The communicative approach as a strategy of developing foreign language speaking competence

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The communicative approach as a strategy of developing foreign language speaking competence

Iryna Lobachova

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of Primary Education Theory and Practice Department SHEE “Donbas State Pedagogical University”, Sloviansk, Ukraine

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of applying the communicative approach as a strategy of forming foreign language speaking competence while learning the English language. New political, socio-economic and cultural realities require increasing the role of foreign languages in Ukraine. The general strategy of foreign language teaching is determined by the needs of modern society and the level of developing linguistic, psychological, pedagogical and related sciences. The communicative approach is defined as this strategy. It defines the practical goal of foreign language teaching and learning, that is, forming and developing intercultural communicative competence.

The communicative approach in foreign language studying is distinguished as a result of methodological realizing of scientific achievements in the field of linguistics, i.e. the theory of communicative linguistics, psychology, and the theory of activity, that is reflected in papers on methodology of foreign language teaching of such scholars as O. Leontiev, I. Zymnia, Yu. Passov, S. Shatilov, H. Rohova and others. The issue of the specificity of communicative phenomena is considered by M. Bovtenko, O. Bihych, L. Byrkun, V. Demiankov, Yu. Karaulov and others. The issue of intercultural communication is investigated by E. Vereshchahin, N. Liubimova, O. Mykhailova, L. Samovar and others. The problem of motivation in foreign language teaching is studied by A. Danylchenko, A. Lypkina, A. Markova, T. Matis, T. Kharchenko and others. Such researchers as J. Atkinson, I. Bekh, I. Vasyliev, D. Elkonin, O. Leontiev, L. Slavina, H. Shchukina and others claim that forming and keeping the motivation in studying are the most important aspects of modern foreign language education. The analysis of scientific references shows the lack of comprehensiveness in studying the outlined problem and the need to investigate the communicative approach to learning English.

The aim of the study is to define the term “communicative approach”, to determine the new strategic directions of mastering English, and to characterize the functions of a foreign language for career prospects.

It is found out that the main strategy of foreign language teaching is the communicative approach, which determines the practical purpose of foreign language studying and learning (mastering foreign language intercultural communication through forming and developing intercultural communicative competence and its components). Due to the communicative approach the process of learning a foreign language is built adequately to real speech communication, that is, the learning process is a model of speech communication that takes place in real life. The communicative approach to teaching a foreign language, adopted in the modern national methodology in accordance with the European processes of internationalization and globalization, determines the choice of goals according to which principles, content, methods, techniques, and means of teaching are defined.

It is stated that the task of a foreign language teacher is to formulate accurately motivational statements for language learning (e.g. to travel without go-betweens, to solve all questions at the hotel, to choose the best service and route by yourself, to learn about culture and traditions of a foreign country, to watch films in English, to listen to English songs, to use applications and computer programs in English, etc.) and form a person who will be able to participate in intercultural communication. Developing communicative skills will help students to continue their studying, improve professionally, and work abroad that will contribute to the expansion of the international relations of our country and its entry into the educational and economic space. In further papers it is planned to propose linguistic exercises for developing communication skills for student successful professional activity.

Key words: communicative approach; foreign language competence; speaking activity; motivational statement; communicative situation; learning strategy.

Анотація

КОМУНІКАТИВНИЙ ПІДХІД ЯК СТРАТЕГІЯ ФОРМУВАННЯ ІНШОМОВНОЇ МОВЛЕННЄВОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ

Ірина Лобачова

кандидат філологічних наук, доцент кафедри теорії і практики початкової освіти ДВНЗ «Донбаський державний педагогічний університет» м. Слов'янськ Донецької області, Україна

У статті досліджено проблему використання комунікативного підходу під час навчання англійської мови майбутніх учителів початкової школи. Комунікативний підхід розглянуто як стратегію формування іншомовної мовленнєвої компетентності, що відбувається завдяки здійсненню студентом іншомовного акту комунікації. З'ясовано, що важливим у змісті навчального предмета є чітко визначене емоційно-оціночне ставлення студентів до навколишнього світу, одне до одного, до навчальної діяльності під час вивчення іноземної мови. Запропоновано низку позитивних мотиваційних тверджень, усвідомлення яких допоможе студенту ефективно опанувати іноземну мову: англійська мова для роботи та професійного зростання (одержати освіту міжнародного рівня, брати участь у закордонних семінарах і конференціях, працевлаштуватись за кордоном, читати фахову літературу в оригіналі, користуватися англомовними сайтами для отримання необхідної інформації тощо); для подорожей і повсякденного життя (подорожувати та знайомитися з традиціями і побутом іншомовної країни без перекладача, замовити готель, обрати зручний маршрут, дивитися англомовні фільми та слухати пісні, користуватися додатками та комп'ютерними програмами тощо).

