Using language and culture material in ukrainian folklore classes

The methodical techniques and the methods of using language and culture material when teaching Ukrainian folklore are determined in the article. Ukrainian proverbs, sayings, songs, which reflect the vision of the Ukrainian people of female beauty, are language and culture material in this instance. The topicality of the research is caused by the extensive use of folkloric material in all modern languages with a didactic purpose and necessity of research in the ethnolinguoculturological aspect of language units that designate national and cultural stereotypes. The folklore of any nation belongs to the eternal phenomena; it is impossible to imagine the existence of a nation without it. National culture and specific features of mentality become known through folklore. Folklore helps to recreate the traits of any particular people, the development of ideas about different things. The use of proverbs in speech is an important indicator of language proficiency level. Working with proverbs and sayings helps to develop skills of speech activity. The studying of proverbs and sayings expands the students’ knowledge about language, form their aesthetic taste, desire to perfect their vocabulary. It improves speech culture, speaking skills, readiness for debating in Ukrainian. The increased use of proverbs enriches the spoken and written language. The use of proverbs adds originality, expressiveness, individuality, imagery and aphoristic nature to a person’s speech. Learning proverbs or sayings, students translate them into their language, comprehend and search for similar ones in their language. Discussing and comparing Ukrainian proverbs and sayings with proverbs and sayings in their native language, students develop skills in speaking, reading, and writing. Perspectives of further research are studies of the features of teaching language and culture material to foreign philological students and further development of new teaching material for the course “Ukrainian folklore”.

Pedagogical grammar as the framework of tefl research. Part 8. Foreign language syntax acquisition: wh-questions

The paper presents the results of the experimental data analysis concerning the said issue. Within a long observation period, the author researched three groups of subjects of various ages and backgrounds, using varied types of elicitation procedures (scrambled sentence technique, question reconstruction, oral interviews and translation). It was established that at the initial stage of foreign language acquisition (FLA), adults progress faster than children in the native language acquisition (NLA), which the author explains by their larger intellectual resources. In relation to wh-questions, the procedures common to both the NLA and FLA include the use of formulaic expressions, overgeneralization, archi-forms, and alternating forms (be instead of do, do / does / did instead of be, does instead of did, did instead of do, mixed use of several operators together), double auxiliary marking, double marking (mostly with irregular verbs in the Past Simple and considered a lexical retrieval error rather than reflecting any underlying grammar rule). Basing upon a high degree of the data resemblance in both the NLA and FLA, the author concludes that the wh-questions acquisition is a rule-governed procedure having a substantial degree of similarity in the said processes, irrespective of the fact, whether English is learned as a native or a foreign language. The difference between the NLA and FLA seems to be in the acquisition of there is / are structures. They have never been reported as a separate acquisition problem in the NLA. However, they seem to present a special difficulty in the FLA. It was found that such structures might be a problem even after the learners had mastered the do-inversion, which is considered the final stage in the NLA. In the FLA, however, the learners continued to use the first-stage structures even at the do-stage of wh-question acquisition. That might be explained by the learners’ intuitive unwillingness to accept there as the subject of the sentence, which results in their frequent omission of it during the wh-movement.

