ELTWeekly Vol. 4 Issue#15 | April 9, 2012 | ISSN 0975-3036
This paper is submitted by D.K. Kurmanayeva of The L. N. Gumilyov Euroasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan.
The higher education institutions of non-linguistic specialties are now facing a problem of students to be professionally trained and graduated from not only in their respective qualifications and specialties but also in the faculty of comprehensive thinking and acquiring knowledge along with multicultural issues. This requires providing such important arrangements to be made for the foreign languages teaching process as various kinds of intercourse related to a given social and cultural ambience, sociopolitical activity along with the main professionally (specialization) adjusted intercourse as the dominating one. It will comprehensively define and shape the professional terms of reference and lights of a given specialist in the course of the higher education process thus incorporating all personal lights what allows the specialist to properly employ and accomplish his/her professional activity by more efficient way, what in turn also provides for further mental development of individuals. In this aspect, the communication component shall be the key one.
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Thus communication abilities development in the course of teaching at non-linguistic departments is now one of the principal problems. A specialist must possess culture of thinking, such ways and forms of speech in communication, intellectual skills as to be able to discriminate main issues and problems, analyze, compare, associate, generalize, connect available knowledge and experience with the new ones, of course, along with acquiring professional skills and knowledge. He/she must also critically evaluate the acquired knowledge and experience, think creatively, and be able to properly formulate his /her own logical wording and phrases on a given topic of discussion.
But the modern conditions of social development determine the necessity of culturology knowledge, i.e., study of history and cultural features of various regions ofKazakhstanas being components of the national heritage. Therefore the main purpose of our study is the problem of defining in what correlation and how the regional materials is kept, managed, and introduced into the comprehensive foreign language teaching process.
In defining criteria for assimilation of the regional materials and knowledge we shall employ the following principles of didactics:
– inter-subject links in studying regional materials;
– multifunctional nature of regional materials.
Inter-subject links in studying regional materials may be implemented by way of using in speech information from various sources and domains of knowledge such as literature, art, culturology, regional (area) studies which are to be employed as ways and methods in providing comprehensive improvements for foreign languages teaching process.
Multifunctional nature of regional materials is the purpose of teaching and means of acquiring information in a wide range of knowledge branches.
It’s important to keep in view that in formation of linguistically skilled individual in foreign languages teaching process going on in the inter-cultural communication and environment justly language provides every individual with various opportunities to get to know and understand each other better, be an interesting and good vis-à-vis or company, sapient individual, to get familiar with historical destinies of nations, experience esthetic pleasure of having a good command in foreign languages including proper articulation. All that is exactly provided for by proper implementation of inter-subject links.
Teachers should enjoy the freedom in choosing proper methodology, ways and means of teaching process what will corroborate the necessity of taking into consideration inter-subject links in proper using of regional materials in teaching foreign languages what in turn will provide teachers with an opportunity to free themselves from conformism and conventionality and thus encourages and promotes them to creativity. Comprehensive approach will surely increase knowledge and efficiently helps employ it in teaching and training process.
Inter-subject links and integration of the regional component may be implemented in two following trends:
First trend is related to the information about a particular region (area) from various subjects such as history, geography, literature, art that are to be included into the course of a foreign language learning. We introduce various fragments and bits of exciting regional materials into English lessons what helps students to be closely acquainted with culture. history, literature, customs and traditions of home area. Handling and further operation with the regional materials requires meticulous selection of the materials at hand what allows students to properly acquaint with the history of the native area.
Second trend is manifested in retrying to creatively comprehend the acquired regional information, ability to give tangible and definite form to and further analyze historical and modern trends in the home area developments.
