The most important condition for the formation of the operation of systematisation of lexical, phonetic and grammatical material is its use in the act of communication in the language being studied [4, p. 11]. And this, in its turn, requires students' responsible attitude to the study of foreign languages.

Responsible attitude may be defined as a psychological synthesis of affective and motivational, cognitive and regulative, control and evaluative, as well as reflexive and behavioural components of personality's orientation to mastering a foreign language [10, p. 16].

The formation of a responsible attitude depends on the academic success of students, interest in the language, satisfaction of students' communicative needs, content of the educational material, teacher's personal qualities, his/her relationships with students, individual peculiarities of students, moral and psychological climate in a group, professional orientation of educational activities, etc. [10, p. 1]. The level of students' mastery depends on the level of their responsible attitude to learning a foreign language, so a teacher should always emphasise this in a learning process.

Conclusion

Summarising all the information presented in this article, it must be pointed out that a teacher should use not only the knowledge of a foreign language in the process of his/her professional activity but also different methods and techniques in order to develop students' communicative competence, responsible attitude towards an educational process, creativity, motivation, as well as to teach them to learn independently, to systematize the learned material for avoiding overloads and stress. We should also note the search for innovative psycho- didactic techniques capable of ensuring the formation of communicative, including speech, competence of students studying a foreign language as a part of their general humanitarian and professional training.

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