Педагогические науки/5. Современные методы преподавания

Shishkina I.V., Pakhomenko Y.P.

E.A. Buketov Karaganda State university, Kazakhstan

The application of the intensive method in teaching foreign language

It is well-known that the main practical purpose of teaching foreign languages is the acquisition of the communication competency. How can one achieve a result when a foreign language is not only a means of communication but also a means of cognition? How can one work out skills of oral authentic foreign speech comprehension in spite of practically unlimited mode of life, sociopolitical and general scientific themes under conditions of strict time limit? To resolve the stated problems we are suggesting using an intensive method in teaching foreign languages.

Bulgarian scientist, PhD G. Lozanov in as far back as 60-s made such an experiment. During a lesson he gave students different amounts of information and researched how it was mastered. If one presents about 20-30 new notions during a lesson, as a rule they are mastered. If one presents more than 50 new notions, the curve goes down; more than 250 new notions, the curve of mastering goes up again. Lozanov studied these barriers and grounded them. He named the first of them “Critical-logical”, and the second “Intuitive-affective”. These barriers owing to the existing system of man’s upbringing and development preserve the brain from overloading with unnecessary information. However, can’t one overcome these barriers when it is needed? For example, with study purposes? Lozanov developed a special intensive methodics that he named “Suggestopedia”, in which he embodied the possibility of overcoming these barriers. Suggestia is the science of suggestion, of the use of unconscious mechanisms of the brain activity. Due to specially developed suggestion in game forms, Lozanov’s students overcome these information barriers. Lozanov’s best result is 1000 new words (new notions) within a lesson.

Thus, what is the main point of the intensive methodics? The lessons are conducted in the auditoriums that are very different from usual classrooms, and are much alike psychological unloading rooms. They are as usual rooms with darkened windows and dark wallpapers. The lighting is made in such a way that one can change its intensity from a bright colour to a semidarkness. A group for studying by the intensive methodics should contain 10-12 people, with the possible increase to 20 people. Such an amount of students lets a teacher, on the one hand, control each student individually and, on the other hand, use pedagogical possibilities of the group the role of which is considerably important in this method. The disposition of the students is also different from traditional, that is they sit in a semicircle in upholstered deep armchairs. It is necessary in order to create natural communication conditions, make visual contacts easier and use the methods of suggestopedia in teaching. The auditorium must be equipped by a projector, a screen, a blackboard and a tape recorder. These are the minimum needed technical means for normal provision of the study process.

Before the beginning of the lessons it is recommended to give a talk to students during which the teacher is getting acquainted with them and is explaining how the study process will proceed, what their tasks will be, how they should study in the auditorium and at home, and what the results will be.

All the lessons are united with a single plot. For example, a group of foreign guests visit our country. It lets provide a logical passage from one lesson to another. The students become the members of a tourist group and through this the participants of all events that are happening with the group. It is very important that at the first lesson all the students get the names of the foreign guests that become their names (masks, roles) during the entire course. It helps to resolve a great range of serious problems: psychological, psychotherapeutical, methodical, linguistic and so on. In particular, it gives the opportunity to provide the “immersion” of the students in a language environment and “to turn off” a native language for a while by replacing it with the studying language.

The roles which a student performs help him activate his creative capabilities; contribute to opening and showing his individuality. Role games, play activities increase the emotional status of the study process. As a result, the lessons turn into a vivid, interesting, thrilling activity.

