Peculiarities of organisational forms of work used at foreign language lessons in higher technical educational institutions

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Peculiarities of organisational forms of work used at foreign language lessons in higher technical educational institutions

The present article deals with various organisational forms of work when teaching a foreign language at higher technical educational institutions. The world school specifies three main organisational forms: individual, team and class method techniques used at the foreign language lessons. The main objective of the article is a detailed consideration of each form of work. Being essential components of the whole system of education they stipulate the effectiveness of the foreign language teaching process. The article considers the factors influencing the choice of an organisational form of work at the lesson and analyzes the peculiarities of their usage. The right choice of the form contributes to the expansion of possibilities of both students and a teacher, to the optimisation of educational process, to the growth of students ' motivation. There are a lot of challenges in mastering foreign language speaking skills. One of them is time restriction. The teacher cannot provide each student with sufficient time for speaking practice. Another difficulty is a difference of the levels of students 'foreign language knowledge, especially in higher technical educational institutions. Thus, there is a pressing necessity for foreign language teachers to look for various combinations of different organisational modes of work in order to solve these problems. The present article gives recommendations which should be taken into account when conducting different organisational forms of work and estimates their efficiency in the further development of communicative competence of students. Great attention is paid to the principles of team formation, the duration and frequency of conducting various organisational forms of work the principles of students' work estimation. The article defines the role of the teacher when conducting individual, team and class forms of work.

Throughout several decades the I active search of ways to increase educational _M.process efficiency is carried out. Various methods, techniques and organisational modes of teaching are considered and analysed. Organisational modes of study are variants of pedagogical dialogue between the teacher and the learner in the process of teaching. The higher educational institutions use three organisational modes of study are components of a foreign language training system. The individual form of teaching is implemented at work with each learner according to the individual plan the purpose of which is to adapt the system of task complexity.

The team form of work is determined as a dialogue between the teacher and the group of learners which co operate among themselves. The class form assumes simultaneous training of a group of learners with the subsequent control of results from the teacher. The class form of work is a traditional mode in secondary schools and higher educational institutions. It is aimed at “average” learners and does not take into account their specific features [2].

The aim of the research. The work is devoted to the consideration of the peculiarities of three organisational modes of study, the purposes which dictates conducting a certain form of work, to the determination of the stage of the teaching process when its usage is most effective for the improvement of the level of foreign language knowledge of students.

The study. Choosing the organisational form of work while teaching a foreign language the teacher must take into account a number of factors, of which the training purpose is the basic one. In the modern world the integration processes cover various spheres of life but such social spheres as science and education are involved most of all. And if several years ago the ability of students to read and understand professionally-oriented texts was the main purpose of foreign language training, the communicative orientation of teaching is the main aspect of training in technical colleges nowadays.

One of the predominant purposes of foreign language training of future engineers is their ability to speak on professional topics in real life situations. Often such concepts as the knowledge of a foreign language and the ability to speak in it are identified, though the first does not lead automatically to the second. For the development of speaking skills it is necessary to create a foreign language environment in which the student feels the necessity to use a foreign language meaningfully, i.e. to give him a chance to communicate. And in the process of speaking the learner keeps on improving his skills and his language command day by day [6].

Thus, the teacher faces the necessity to choose the appropriate organisational form of work and appropriate methods which provide the stimulation of students to understand and to respond, to speak language deliberately and purposefully. In this case the attention of students is directed not to the elements of the language, but to the discussed problem, to the necessity to transfer and receive information, i.e. to the semantic aspect of speaking. The student is no longer focused on language forms but on the tasks and problems in question. His attention is aimed at the informative meaning of the statement which is especially important for the students of technical specialities.

Having carried out the analysis of foreign language textbooks for students of higher technical educational institutions, we can notice regretfully that they include very few communication-oriented tasks. They are mainly focused on reading comprehension, on training professional terminology and grammar constructions.

Having given the student a certain lexical model or grammar structure, we expect that he will reproduce a large quantity of similar constructions. But it represents a useless task for the real act of dialogue. In real life situations we seldom use structures in the form in which they are given in grammar textbooks. In other words, the majority of tasks and exercises have reproductive character and represent mechanical trainings. Too much time is wasted by using the methods based on a principle “imitation - remembering”. But, unfortunately, these methods are not productive. Effective training in a greater degree does not depend on repeating correct forms and constructions, but it depends on the intensive increase of the necessity to communicate [3]. Language forms in this case are acquired by students subconsciously. Thus, we can come to the conclusion that the teacher of a foreign language should use all organisational forms of work directed to the strengthening of students' aspiration to communicate.

