Development of foreign language speech competence in listening in students of non-linguistic universities

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DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEECH COMPETENCE IN LISTENING IN STUDENTS OF NON-LINGUISTIC UNIVERSITIES

Oryshchyn I.S.,

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics and Marketing Lviv Polytechnic National University

Abstract

The article considers the problem of development of foreign language speech competence in listening of the students studying in non-linguistic universities. The urgency of the problem of listening training of the students of non-linguistic universities in the context of the current stage of development of Ukraine is substantiated. The detailed analysis of the scientific literature which considers the problems of students' listening of foreign language speech is conducted. The author singled out the previously unsolved part of the general problem of development of foreign language speech competence and researched it. The article points out the difficulties that students face in the perception of foreign language speech in natural conditions. Emphasis is placed on the important role of listening in the process of mastering foreign language competence, as well as on the results achieved by students performing listening exercises: the ability to predict content, highlight the main, find minor details that clarify the main, establish causal relationships, etc. The newest models of listening training are considered: training on the basis of competence activity approach, immersion technologies, formation of speech concepts, use of media education, intensive training, etc. The psychological aspects of listening are analysed, the use of exercises aimed at psychological preparation for the perception of original texts is recommended. Emphasis is placed on the need to choose the right text for listening, and it is recommended to use original English sources for this. The need to choose texts that would be meaningful and interesting for students is indicated. The author gives advice on the number of unfamiliar words in the text for listening, as overloading of short-term memory slows down the process of language mastering and reduces the speed of practice of permanent skills. Three stages of listening are considered in detail: pre-text, text and post text. Various exercises for removing phonetic, lexical and grammatical difficulties are given. The necessary number of listening to the text is recommended and substantiated. The advice on learning new lexical material found in the text for listening is given. The example of the scheme according to which the author conducted listening with students majoring in `Marketing' is given, as well as the results of the conducted research.

Key words: speech competence, non-linguistic university, foreign language speech, listening training, text selection, stages of listening, semantics.

Анотація

Розвиток іншомовної мовленнєвої компетенції в аудіюванні у студентів немовних ЗВО

У статті розглянуто проблеми розвитку іншомовної мовленнєвої компетенції в аудіюванні у студентів, що навчаються у немовних ЗВО. Обґрунтовано актуальність проблеми навчання аудіювання для студентів немовних ЗВО у контексті сучасного етапу розвитку України. Проведено детальний аналіз наукової літератури, що розглядає проблеми аудіювання студентами іншомовного мовлення. Автор виділив невирішену раніше частину загальної проблеми розвитку іншомовної мовленнєвої компетенції та досліджував її. У статті вказано на труднощі, з якими зустрічаються студенти при сприйнятті іншомовного мовлення в природних умовах. Зосереджено увагу на важливу роль аудіювання в процесі оволодіння іншомовною мовленнєвою компетенцією, а також на результати, які досягають студенти, виконуючи вправи з аудіювання: уміння прогнозувати зміст, виділяти головне, знаходити другорядні деталі, що уточнюють головне, встановлювати причинно- наслідкові зв'язки тощо. Розглянуто новітні моделі навчання аудіювання: навчання на засадах компетентісно-діяльнісного підходу, технології занурення, формування мовленнєвих понять, використання засобів медіа-освіти, інтенсивного навчання тощо. Проаналізовано психологічні аспекти аудіювання, рекомендовано використання вправ, спрямованих на психологічну підготовку до сприйняття оригінальних текстів. Наголошено на необхідності правильного вибору тексту для аудіювання, рекомендовано для цього використовувати оригінальні англомовні джерела. Вказано на потребу вибирати тексти, які були б змістовними та цікавими для студентів. Автор дає поради щодо кількості незнайомих слів в тексті для аудіювання, оскільки перевантаження короткочасної пам'яті уповільнює процес засвоєння мови і зменшує швидкість відпрацювання постійних навичок. Детально розглянуто три етапи аудіювання: перед- текстовий, текстовий та післятекстовий. Подано різні вправи для зняття фонетичних, лексичних та граматичних труднощів. Рекомендовано та обґрунтовано необхідну кількість прослуховувань тексту. Подано поради щодо засвоєння нового лексичного матеріалу, що зустрічається в тексті для аудіювання. Наведено зразок схеми, за якою автор проводив аудіювання із студентами спеціальності «Маркетинг», а також результати проведеного дослідження.

Ключові слова: мовленнєва компетенція, немовний ЗВО, іншомовне мовлення, навчання аудіювання, вибір тексту, етапи аудіювання, семантизація.

Problem statement

speech competence student language

The knowledge of a foreign language is becoming increasingly important for the process of communication with other peoples in both domestic and business spheres. At the present stage of development, Ukraine has broad political, economic and cultural ties with many foreign countries. The number of companies working with foreign partners is increasing. Working for these companies requires specialists, yesterday's students, who have the ability to communicate in a foreign language.

