Коняева Людмила Александровна. Современная технология коммуникативного обучения английскому языку

УДК 378.147.34

СОВРЕМЕННАЯ ТЕХНОЛОГИЯ КОММУНИКАТИВНОГО ОБУЧЕНИЯ АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

Коняева Людмила Александровна,

доцент кафедры английской филологии № 1,

факультет Романо-германской филологии,

ФГБОУ ВПО «Кемеровский государственный университет»,

город Кемерово, Российская Федерация

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Аннотация: Прогрессивная технология коммуникативного обучения английскому языку, являясь оптимальным  и продуктивным методом перехода к знанию и владению языком на практике, позволяет в минимальные сроки развить практические навыки общения. Классический приём коммуникативного обучения – имитация и проекция обстоятельств и ситуаций из реальной жизни, при этом технология охватываете все аспекты речевой деятельности: лексику, грамматику, чтение, аудирование, устную, и письменную речь

Ключевые слова: коммуникативное обучение, практические навыки иноязычного общения, речевая направленность обучения, имитация социально-значимых ситуаций коммуникации, коммуникативная компетенция.

UDК 378.147.34

CURRENT COMMUNICATIVE METHOD

IN TEACHING ENGLISH

Konyaeva Ludmila Aleksandrovna

associate professor, English Philology Department № 1,

Romance and Germanic Philology Faculty, «Kemerovo State University»,

Kemerovo, Russian Federation

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Abstract: The modern technology of communicative English language teaching is an advanced and productive method of transition from theoretical knowledge of а

foreign language to its practical communication skills developing for the shortest possible time.  Classic method of communicative teaching is simulation of real life situations and interaction. The technology covers and develops all aspects of language skills: vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening, oral and written language.

Key words: a good command of English, communicative language teaching, communication skills, simulation of real life situations, communicative competence.

The ever-growing need for good communication skills in English has created a huge demand for English teaching around the world. Millions of people today want to improve their command of English or to ensure that they achieve a good command of English. And opportunities to learn English are provided in many different ways such as through formal instruction, travel, study abroad, as well as through the media and the Internet. The worldwide dеmand for English has created an enormous demand for quality language teaching and language teaching materials and resources. Learners set themselves demanding goals. They want to be able to master English to a high level of aссuracy and fluency. Employers, too, insist that their employees have good English language skills, and fluency in English is a prerequisite for success and advancement in many fields of employment in today’s world. The demand for an appropriate teaching methodology is as strong as ever.

A more or less classical formulation of methodology suggests that it links theory and practice. Within methodology a distinction is often made between methods and approaches, in which methods are held to be fixed teaching systems with prescribed techniques and practices, and approaches are language teaching philosophies that can be interpreted and applied in a variety of different ways in the classroom [1, р. 18].

Communicative language teaching sets as its goal the teaching of communicative competence. Communicative competence includes the following aspects of language knowledge:

- how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions,

- how to vary our use of language according to the setting and the participants (e.g., knowing when to use formal and informal speech or when to use language appropriately for written or spoken communication),

- how to produce and understand different types of texts (e.g., narratives, reports, interviews, conversations),

- how to maintain communication despite having limitations in one’s language knowledge (e.g., through using different kinds of communication strategies).

Teaching a language involves teaching aspects of the cultural system of the target language. Interaction may be understood as the social nature of school pedagogics. Interaction is necessarily involved into the social behavior, and, therefore, into the nature of the processes of teaching and learning. Furthermore, interaction requires a simultaneous participation on the part of learners and a teacher in the process of education. One of the teachers’ major concerns while planning a lesson is how to create comfortable and favorable conditions for students’ interaction [2, p. 73].

The understanding of the processes of second language learning has changed considerably in the last 30 years. Earlier views of language learning focused primarily on the mastery of grammatical competence. Language learning was viewed as a process of mechanical habit formation. Good habits are formed by having students produce correct sentences and not through making mistakes. Errors were to be avoided through controlled opportunities for production (either written or spoken). By memorizing dialogs and performing drills, the chances of making mistakes were minimized. Learning was very much seen as under the control of the teacher. In recent years, language learning has been viewed from a very different perspective. It is seen as resulting from processes such as:

- interaction between the learner and users of the language,

- collaborative creation of meaning,

- creating meaningful and purposeful interaction through the language,

- negotiation as the learner and the interlocutor arrive at understanding,

- learning through the feedback learners get when they use the language,

- paying attention to the language one hears (the input) and trying to incorporate new forms into one’s developing communicative competence,