Progress of students is exercised in the process of their proper involvement into various projects, researches, studies, creative activity. As an outcome of such participation students shall acquire the following skills:
- acquire, process and create required information;
- transfer knowledge and skills out of various domains, tailor-made training brainstorming to the communication situations occurring in real life;
- be a team player and act independently;
- critically evaluate oneself, real life ambiance both at school and beyond it;
- freely enter into conversations in English. /1/
At present the purpose of a teacher shall be:
- create proper conditions for students in order that each should acquire proper abilities and skills in reading, understanding and following simple authentic texts for the purpose of catching and keeping in mind principal contents, meaning (plot), details, getting specific information concerning native land, its daily life, culture, history, significance including existing problems of the people living in it;
- create proper conditions for students in order that each should acquire proper abilities and skills in composing stories about their respective native regions, their daily life, culture, history, significance including existing problems of the people living there;
- create proper conditions for students in order that they should acquire and further develop proper abilities and skills in their independent (individual), team, project, consultation performance at English lessons or English training courses;
- create proper conditions in order to train and shape graduating students of higher education institutions as skilled and efficient creators, users and keepers of various social and cultural values of a given region (area). /2/
The regional component provides for an opportunity to introduce into teaching process materials related to traditions, culture of a given region, and which defines values, area studies and knowledge, actual conditions, practically oriented issues, attractiveness of the training and educational aids and materials as a whole.
To define functionality in the structure of foreign languages teaching contents for the students of non-linguistic specialty the above mentioned components have been adopted as basic ones for criteria as follows:
- cognitive component. This criterion is supposed to determine assimilation of the existing phenomena of national culture which promote development of students by way of raising their educational level in general culture and area studies, facilitate formation of the national culture principles in the mental outlook of students what must constitute the integrated system of conceptions and ideas about principal national traditions, customs and other realities of the native land (region). Up-to-date facts which are generally well-known among local population in a given native land (region) must be included into curriculum;
- values component. This criterion shows personal attitude of a future specialist towards his/her professional activity in an existing system of values. Up-to-date facts which are generally well-known among local population in a given native land (region) must be included into curriculum. The criterion reveals and shows exciting aspects of life of a given people, forms cognitive concerns thus supporting them in the following stages of teaching and training process. It really secures formation of sustainable concern and love as for the native land;
- activity component. This criterion reveals and shows exciting aspects of life of a given people, forms cognitive concerns thus supporting them in the following stages of teaching and training process; using lexical elements with semantics of national culture when keeping up conversation in foreign languages. /3/
Following the above mentioned components, these criteria are defined as actual evaluators of knowledge and activity contents components of the regional awareness of students.
The importance of employing these components as the criteria lies in the fact that the proper implementation of these components in foreign language learning will certainly determine not only moral, esthetic and civil education of the future specialist but will also enhance the efficiency of the teaching process as a whole, adaption of the regional materials, creative activity in proper introduction of these materials into practice along with their correlation as to the existing ambiance, and intensify practical orientation of knowledge.
Having a good command in foreign languages is considered as a valuable component of the general culture of a person by means of which this person is getting familiar with the world culture wherein inter-cultural communication as ‘dialogue of cultures’ may be put into effect exclusively on the grounds of national culture assimilation, heritage of one’s own people. Multifunctional nature of the regional knowledge is a means of further raising of the general educational level and in having a good command in a foreign language.
Thus using regional component creates a special language environment which helps students approach history of their respective native land including its political and geographical situations, and these knowledge and awareness in turn help students to assimilate not only area studies but also historical materials in a foreign language in its learning process. Of course the regional materials will never replace other aids and means of foreign language teaching process. Just each item of them should be provided with its proper place in curriculum and teaching process as a whole.
Bibliography:
1) Belyaeva A.S. Methodology of Creating Auditorily at a Non-Linguistic Higher Education Institutions (along with consideration of school continuity). Thesis for Degree, M.,1983
2) Pustovalova N.V. Formation of Professional Trends of Students in the Foreign Language Teaching. Thesis for Degree, L.,1991
3) Folomkina S.K. Teaching to Read. Methodology of Foreign Language Teaching at Secondary School: Guide Book for Teachers’ Training Institutes. N.I. Gez, M.V. Lyahovitsky, A.A. Mirolyubov and others. M., 1982, 344 pgs.
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