Philology. Methods of teaching language and literature

Senior lecturer of foreign languages department Kaminska N.M.

Sumy National Agrarian University

BASIC KNOWLEDGE FOR ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS

DEVELOPMENT

Basic knowledge of learning English in universities built on the motivation and the frame of knowledge that a student already has. Such knowledge is called a frame, in which cells the new language structures are being put and the language structures that have been studied are being restored, renewed, replenished or replaced according to the today demands.

For example: ‘the truth behind’ instead of ‘ the secret, hidden or concealed truth’;

‘survival run’ instead of ‘dangerous travelling’

More effective a frame is being filled with knowledge when a student is in an active form of learning. The active form of learning English in universities can be created when a student has an experience within professional practices in the home country and abroad.

The first step is to give a student a topic-situation, words and phrases that he / she has already known or hasn’t known before, and develops the situation in English, using words and phrases known to the present already and the proposed ones.

For example: ‘kernel’ in the meaning of ‘seed’;

‘treat’ in the meaning of ‘to interpret’;

‘drives’ in the meaning of ‘contacts’ ( a noun)

‘cell’ in the meaning of ‘element’;

‘charge’ in the meaning of ‘cartridge’

A student does knows from school that ‘to treat’ means ‘to cure’ or ‘to help smb with smth’; ‘drives’ is from ‘to drive a car’; ‘cell’ is a small item of a body, ( a brick of a body’); ‘charge’ is always used in the meaning of ‘a payment’ or ‘a duty’.

In this case, such situational circumstances must act, as:

* a learner has to be involved in the active and understandable for him situation; (if a student is studying at the electrical engineering faculty he/she understands an electrical meaning of words ‘charge’ or ‘contacts’);

* learning surroundings should be democratic and constructive; ( it’s understandable: each student is given a chance to speak and say his/her own ideas);

* the activity of students should be inter-communicative with a leader in the activity conducting; (there is always one or several students who has been speaking in English fluently since school and is/are eager to be a leader and to argue with groupmates);

* a teacher facilitates learning by repetition of sentences, encouraging them to remember; ( the position of a teacher is active to warm a conversation; to pay attention to ‘interesting’ words, phrases, sentences or quotations to stress them to the students; or write them down on the blackboard or even reapeat aloud);

The following step is a situation in which students were present, which is familiar to them or desirable for the acquisition of experience. You need to focus and highlight the social and communication skills along with the exchange of ideas, using words and phrases and whole sentences, already familiar, or heard, used in earlier situations.

Such area of learning English in universities usually requires an independent or tutoring training:

* one or more students can prepare a situation at the consultative classes in order to perform it easy at the general lesson and embrace the other students; (there is a student that has had professional practice in a foreign country and spoke English; so he/she prepares a situation of a more unforgettable moment, writing words or phrases he/she came across and was puzzled; a teacher helps him/her how to present it more constructively. For example; a difference in using a word ‘lunch’ in Great Britain and in the USA);

* one or more students develop the situation, prepare it and, presenting words, phrases and even whole sentences at the classes, show a ready-made situation as a result of using the knowledge given at the classes and prepared by themselves based upon their own experience gained during the professional practice;

* students are given a situation, which is unfamiliar to them, is not their expertise, but in which students can use familiar and studied words, phrases and whole sentences studied earlier to consolidate knowledge and skills; ( for students of an electrical engineering department it may be a situation “at the boiler”);

* a use of films gives a visual perception of the situation, bringing a different meaning in the experience of learning English;

* discussing a proposed situation or a situation defined by students is one of the most important steps in using language knowladge in a free situation as a key of speaking language fluently.

The role of the teacher in class is a classic one: repeating the sentences, words or phrases, asking questions, developing the situation, encouraging students to maintain the situation, to expand knowledge by using already known or new situational trends, raising them to the conclusions on the topic.

There are three main supporting steps:

* a creation of the model;

* training or coaching;

* sampling of knowledge required at this stage of life;

Creating a model for learning English is the specific goal of speach. Such a goal can take several forms:

* ability to ask questions;

* ability to understand the situation and develop it;

* drawing up a situational projects;

* developing a project into an integration problem at the program level.

Basic knowledge of learning English encourages students to study the contents of the situation and develop it theoretically to solve a problem.Thus, learning English becomes problematico- situational, that allows a student in different situations to find those sentences, words or phrases that helps him /her to understand the situation, to decide what words and phrases to use and, of course to be understandable in the situation, nevertheless what the unfamiliar surroundings are.

Basic knowledge of learning English offers an assessment within different kinds of tests. In this case, students need to choose the correct answer. But tests are developed in a way that give students the opportunity not only to find the right answer, but also to continue the situation, to develop it, to find the right way out using the basic situational direction or situational problem that a student studied during classes This gives a student the opportunity to show his / her point of view, to use his / her background in other disciplines and, as a whole, to demonstrate a creative and independent approach to check how to use knowledge and skills in the proposed situation that can be such as in the practical life.

For students of an electrical engineering department an interesting topic is a topic of new forms of getting electricity. This discovery is being developed and there are a lot of ‘white spots’ in this direction and there are many discoveries and practices in physics, chemistry, thermodynamics, etc. A teacher gives a situation : At the Ocean Power Plant” and the words: tides; spins; piston; warning; buoy; dam; estuarу; dive; scuba divers cavern; conversio. And sentences as ‘ There are three basic ways to tap the ocean for its energy. We can use the ocean's waves, we can use the ocean's high and low tides, or we can use temperature differences in the water.’

Then students may speak and share their knowledge on the given topic with the information they have recieved from classes, books, Internet, films and so on. They are learning some subjects on their speciality, they have professional practice on different objects connecting with the future job; so they have enough information to share; they need only an opportunity to speak and the help how to speak correctly using words, phrases, sentences which reflect their experience. A lot of students write their term or diploma works and have a great number of information to use in speaking English.