Доведено, що навчання англійської мови, ураховуючи комунікативний підхід, організовується відповідно до реального процесу мовленнєвого спілкування, який є моделлю акту комунікації об'єктивної дійсності. Формування іншомовної комунікативної компетентності студентів стає можливим за умови створення в навчальному процесі типових ситуацій реального спілкування, які виникають у різних сферах життя.

Для створення життєвих комунікативних ситуацій під час викладання іншомовного мовлення викладач може використовувати ілюстративний матеріал такого наочного засобу навчання, як Віммельбух.

Ключові слова: комунікативний підхід; іншомовна мовленнєва компетентність; мовленнєва діяльність; мотиваційне твердження; ситуація спілкування; стратегія навчання.

Problem setting in general

communicative approach to learning english

New political, socio-economic and cultural realities require increasing the status of foreign languages in our country. A foreign language is an important means of intercultural communication, it promotes verbal understanding of citizens of different countries, provides such level of their cultural development that allows them to orient freely and feel comfortable in foreign countries. In this regard, the ability to understand representatives of another culture, which depends on both the correct use of the linguistic units and the special skills to realize the norms of their culture, including speech behaviour in different situations of communication, is becoming relevant.

The general strategy of foreign language teaching is determined by the needs of modern society and the level of development of linguistic, psychological, pedagogical and related sciences. The communicative approach is this strategy. It defines the practical goal of foreign language teaching and learning, that is, forming and developing intercultural communicative competence.

The latest papers and publication on the problem

The communicative approach in the study of foreign languages is distinguished as a result of methodological comprehension of scientific achievements in the field of lingui stics, i.e. the theory of communicative linguistics, psychology, and the theory of activity, that is reflected in papers on methodology of foreign language teaching of such scholars as O. Leontiev, I. Zymnia, Yu. Passov, S. Shatilov, H. Rohova and others. The problem of the specific of communicative phenomena is considered by M. Bovtenko, O. Bihych, L. Byrkun, V. Demiankov, Yu. Karaulov and others. The issue of intercultural communication is studied by E. Vereshchahin, N. Liubimova, O. Mykhailova, L. Samovar and others. The problem of motivation in teaching foreign languages is studied by A. Danylchenko, A. Lypkina, A. Markova, T. Matis, T. Kharchenko and others. Such researchers as J. Atkinson, I. Bekh, I. Vasyliev, D. Elkonin, O. Leontiev, L. Slavina, H. Shchukina and others claim that forming and keeping the motivation in studying is the most important aspect of modern foreign language education. The analysis of references shows the lack of comprehensiveness in studying the outlined problem and the need to investigate the communicative approach to learning English.

The aim of the study is to define the term “communicative approach”, to determine the new strategic directions of mastering English, and to characterize the functions of a foreign language for career prospects.

Results of the study

Today, the goal of teaching a foreign language is developing the students' communicative competence and skills to use a foreign language as an instrument in the dialogue of cultures based on the communicative- oriented approach to learning. This goal involves reaching by students such a level of communicative competence that can be sufficient for communicating in oral (speaking, listening) and written (reading, writing) forms within defined communicative areas, subject of situational speaking and on the basis of learned linguistic and speech material. The language is a means of recognizing the picture of the world and engaging in the values created by other peoples. At the same time, the language is the key to discovering the uniqueness, originality, and own identity.

The communicative goal is the priority in learning. It involves such organization of activity that is aimed at mastering communication in oral and written forms by students.

Implementing the communicative approach in the process of foreign language learning means that the development of students' communicative competence is carried out through student foreign language speaking activity. In other words, mastering means of communication (phonetic, lexical, and grammatical) is aimed at their practical application in the process of communication. Acquiring the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing is performed through the implementation of these types of speech activity in learning conditions that create situations of real communication. In this regard, students' educational activity is organized in such a way that they perform motivated actions on speech material for solving communicative tasks aimed at achieving the goals and intentions of communication.