The ability to understand native speakers is a necessary condition for communication. Although the fact that the process of mastering a foreign language has a communicative-cognitive nature is well known, the process of listening is not given due attention and its skills appear spontaneously, without special purposeful training. That is why very often students who speak English fluently enough encounter difficulties in its perception in the natural conditions. Therefore, in the conditions of a non-linguistic university, the problem of teaching listening becomes especially urgent.

The analysis of recent research and publications

The detailed analysis of the scientific literature examining the problems of listening conducted Zlatnikov V. H. [1, p. 1]. His research shows that considerable attention is paid to the formation of modern skills of foreign language skills in listening (T. Van Deik, I. Dehert, M. Zhinkin, I. Zymnia, B. Lapidus), in the perception and understanding of oral foreign language communication (M. Balabayko, R. Milrud, P. Yakhno and others). The researchers formulated the tasks and the content of listening training (B. Lapidus, I. Rogova, etc.), the psychological characteristics of this type of speech activity are determined (L. Vyhotsky, M. Zhynkin, I. Zymnya, O. Leontiev, A. Luria, M. Lyakhovytsky, etc.), principles of selection of texts for listening training are determined (O. Bochkariova, N. Slukhina, O. Mirolyubov, V. Chernysh, etc.), the main approaches to individualization of listening training of future specialists are outlined (O. Metiolkina, S. Nikolaeva) .

Modern methods of teaching foreign languages use many new models of listening training. Among them: listening training on the basis of competence activity approach (O. Bochkariova), immersion technology (Z. Korneva), the formation of speech concepts (L. Cherepanova), the use of media education (S. Medvedeva), intensive training (V. Alexandrov) and so on. [1, p. 1].

The goal of the article

The vast majority of scientific papers are devoted to the problem of teaching listening to the pupils of secondary schools and future philologists. And the problem of teaching listening to students of non-linguistic universities remains insufficiently studied as we see in our own experience. In this article, we offer the generalized experience of teaching English to students majoring in Marketing.

The presentation of the basic research material

Listening is the main source of language knowledge and the important means of speech practice. Listening expands the potential possibilities of educational text: it becomes a source of information on the chosen speciality, as well as a means of mastering foreign language material, an incentive for the development of professional speech.

During listening, the listener performs a number of analytical and synthetic operations that increase the activity of speech activity and provide the dynamics of improving listening skills. Performing listening exercises, the students improve the ability to predict the content, highlight the main thoughts, find minor details that clarify the main thoughts, establish cause- and-effect relationships.

The purpose of the listening process is to form skills of recognition and comprehension of speech structures, the creation of listening images of speech signs, the prediction of forms and retention of signals of their comprehension in memory, the formation of future specialists' oral communication skills in a foreign language [2, p. 7].

B. V. Pavliy and I. M. Podhaiska pay attention to the psychological aspects of listening. According to psychology, listening is a mental activity that includes the processes of perception, recognition and understanding of a foreign language. Since the bandwidth of a sound channel is much less than a visual one, and listening is one-time, speech perception depends on the ability to memorize the results of sense and semantic analysis for a certain period of time in order to combine them into a complete thought.

As practice shows, the coming of continuous information leads to a rapid distraction of almost all students. The main goal is to develop such skills as observation, classification, selection, hypotheses. Only a student who owns them can consciously and in an organized way perceive information and analyse it. In a class, it is recommended to use exercises aimed at psychological preparation for the perception of the original text, to anticipate information for the first acquaintance and memorization of vocabulary, to try to develop students' reproductive skills.

The success of listening largely depends on the choice of text. A number of researchers of the listening process (O. V. Lozynska, T. V. Krasko, O. V. Luchechko) [3, p. 6] believe that the texts should be composed on the basis of original English sources. To motivate the cognitive activity of students and solve educational and upbringing tasks facing a foreign language as a subject, during the selection of texts for listening much attention should be paid to the nature of the texts: their cognitive value, informativeness and quality.

B. V. Pavliy and I. M. Podhaiska believe that the effectiveness of listening training depends on students' interest in understanding the content, and content and curiosity are important requirements for the text for listening.

The analysis of our research showed that the results of checking the listened texts were better if the texts were interesting and meaningful.

On the recommendation of Yu. M. Korotkova and O. B. Protsenko [4, p. 4-5], we conducted listening in three stages: pre-text, text and post-text. At the pretext stage, the teacher's task is to create conditions for probable prediction of the content of the audio text and the removal of lexical, grammatical and, if necessary, phonetic difficulties of perception. In order to solve the first task (prediction of the content), questions are formulated before each text, the answers to which should prompt students to determine its probable subjects, which will greatly facilitate the perception of what is heard.

To remove the lexical difficulties of listening, before listening to the text words and phrases are given which, most likely, students do not know. It is advisable to use the following methods of semantization:

- semantization of words and phrases in the context, if it suggests the necessary meaning;

- semantization by a way of definition (interpretation), if all words that convey meaning are known;

- semantization of generalizing words with the help of words with a specific meaning;

- semantization by naming a class, category and individual qualities.

After semantization of new lexical units and phrases, it is necessary to check the correctness of students' understanding of their meaning. To do this, we offered such tasks as composing sentences with new lexical material, explaining some words and phrases.