All the language material is divided into micro cycles, each of which contains the main text-polylogue, the texts of the monologue nature, lexical-grammatical commentary, oral and written home tasks. All the polylogues must be united with the main plot, that is the visit of foreign tourists to our country. Each polylogue is one of the stages of the visit. Thus, one can prototype students’ speech behaviour in different situations of the speech communication. The main text-polylogue of the micro cycle contains not less than 150 new lexical units (the first three texts – not less than 300 units each) and selected grammatical phenomena. Besides, there is an advanced grammatical material. Lexical-grammatical material is included in the situations developing the topic of the lesson. Dialogues are dynamic and natural. This contributes to their easy memorizing. The extra texts are, on the whole, of a monologue nature. They are connected with the main text thematically and are made on its lexical-grammatical material. The texts are compiled in such a way that students could compare the realities of our country with the realities of the country of the studying language, and through this join the culture of this nation. The texts let us solve a few problems during the study course at the same time. First of all, they are the extra means for teaching a monologue speech. Listening and teaching all the types of reading are conducted with the help of these texts. Besides, they are gradually preparing the students for reading adapted, and then the original literature. Home tasks are the form of self-control of the studying language mastering. The oral tasks offer the students the possibility to think about and find the language means to solve the specific problem. It makes a student look through the polylogue with certain purposes, choose and combine necessary communication blocks, apply to the commentaries for an explanation, that is do a sensible job. The result of this research is confirmed in a written or oral form. The written tasks practise the use of the language material forms, certain grammatical phenomena and so on. The lexical-grammatical commentary is the support for self systematization of the language material by the students. The students are offered to familiarize themselves with the commentaries only after all the phenomena explained in the commentaries are familiar to the students as they were used by them many times.

The special meaning in the intensive course of study is contained in the problem of time allocation of the study material. It is regulated by a range of factors of different nature: didactical, methodical, psychological and social-psychological. All these factors are equally important, interrelated and are subordinate to the purposes of the study.

Let us now consider at what stage, at what skill’s mastering the intensive method is the most effective. As it is known, the main purpose of teaching a foreign language is the mastering good speaking skills. However, this process is practically impossible without mastering good listening skills. Good listening skills developing at the very early stage of the intensive course are improving, turning into the skill during the study course itself, and they provide the comprehension of 50% to 100% of the amount of heard information.

The practice shows that to work out good enough listening skills the student should master “a listening vocabulary”. It is a special kind of vocabulary, comprehension of which is reached not only because of the really known initial words but because of knowing the rules of word building. It includes unknown words understood because of working out the student’s skill of contextually anticipated comprehension.

Speaking must strictly regulate the amount of the needed minimum of lexical and linguistic material in general, which the student should master to be able to participate fully in the communication process as an individual. This minimum, except the word and grammatical language material, suggests mastering a variety of the main extra linguistic means of the language, for example, the speech tempo, and the nature of pauses (their duration and distribution).

The listening and speaking minimum-vocabularies must present such vocabularies on the basis of which the intensive courses of foreign languages can be built.

The extension of the speaking vocabulary occurs by means of listening vocabulary. During the process of skills’ improvement in all the types of the speech activity the listening vocabulary as well as the speaking one extend while the gap between the first and the second and the advanced growth of the first maintain. Listening vocabulary is essentially “a passive vocabulary”, which permanently enriches the active vocabulary of the student.

The selection of the lexical material for the course of the intensive study is carried out according to a thematic principle. It means that according to the thematic organization of each specific text of the lesson thematically reliable words take an extra filter check from the point of view of their frequency, high semantic value, combinability, presence and possibility of introduction of their synonyms, antonyms and omonyms.

With regard to grammatical language phenomena, they are all included in the course. While introducing them the same principles are observed: language reliability, sense contraposition, and possibility to illustrate them using the lesson material.

Thus, one can draw a conclusion that the intensive method is one of the most effective methods of teaching foreign languages.

Литература:

1. Денисова Л.Г. Место интенсивной методики в системе обучения иностранному языку в средней школе. – Иностранные языки в школе, 1995, № 4, с.6-12.

2. Елухина Н.В. О включении элементов интенсивного обучения в преподавании иностранного языка в средней школе. – Иностранные языки в школе, 1990, № 6, с.7.

3. Рабинович Ф.М., Сахарова Т.В. Интенсивные методы обучения и средняя школа. – Иностранные языки в школе, 1991, № 1, с.9.