The individual form of work provides the accomplishment of the own task by the student irrespectively of others. This form of work promotes the development of a high level of independence of the student and allows him to show his capability. The individual form of work envisages the usage of handouts when the student receives the individual task and the teacher checks its accomplishment, writing of summaries and abstracts to the articles connected with the topics of the future profession in a foreign language [5]. One of the most difficult individual forms of work is writing a year project and presenting it in a foreign language when the process of teaching goes in a format “the student - the teacher”, i.e. the teacher individually advises the student. The use of individual work at the foreign language lessons should be thoroughly considered by the teacher in order to avoid irrational use of time i.e. when one student actively works, the others are not involved in learning process.

The class form of work at a foreign language training assumes joint activity of all students. The teacher uses this organisational form of work when explaining new grammar material, introducing new words and word-combinations, checking reading and translation of the text, checking home-assignment, setting identical tasks for the decision. Class mode of work is aimed at general advancement of students in learning, but it cannot be considered as a universal form. Its main drawback is that it does not consider specific features of each student though at a certain stage of study this form is necessary [5].

According to the rules adopted in the majority of technical colleges, the most efficient work can be carried out in groups in which the number of students fluctuates from 13 to 15 persons. But even in such groups to create conditions when each student feels the necessity to communicate is difficult enough. The main reason of it, especially in technical colleges, is the sharp distinction in the levels of students' knowledge of a foreign language. There are students who finished lyceums and gymnasiums and have rather good command of the foreign language and students with a low level of knowledge. Students with good knowledge take the initiative in role plays, dominate in discussions, thus suppressing and giving no opportunity to the students with a low level of knowledge to express their point of view. These students feel discomfort, difference in status and inferiority complex. They are afraid of speaking and making mistakes. The way out of a situation is to form three or four small subgroups or teams (3 - 4 students) according to their level of knowledge. Such subgroups or teams have received the name “buzzing groups” where each student has the opportunity to express his opinion. The team form of work helps to overcome such obstacle as fear of speaking. The main purpose of the team form of work is to provide a forum so that every student can join discussion, participate effectively and become a high-grade player of the team which, finally, leads to the increase of his level of knowledge and mastering of a foreign language. The team form of work increases the time of speaking of the student by 10 - 15 times. This organisational form of work provides guided but unrestricted practice in using the foreign language in real life and realistic situations and opens up possibilities for meaningful interaction.

The team form of work which basic characteristic is its communicative orientation, implements the main principle of didactics - an activity principle in training. This principle is characterised by high level of informative motivation. This form of work is aimed at promoting active participation of the learner in class work throughout the whole academic year, at the provision of corresponding communicative activity of students with different levels of knowledge and with different capabilities, at overcoming language barriers. The team form of work represents interactive mode of study which develops the speech initiative of students and provides mutual enrichment.

Being the major communication medium language fulfils a number of social functions. The team work opens possibilities for the deliberate social interaction. Students in the teams discuss problems and solve tasks which represent professional interest for them, being based on the knowledge received at lectures on the profile disciplines. They help one another within a team and receive the help from other teams. It is an acknowledged fact that students learn a foreign language not only from the teacher, but also from the fellow students. There is very often a certain element of competition among the teams, but within the team the spirit of cooperation prevails. Foreign language learning acquires the features of cooperation and mutual understanding, thus, it ceases to be a competition where only some achieve a success. In the process of communication students realise what abilities they must acquire in order to participate in discussion. Each student aspires to add the information given by other members of the team. And even if the student does not take part in the discussion, he learns a foreign language, listening to the statements of his team mates. Gradually such students start to break a barrier and participate in discussion, at first using short phrases and in due course going down to longer statements. Feeling of fear to make a mistake disappears, the attention of students is concentrated on the communication [1].

While planning the team form of work the teacher should take into consideration the following aspects:

- Principles of team formation;

- The purposes which should be reached as a result of carrying out team work;

- Frequency of carrying out the team form of work;

- Duration of team work;

- Behaviour of the teacher during the team work;

- Principles of estimation of the work of each student.

Formation of teams should be conducted by the teacher flexibly, taking into account the following moments:

- Level of the student's knowledge of a foreign language;

- Capabilities of the student;

- Personal characteristics of the student.