The number of unfamiliar words should not exceed 3 percent of the total number of words, because the overload of short-term memory slows down the process of language mastering and reduces the speed of practice of permanent skills.

Some audio texts may contain complex or long- learned grammatical material. Therefore, in order to remove possible grammatical difficulties of perception, it is necessary to perform small exercises.

At the text stage, we offer double listening to the text. Some scholars (O. Tarnopolsky) believe that the audio text should be presented to students only once, especially at the main and advanced stages. Double listening is acceptable, but quite rare, and only for particularly complex audio texts. But taking into account the low level of knowledge that students have after finishing school, a one-time listening in this case is hardly possible. After the first sound presentation, the teacher conducts a conversation to identify the level of understanding of what is heard and proposes students to listen to the text a second time, paying special attention to problem areas.

During the post-text stage, we give the students the opportunity to perform a variety of exercises and tasks aimed not only at checking the amount and accuracy of the information heard, but also to practice new lexical material. In addition, it is advisable to perform exercises for translation from Ukrainian into English and foresee a gradual transition to the development of other types of speech activities, such as speaking, reading and writing.

In accordance with these recommendations, we conducted listening for the topic `A successful company' according to the following scheme:

1. The students were given the task to perform the exercise:

Work in small groups. Agree on the three most important factors from those listed below that can make a company successful.

• focusing on how to increase market share

• having a strong company culture

• having user-friendly packaging

• having good designers who also understand production

• responding to the needs of the workforce

• starting with a simple business idea that is easy to understand

2. After completing the exercise, students listened to the interview twice:

(I = Interviewer, PJ = Peter Jelkeby)

I What are the factors that make IKEA such a highly successful company?

PJ I think for IKEA, it starts with a very simple, straightforward business idea that is easy to understand, easy to work with, both for customers as well as co-workers actually. Added to that, we have a strong culture in the company that links this together. I think that's one of the big reasons for us being successful worldwide.

We have designers who are not only good at designing good-looking products, they understand production, they're working closely with our trading offices around the world, they're going into suppliers, developing with suppliers products in the production line.

3. After listening to the first part of the interview, the students perform the exercise:

Peter Jelkeby, IKEA's UK Deputy Country Manager, talks about four factors that make IKEA a successful company. Listen and number the four factors in the above exercise in the order in which he mentions them.

4. After completing this exercise, they listen to the second part of the interview and perform the exercise while listening.

I How do you stay ahead of the competition in your business?

PJ That again is linked to understanding the market, the customer needs, the trends about that, how people live; of course, also understanding how the competitors are acting, what is going on in the market, price developments, new ways of meeting the customer and being aware of the, the trends and how we tackle that. But I think by the end of the day, I think IKEA, we are not only about products, we are about offering solutions to people's needs and understand that we can actually be very smart and make it practical and not only again good-looking furniture .

5. The exercise that students performed while listening:

IKEA manages to stay ahead of the competition by:

• the market and the customer

• understanding how the are acting;

• being not only about the products, but also

about to people's needs.

6. Listening to the last part of the interview:

I think again, er, stay true to yourself; er, be aware of the market you enter into, but still build on your strengths; don't complicate it, in that sense, but still find this kind of combination of, er, we are IKEA in this case, and this a local market. Where is the differences, what do we need to adjust and adopt; what do we need to understand? And then, er, have an offer that fits that.

7. To test their understanding of this part of the interview, students performed the following exercise:

Listen to the final part and decide which of the following was the interviewer's question.

1. What new projects are you currently involved in?

2. How can you keep up your performance at such a difficult time for the economy?

3. What are the things a successful international business must do?

4. Where are you planning to expand in the next five years? [5, p. 24, 147]

In the group (15 students), not all students fully understood all three parts of the interview. The results of understanding the listened interview are reflected in the scale:

0-20 % - 1 student;

21-40 % - 2 students;

41-60 % - 2 students;

61-80 % - 3 students;

81-100 % - 7 students.

Conclusions and suggestions

As listening is one of the most difficult speech activities, it should be given more attention. At the present stage of learning foreign languages in non-linguistic universities, it becomes important. Changes in curricula, the introduction of state exams in some specialities, in the program of which is listening, make it necessary to look for new effective methods of teaching listening. This is what our future research will focus on.

References

1. Златніков В. Г. Методика навчання професійно-орієнтованого аудіювання англійською мовою курсантів вищих військових навчальних закладів : дис. ... канд. пед. наук : 13.00.02. Одеса, 2012. С. 1-2.

2. Кременчук О. І., Поночовна Т. М. Listening for IT students. Ірпінь. 2009. 231 с.

3. Лозинська О. В., Красько Т. В., Лучечко О. В. Навчальний посібник з аудіювання з курсу «Іноземна мова» (англійська). Ірпінь, 2009. 144 с.

4. Короткова Ю. М. , Проценко О. Б. Аудіювання грецькою мовою. Донецьк : Видавництво «Наулідж», 2011. 70 с.

5. David Cotton, David Falvey Simont Kent. Market Leader. Pearson Longman. 2009. 160 p.

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