This article is devoted to the study of the problem of students’ spontaneous speech-skills development when learning a foreign language. The analysis of methodological objectives, psychological goals and conversational situations stimulating the formation of spontaneous speech skills are presented in this thesis.
Keywords :English as a foreign language, foreign language teaching methodology, the oral approach, communication situation, real and imaginary situations, speech patterns, spontaneous communication.
Successful assimilation of any lexical and grammatical topic and understanding of the subject of communication in a foreign language is great achieved through speech interaction. Active and interactive teaching methods are at the center of the modern educational process and help students to be involved in active communication in the target language [2]. The development of communication skills in a foreign language can be divided into several stages: the introduction of knowledge (phonetic, lexical and grammatical), the introduction of a system of exercises, the development of the studied material through communication or discussion.
The special attention in the English practical course is paid to reading and translating texts, mastering lexical and grammatical material, given a speech situation, less often is devoted to listening, and very rarely — spontaneous speaking. Obviously, these types are transmitted in a certain way speech activity and will be development of the untrained speaking. However, a properly composed system of exercises will contribute to the development of speech skills necessary for spontaneous communication in a foreign language.
The gradual, sequential formation of language material contributes to the effective development of students' speech skills. In addition, the ability to use verbal and non-verbal means of communication and comparative ability are subsequently developed.
The analysis of the quality of the skills and abilities of students of language specialties in the field of oral communication indicates need to improve methods development of spontaneous foreign language speech. Getting started on developing conversational skills, the teacher should develop an algorithm for the use of pedagogical technologies that would lead the student to achieve a predictable result, namely, to the ability to quickly respond on situationally conditioned changes in the nature of communication in a foreign language. Each method that is aimed at work with the language material chosen by the teacher in the classroom should bring students as close as possible to the real ones life situations. In connection with the above, the purpose of the article is to trace what types speech activity and in what sequence can be applied for the development of spontaneous speech in the classroom for the practical course of the English language.
The analysis of the literature shows that the importance of situations and actions in the presentation of new linguistic material was highlighted back in the 19th century by Felix Guen.
His ideas were reflected in such methodological systems and approaches as «situational language teaching» and «oral approach». Currently, situational learning is considered one of the most effective and modern methods of teaching communication in a foreign language.
In situational communication, the subject content is obvious, therefore, speech material is memorized easily and immediately. Learning occurs in the process of speech activity: the student learns new material through personal communication experience and then reproduces it in his speech in the subsequent time.
Therefore, it is extremely important to simulate real speech situations and provide a context for foreign language speech during the lesson. For the entry level, it is necessary to introduce short dialogues with simple constructions and gradually increase the volume. For a higher level, it is necessary to select relevant topics or problems for discussion [4]. It can solve the next methodological tasks:
— Increases the readiness of students to come into contact with each other and with the teacher, creating conditions for interpersonal interaction and breaking down psychological barriers in communication;
— Reduces anxiety and increases the psychological readiness of students to communicate in a foreign language (as a rule, students experience a huge moral and intellectual burden, daily coping with a number of problems caused by new living conditions, a new learning system and a new social environment);
— Allows learners who experience difficulties in connection with a new linguistic context to integrate more easily into a new social environment.
— Provides a natural need for constant revision of language material;
— Improves the skill of selecting the appropriate speech material and thereby contributes to the development of spontaneous communication.
Communication situations during the lesson can be divided into two main groups: real and imaginary. Real life situations include normal everyday events in the classroom, for example, the presence or absence of visual aids in the lesson, the presence or absence of some students, or interpersonal relationships in the group. Such situations already contain motivation to communicate, which means they contribute to the development of communication skills in a foreign language. However, these situations do not allow to adequately solve the problem of developing students' communicative competence.
Imaginary communication situations are conversational practice in which participants can exercise their communication skills by taking on different social roles. Examples of such situations might include a discussion between a seller and a buyer, a conversation between students in the same group, etc. Imaginary situations can be of two types: problematic and conditional (the last type of imaginary situations is conditionally structured situations with given conditions and requirements, for example, the requirement to use a certain set of expressions and speech patterns in communication) [3].
The main difficulties that a teacher encounters during the formation of communicative competence in students are associated with a lack of motivation, fear of speaking a foreign language, being misunderstood, unheard, being subject to criticism due to the mistakes, as well as inability to withstand the required duration of communication in a foreign language.
A real communication situation can be recreated in class by working with authentic material, which can be used as any video, from artistic to advertising or computer program with video sequence. The foreign language culture which is presented on the screen brings students as close as possible to the natural conditions of communication, gives them a visual representation of traditions and linguistic realities English-speaking countries.
Thus, the analysis showes that a step-by-step and sequential training of spontaneous speech in English is necessary. For each lesson, it is necessary to apply a whole system of communicative-oriented exercises on different topics. The sequence of exercises and their types must be determined by the teacher himself. In addition, different sources of exercise should be used, taking into account the personality of the students, their level of knowledge and individual abilities.
References:
- Chomsky N. A. On Nature and Language. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. — 305 p.
- Kargina E. М. Razvitie spontannoi inoyazichnoi rechi v processe obucheniya inostrannomu yaziku v tehnicheskom vuze // Molodoi uchenui. − 2015. − № 8.
- Leontiev А. А. Pedagogicheskoe obshenie. М.: Elpha, 1996. 192 p.
- Richards J. C. Communicative Language Teaching Today. — Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. — 356 p.