Dramatization as a way of developing communicative skills

The article is devoted to the analysis of drama activities as a way of developing students’ communicative skills at all stages of teaching English. Drama activities are an essential component of interactive games. Demand for interactive games containing dramatization and for dramatization itself is constantly growing making teachers use new methods and educational styles. Drama activities can be an efficient way of forming and developing any language skills. All sorts of activities containing acting can help teachers to create communicative situations, which are close to real life. Properly arranged, these games can help the teacher to introduce new vocabulary or a grammar structure, to simplify the teacher’s explanation as well as motivate learners and keep them involved and active during the whole language class. Dramatization may function in various forms and may be used at different stages of teaching a foreign language class. Acting out short dialogues at beginner and elementary levels can be a good way of practicing new grammar structures. The triad teaching format offered by N. McIver can be beneficial for mixed-ability groups. The article proves that the language material used for drama activities can be divided into two groups – real and dramatic or imaginary. Examples from everyday experience can be used to create familiar communicative situations. Such exercises have a practical nature as the learners demonstrate the interaction between people and different services. Close-to-real-life situations are combined with some imaginary or dramatic components. Activities based upon imaginary situations contribute to learners’ better cooperation and provide the opportunity for creating an atmosphere of friendliness and mutual understanding. The exercises based on imaginary situations often require the preparation of lengthy role cards. The dramatization of famous paintings and songs forms another group of communicative activities, suitable for all levels of proficiency. An open, long-term drama activity can maximize creativity and motivation as well as provide an opportunity to develop flexibility in using a foreign language. The drama activities offered in the article are easily adaptable to any language material or teaching format.

Synthesis of modern methods of foreign language teaching as an activation means of cognitive activity of higher education students

The relevance of this article is determined by the need to overcome the contradictions between the existing system of professional training in higher education and the requirements of society for qualified professionals capable of self-education and self-improvement throughout their lives. The purpose of the article is a theoretical substantiation of the use of the synthesis of English teaching methods, which are implemented in practice and which are aimed at activating the cognitive activity of arts students in higher educational institutions. In the teaching of certain disciplines in higher education institutions, teaching methods are used to activate the cognitive activity of students. From the point of view of teaching humanities, methods of programmed, problem-based, and interactive (communicative) teaching are used to control the formation of students’ thinking. The use of programmed learning is based on the idea of two-part learning activities: instructive and executive. Problems in the learning process involve a special organization of the acquired knowledge content when it is provided to students, not in the complete form, but as the desired unknown being part of the problem task (questions, tasks, situations), the intellectual activity of the student in search of this content constitutes the process of its assimilation. In the course of teaching the disciplines of the humanities, in particular foreign language teaching, methods of interactive (communicative) learning are considered as the main ones. Stimulation of cognitive activity occurs in the process of discussing certain issues and problems of educational material, when the teacher, on a par with students, participates in joint productive educational activities, in contrast to the interaction of two activities – educational and training. The results of the student survey showed that the use of the synthesis of the proposed methods of teaching a foreign language is one of the leading conditions for the formation of educational and cognitive motives in students of humanities. Activation of personality motivational components during the organization of educational activities takes place through the creation of conditions that provide a subjective position of students at each stage of the lesson.

Developing students’ soft skills in the context of teaching foreign languages at higher education institutions

The article deals with the methodological issue of building soft skills in the context of teaching modern foreign languages to students of higher institutions. The analysis of the available scientific and methodological research works devoted to the problem of developing students’ soft skills, especially in the process of teaching foreign languages, reveals that even though soft skills are crucial for securing employment of graduates they are still underdeveloped in the system of higher education, which results in a growing need for institutions of higher education to address the defined gap. The paper suggests some ways capable of bridging the gap and fostering the development of personal and interpersonal XXI century skills in the process of teaching foreign languages. It focuses on intra-curricular approaches to classroom management (e.g., pairing or grouping students) and methods and content of classroom activities (case study, debates, discussions, project-based learning, etc.), which have the potential to equip students with the core skills through real-life scenarios and different learning experiences. The author emphasizes that speaking and listening activities, being undoubtedly highly beneficial for soft skills development, are not the only ones that can be used to enhance learners’ soft skills. Students’ soft skills can be significantly improved while reading or writing, so the key point is to organically integrate diverse activities and teaching strategies. Therefore, before planning a class, teachers have to understand how soft skills are developed, choose what soft skills they want their students to learn, and select corresponding instructional methods and tools to model a situation in which soft skills could be naturally acquired. Particular emphasis is also placed on the question of how and what soft skills can be developed during self-assessment or peer-assessment practices. The article finishes with a few recommendations regarding possible aspects of further research.