Such principles of team formation as the level of knowledge and capabilities of students are the main ones as they help to avoid the confusion of the students with poor knowledge of a foreign language, and boredom of the students who know the language well. The former keep silent and the latter dominate in discussion. Moving of students from one team to another can take place for the purpose of facilitating the communicative activity in the team, but this rearrangement should not be frequent. To work effectively the team should remain stable for some time [7].

After forming the teams, the teacher gives detailed instructions, explains an operating mode of work and determines the tasks. Each student should understand the tasks clearly. Experience shows that the work of the teams on the different aspects of the same problem is extremely desirable. The teacher should act as a person to be referred to in a difficulty, thus encouraging and helping the students. The teacher should not do what the students can do by themselves, should not interfere in the discussion without necessity, should not correct mistakes in pronunciation and language structures if they do not prevent general understanding of the utterance.

When discussion in teams is finished, representatives of each team present the variants of the problem resolution, thus, supplementing each other. For example, the task for discussion given to the teams is what type of the water-purifying equipment should be installed at Bortnichesky water in taking station. The first team considers its efficiency, the second team - its period of operation, the third team - its reliability, the fourth team - its cost and installation terms. After these problems have been discussed in the teams, their representatives offer and prove their solution. As a result all the students receive the detailed information on the given problem [6].

If we want to achieve higher efficiency we should conduct team form of work regularly. Though it can be conducted at different stages of study, it is more preferable to apply it at the final stage of work on a theme. In this case students have an opportunity to include repeatedly the learnt material in their utterances, they are more confident in its transformation and usage in spontaneous speech [4].

The spadework should necessarily precede the carrying out of team work. The lexical material on the given theme, phrases and expressions necessary for discussion should be given and learnt by the students. And only after that it is possible to start the team work and, using the acquired vocabulary, the student can state his vision of a problem and defend his point of view. Otherwise there will be misunderstanding and a lack of lexical material will prevent his participation in discussion. The choice of a task and a topic should correspond to the level of students' knowledge of their future speciality The theme should be interesting and disputable, encouraging the students to express their opinion.

One of the important questions at carrying out team work is its duration. Experience shows that carrying out team work within 15 minutes is optimum. Longer team work leads to monotony and boredom. Shorter team work excludes the possibility of effective communication.

While conducting team form of work the teacher should not interfere with the process of discussion of a problem, influencing a course of discussion and decision making process. The primary purpose of the teacher is to maintain the atmosphere of confidence of success, to help students to overcome the block of speaking, to act as a person to whom it is possible to address for the help in a difficult situation. The teacher observes and co-ordinates the work in teams, addressing to students with the request to express their opinion on a discussed problem only when he sees that these students do not take part in the discussion.

One of the greatest difficulties which the teacher does not face while conducting individual and class forms of work in the process of foreign language teaching, is an estimation of work of each student. For a short period of time (15 minutes) the teacher should estimate the work of each student in all teams. This estimation is additional stimulus for more active participation in discussion or role play. It is recommended to estimate the following parameters of work of the student:

- Participation degree;

- General understanding;

- Effective communication;

- Literacy

Conclusion. Having analysed the peculiarities of all the organisational forms of work at a foreign language lesson, it is possible to come to a conclusion that, having a communicative orientation, the team mode of work creates the conditions which are closest to real life situations and promotes the development of the language competence of students more than any other form.

All organisational forms of work while teaching a foreign language are necessary and fulfil specific functions. Practical and theoretical considerations show that only their reasonable combination when teaching a foreign language promotes the increase of efficiency of educational process.

References

foreign language work

1.Gromova, O. J. Orhanizatsiia parnoi ta hrupovoi roboty na zaniattiakh z inozemnoi movy [Organization of pair and team work at a foreign language lesson]. [Electronic Resource]. Access Mode: www.rudocs. exdat.com/docs.

2.Lihachev, B. T. (1993). Pedahohika [Pedagogics]. Course of lectures. Мoscov.

3.Passov, I.E. (1998). Urok z inozemnoi movy u serednii shkoli [Foreign language lessons at a secondary school]. Мoscov: Education, 223p.

4.Pavlova, E.A. (2013/14). Orhanizatsiia hrupovoi roboty na urotsi z inozemnoi movy [Organization of team form of work at a foreign language lesso]. “School of Digital Century”.

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