The communication of people in real life is due to the need for a certain communicative intention, the achievement or failure of which determines the result of speech activity. In communication, communicants act as bearers of certain social relations that arise in different fields of activity and are realized in specific speaking situations. Developing communicative competence is possible due to modelling typical situations of real communication in the educational process that arise in different areas of life and relate to various topics. Thus, the subject and content plan of students' foreign language speaking when studying is determined by a theme, a situation and a sphere of communication (Lobachova, 2018).

The communicative-oriented approach to foreign language studying involves implementation of a person-centered, activity and socio-cultural directions in foreign language learning. The active nature of studying is provided by special types of activity which allow to create real situations of communication in a lesson. They are speech situations, role games, project activity, and group work.

The socio-cultural direction of learning makes it possible for students to feel more comfortable in a foreign language environment.

Learning mechanisms should be laid in the content of the subject. They reveal the possibility of the practical use of a foreign language as an important means of development and satisfaction of students' interests, including non-language: 1. Where and how will students be able to use a foreign language in their future professional activities? 2. What is the benefit of knowing a foreign language when students choose professional activities? 3. How can a foreign language let students join the scientific, technical and cultural progress and traditions of foreign countries, improve their knowledge in the field of sciences or humanities?

It is very important that the desired emotional and evaluative relationships of students to the environment, to each other, to the world, and to their activities while learning a foreign language are clearly presented in the content of the subject.

According to these facts we suggest a number of positive motivational statements, the awareness of which will help students to learn English more effectively.

The first statement is English for a job and professional improvement:

1) to get a well-paid job. Now almost every financially attractive vacancy assumes mastering English fluently. Knowing the language, you are able to get a job in an international company with higher wages and have additional benefits (e.g., gym, insurance, travel expenses, medical care, etc.).

2) to obtain an international education. Doors of many foreign universities are opened for students from other countries. At the same time, there are educational programs which are free of charge, and your task is only to find them. For this purpose, you need to know English. Mastering English proficiency helps you obtain high-quality education, which will significantly increase your chances for employment.

3) to read the original professional literature. Every professional should be best acquainted with the latest trends, ideas, and achievements in the field that is interesting for you. Unfortunately, such information in many areas can only be got from English language sources. About 85 percent of scientific, technological, and academic publications are in English. Students get open access to a large number of books, articles and blogs that will help them to become a top professional.

4) to find business partners, investors, and customers at international exhibitions. Participants from all over the world come to these events and communicate in English. Therefore, if you speak a foreign language, you are able to conduct a profitable contract immediately or establish a business relationship that ensures the development of your business.

5) to participate without interpreter in international conferences, seminars and trainings, where higher level professionals discuss the latest trends in the interested industries, share experiences, and consider prospects for the further development. With sufficient language skills, you can directly engage into such important activities and discover new prospects of professional growth.

6) to use English language sites. You will be able to get a lot of useful information from the Internet (Do you want to know about the world markets, the particulars of doing business in different countries, the company activities, the availability of vacancies abroad?) without leaving your office or home. Mastering English you will not use an unreliable online translator and will get quickly write information yourself.

7) to negotiate with foreign partners. Communication with a help of an interpreter helps to find common ground, but it has its disadvantages because you can not control how accurately your opinion was conveyed to the interlocutor and some important information may be lost.

8) to go on business trips abroad. Among candidates for foreign travel, you will have advantages because you speak the foreign language. In addition, you can freely communicate in all situations related to the trip (Jordan, 2017).

The second statement is English for travelling:

If you like to discover new countries, customs, and food, mastering a foreign language makes your trip more enjoyable, because you are able:

1) to travel without go-betweens. You will not overpay for travel agencies or operators. You can buy tickets and book a hotel by yourself. Knowing the language is useful for you especially if you enjoy doing your own route and do not depend on anyone.

2) to solve all questions with the hotel. If you paid for the comfortable room with a beautiful view, but instead you would get a room of low class. Having a sufficient level of English, you can discuss these nuances with the hotel administration. After all, all problems can be solved through communication.

3) to choose the best service and route by yourself. Planning a trip, you should read hotel, tours, and restaurants reviews. There are many of them on the Internet, but most information is in English. Therefore, only the certain language skills allow you to make an informed decision on where to stay or dine better, to go sightseeing, what kind of transport is better to travel.