- trying out and experimenting with different ways of saying things [3, p. 68]

Here are some core points of current communicative language teaching:

- second language learning is facilitated when learners are engaged in interaction and meaningful communication;

-  еffective classroom learning tasks and exercises provide opportunities for students to negotiate meaning, expand their language resources, notice how language is used, and take part in meaningful interpersonal exchange;

- meaningful communication results from students processing content that is relevant, purposeful, interesting, and engaging;

- сommunication is a holistic process that often calls upon the use of several language skills or modalities;

- language learning is facilitated both by activities that involve inductive or discovery learning of underlying rules of language use and organization, as well as by those involving language analysis and reflection;

- language learning is a gradual process that involves creative use of language, and trial and error. Although errors are a normal product of learning, the ultimate goal of learning is to be able to use the new language both accurately and fluently;

- lеаrners develop their own routes to language learning, progress at different rates, and have different needs and motivations for language learning;

- successful language learning involves the use of effective learning and communication strategies;

- the role of the teacher in the language classroom is that of a facilitator, who creates a classroom climate conducive to language learning and provides opportunities for students to use and practice the language and to reflect on language use and language learning;

- the clаssroom is a community where students learn through collaboration and sharing.

Communicative competence includes the following aspects of language knowledge:

- how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions,

- how to vary the use of language according to the setting and the participants (e.g., knowing when to use formal and informal speech or when to use language appropriately for written or spoken communication),

- how to produce and understand different types of texts (e.g., narratives, essays, reports, interviews, conversations),

- how to maintain communication despite having limitations in one’s language knowledge (e.g., using different kinds of communication strategies).

The understanding of the processes of second language learning has changed considerably in the last 30 years and CLT is partly a response to these changes in understanding. Earlier views of language learning focused primarily on the mastery of grammatical competence. Language learning was viewed as a process of mechanical habit formation. Good habits are formed by having students produce correct sentences and not through making mistakes. Errors were to be avoided through controlled opportunities for production (either written or spoken). By memorizing dialogs and performing drills, the chances of making mistakes were minimized. Learning was very much seen as under the control of the teacher. In recent years, language learning has been viewed from a very different perspective. It is seen as resulting from processes such as:

- interaction between the learner and users of the language,

- collaborative creation of meaning,

- creating meaningful and purposeful interaction through language,

- negotiation of  meaning as the learner and his or her interlocutor arrive at understanding,

- learning through attending to the feedback learners get when they use the language,

- paying attention to the language one hears (the input) and trying to incorporate new forms into one’s developing communicative competence,

- trying out and experimenting with different ways of saying things [4].

Finding appropriate teaching materials is not that hard, as our everyday life serves as a perfect resource for creating effective lessons and activities. An effective lesson does not nec­essarily require expensive and high-tech materi­als; oftentimes, breaking the routines will excite students, engage them in the lesson, and teach them the real use of language in context. Thus, one of the easiest and least expensive ways for teachers to prepare the most effective teaching materials is to look around and never underes­timate their sense of creativity. Achieving success in bilingual language productive result of mastering a foreign language acts as an aspect of the goal of artificial bilingualism and localized, in fact, in the framework of linguistic interactions.

To conclude, consideration of the aspects mentioned above every time while a teacher is planning a lesson may facilitate a team’s work organization and greatly improve the quality of the target material acquisition. Deciding upon which method to implement the teacher should consider a lot of impinging factors. Research suggests that the best approach is principled eclecticism. This is not a method in itself but the use of different methods and/or different techniques depending on factors such as learner’s age and needs; the goals and objective set, the available materials, and the teacher’s views about what learning and teaching encompasses.

References:

1. Rodgers T. S. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching / T.S. Rodgers / Cambridge Language Teaching Library, Washington, DC. – 2001. – 278 p.

2. Konyaeva L.A Interactive foreign language teaching and learning / Материали за 9-а  международна научна практична конференция, «Научният потенциал нсвета», 17 - 25 септември,  2013. Том 12. Филологични науки. София. «Бял ГРАД-БГ» - ООД - 88 р.

3. Richards J. C. Professional Development for Language Teachers: Strategies for Teacher Learning. – Cambridge University Press. – 2005. –202 p.

4. ECRIF: Seeing Learning – Overview – [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.ecrif.com/

Written by :

Гулов Артем Петрович