Application of theory of genres in tackling professional medical discourses

The article deals with the issues of the application of the theory of genres while handling professional medical discourses. The practical implementation of the theory of genres in learning a professional medical discourse is one of the efficient techniques in current methodology of teaching English. The topicality of the research is determined, firstly, by the fact that different genres are commonly used in the practice of medical professional interaction and the domain of a foreign language teaching in a medical language classroom. Secondly, there is a need to outline grammar and lexical peculiarities of the genres of medical discourses and their functioning in oral and written speech. The authors study the problems of the theory of genres concerning medical discourses. The researchers characterize the main lexical and grammar peculiarities of the genre of an oral presentation of a patient’s medical history, the genre of a scientific text for the specialty “Technologies of Medical Diagnosing and Treatment”, the genre of a letter of referral to a medical specialist and reveal specific features of their functioning in oral and written speech. Linguistic analysis of a medical discourse which is focused on lexical, grammatical, functional and rhetoric peculiarities of a written or an oral discourse appears to be very fruitful allowing us to answer the questions how tests are structured and organized. Textual success often depends on the familiarity of text organization for readers of the discourse community, however small or large that community might be and students should be aware of the genre norms. Dealing with professional medical genres, we assume that every genre is clearly structured and has its own sets of language structures. The task of language instructors is to acquaint the learners with existing genre norms. The authors have singled out the “moves” of the three genres and developed the sequence of pre-reading, while-reading, post-reading and information gap activities which are effective while working on the discourses that have been studied.

A communicative act as a main unit of teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language

The author, emphasizing the necessity of updating the content of the language education of non-philological foreign students of Ukrainian universities, performs a linguo-didactic analysis of the subject side of the content of the system of teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language to non-philological students. Within the modern linguistic paradigm, the subject content of teaching a foreign language, in particular UFL, is considered a system of linguistic means (phonetic, lexical, grammatical, stylistic, socio-cultural, speech etiquette, rhetorical). In the conditions when the modern linguodidactic paradigm is dominated by communicative-activity and intercultural approaches and the consciously-practical method of teaching, aimed at ensuring that foreign students would master the content component of their language education, the following units of learning are recognized: sentences, expressions, texts, and dialogues. The need for updating the content component of the teaching system of UFL arises in connection with the requirements of the modern information society and new requirements for the tasks and results of teaching foreign languages. It has been found that the achievements of a relatively new theory of language communication will allow refining the components of the content of foreign language teaching, which will have an impact on improving the quality of language education of foreign non-philological students of Ukrainian universities. The submitted scientific research substantiates the choice of such a unit of study as a communicative act, which in the future allows reforming the educational process to attract foreign students to Ukrainian discourses. The author describes the structural-semantic components of the personal, verbal-cognitive, verbal and extraverbal levels of the communicative act as a fragment of the communication process within a certain communicative situation. The conclusion is made about the potentialities of the described parameters of the communicative act as a basis for updating the steady methodical principles of language material selection.

A brief review of innovations in the education system and teaching languages to marine engineers

Trends in entrepreneurship education have been the focus of this research. Numerous recent trends have included the expansion of entrepreneurship education across primary, secondary, high, and higher schools. The increase of the implementation of the new teaching approach in education programs and teaching activities worldwide and the growth of entrepreneurship education across all the levels within educational systems are also mentioned. Entrepreneurship education is believed to be one of the most appropriate approaches that encourage students to develop useful professional skills that could be helpful both in everyday life and career. Thus this paper aims to review the general knowledge base regarding the recommendation by reporting the reasons activated the interest in entrepreneurship in education, as it is a kind of innovation in professional non-economic education and is not popular among school teachers and university lecturers. The authors underline that multidisciplinary teaching techniques are becoming more popular as they explore a recent tendency of universities to create a new curriculum for entrepreneurship and innovation activities for professional subjects. The paper begins by considering so-called Clip-thinking researches as this specific mindset is thought to be one of the urgent reasons that make it necessary to work out the entrepreneurship approach in teaching. It then considers some literature that can be used in teaching English both everyday and professional, the design and construction of which is identified by the demands of Clip-thinking peculiarities. Then the researchers inform why and how entrepreneurship approach should be implemented in teaching professional English for Maritime engineers and how the creation of such activities can be ‘successful’. There is also presented a list of pedagogical approaches to be used in the classroom and in outclass activities. The goals of the above mentioned educational approach are enlisted as well.

The use of Classroom routines in memorization and further development of communicative competence

The paper deals with the issue of memorization and acquisition of a target language unit by performing multiple repetitions while avoiding dullness and boredom. The author highlights the considerable role of classroom routines in memorization of target language units and further strengthening of communicative competence. Classroom routines are regarded as a powerful resource to solve a significant teaching problem connected with performing multiple repetitions and at the same time avoiding monotony. This article aims to analyze the use of classroom daily routines in memorizing target language units and to offer a set of activities aimed at forming and developing such components of students’ communicative competence as grammatical competence (words and rules) and discourse one (cohesion and coherence). Various methods, strategies, techniques based on multiple repetitions of the same content are taken into consideration. Special attention is paid to drilling techniques. The peculiarities of meaningful repetition are revealed and as a result, the meaningful drilling technics are offered. Learners of foreign languages retain new language units much more successfully not by rote memorization but when they get frequent repetition of these language units, make meaningful connections to real life and when these connections are personalized. In real life, people are frequently forced to repeat the same many times while performing daily routines. Such kind of repetition is natural. In foreign language teaching performing daily routines acts like an artificial linguistic environment and can work as a kind of language immersion. The author offers some examples of activities aimed at forming, developing, and strengthening such components of students’ communicative competence as grammatical competence (words and rules) and discourse one (cohesion and coherence). They are described in the most frequently used formats. Classroom routines are certain to be a powerful resource to solve the problem connected with performing memorization and at the same time avoiding dullness and tedium. It is proved that well-organized daily classroom routines performing activities ensure substance memorization, not rote one. Moreover, properly organized daily classroom routines are supposed to reduce teacher talking time and consequently to increase student talking time.

Formation of language and speech skills for conducting the “doctor − patient” dialogue at lessons on Ukrainian as a foreign language

The author clarifies the importance of mastering the skills of professional doctor − patient dialogue for foreign students of medical universities as one of the main types of speech activity in their future profession. The article also presents a list of results expected after the completion of the “Professional speech” course. The author analyzes the methodological literature dedicated to the above problem, defines such concepts as “professional language”, “special language”, “professional readiness”, “medical spoken language” needed to understand the requirements for linguistic knowledge, speech skills of future doctors. The structure, content, and tasks of the professional dialogue “doctor − patient” are also determined. The professional dialogue has introductory, main and final parts, each with its peculiarities that concern grammar and vocabulary aspects. All three parts have different purposes. The task of the introductory part is to establish contact with the patient; that of the basic one is to get the information you need from the patient for successful further treatment; and the final one is to provide clear and coherent recommendations and to reach an agreement on the next steps. The author outlines the basic educational material which should be mastered by foreign students during the “Professional speech” course and suggests appropriate types of work for the development of professional speech culture. Formation of communicative tasks, understanding ways of their implementation through communicative strategies and tactics are found to be essential skills for future healthcare professionals. Each of the structural parts of the professional dialogue contains label units, and therefore students are required to know such traditional tokens to be able to use them correctly, and to understand the impact of these units on the interlocutor’s consciousness. The paper mentions basic principles of semantization of the new vocabulary, i.e. translation, clarity, suggestion of synonyms, antonyms or common root words, presentation of the context, etc. An emphasis is placed on the importance of students’ acquisition of certain speech genres for their successful future practice in medical institutions: invitation, order, request, recommendation, remarks, etc.