4) to pay less at the market. Many sellers are ready to make a substantial discount if the buyers insist on it. If you speak English, you have success in your purchase.

5) to learn about culture and traditions of a foreign country directly from local citizens, not guides. Only live communication with residents will reveal the fullness of national life to you and help you to get to know the customs and values more deeply.

6) to visit museums, galleries, and exhibition centers yourself. Mastering a foreign language helps you buy a ticket, read the booklet, and listen to a guide in English and ask questions to know more.

7) to navigate the locality. You are not afraid of getting lost when you go for a walk. Knowing the language, you can always ask the road or read the pointer.

8) to rent a car and avoid fraud. You are able to read the contract without any help and to check all conditions. Otherwise, it may turn out that you rent a car practically with an empty tank and you have to pay for gasoline separately.

9) to make friends in other countries. Thanks to mastering English, you are able to get acquainted with interesting people, to find like-minded people, to share ideas with them without an interpreter and not to limit your conversation with non-verbal language.

10) to get discounts and gifts during travelling. Employees of hotels, restaurants, entertainment establishments, and shops of almost every country master English, and communicating with them you definitely get to know about possible bonuses that make your trip full of pleasant surprises.

The third statement is Everyday English:

It is proved that English is useful for you in everyday life and knowing it gives you such opportunities:

1) to move abroad. Some people for various reasons dream of living in other countries, but the lack of knowledge of English becomes a handicap for it. Mastering the language helps to realize this dream.

2) to watch films in English, understand the plot more deeply, and take on the original humor. The point is that the translation is not always successful, besides some linguistic units cannot be translated. The solution is to watch films in the original. Also, you needn't to wait for appearing the Ukrainian translation of your favorite series or films. So, learn English and watch them in the original right after their releasing.

3) to listen to English songs and understand them. If your favorite singer sings in English, you can enjoy his/her songs and sing them, knowing the language.

4) to use applications and computer programs in English. You do not feel dissatisfaction by installing the necessary program or application in English if you master English.

5) to read manuals in the original. If you buy devices abroad or clothes of foreign designers, you deal with manuals in English. It is very important to follow the tips for using things to avoid damaging them. Knowing the language helps you use the new device fully and safely following the manufacturer's advice.

6) to read labels. Mastering English helps you understand the range of goods, because the picture on the can or tube doesn't show you the difference between two kinds of a hand cream or ingredients of canned olives.

7) to make purchases in international online stores, where original goods are often offered for best prices. In addition, many things can be bought only abroad. Knowledge of English helps you to make an order and get the desired goods, etc. (Teach Thought Staff, 2017).

Thus, forming and developing the linguistic, speaking and socio-cultural competences needed for communication, studying the norms of intercultural communication in a foreign language, the development of the culture of oral and written speech involves the formation of both linguistic skills and their normative use in oral and written speech. The proposed topics, texts, problems, and language tasks are focused on forming four types of speech activity (speaking, reading, listening, and writing). The development of socio-cultural skills provides using foreign languages as a means of communication, learning, the instrument of cooperation, and interaction in the modern world.

The purpose of implementing the communicative approach is both to teach students free foreign language communication and to demonstrate their uniqueness as creator (teacher) and a student; due to specially selected exercises to stimulate the motivational sphere of students and to activate their reserve capabilities.

Implementing the communicative approach to foreign language learning means that developing foreign language skills and abilities is carried out through student foreign language activity. So mastering means of communication is aimed at their practical application in communication. Acquiring the skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing is realized through the implementation of these types of speech activity in learning in conditions that create situations of real communication. Thus, student learniing activity is organized in such a way that they perform motivated actions with speech material for solving communicative tasks aimed at achieving the goals and intentions of communication (Busy Teacher, n.d.).

Due to the communicative approach learning a foreign language is built adequately to real speech communication, that is, the learning process is a model of speech communication that takes place in real life. Therefore, it is only about maximizing rapprochement of learning process and real communication with such main parameters as communicative-motivated speech behavior of a teacher and students and objectivity of the communication process, which is ensured by a careful selection of communicative and speech intentions, topics, and situations that reflect students' interests and needs.

The communicative approach to foreign language teaching, adopted in the modern Ukrainian methodology in accordance with the European processes of internationalization and globalization determines the choice of goals according to which principles, content, methods, techniques, and means of teaching are defined.

While mastering communication skills, the cycles of tasks develop communication skills and represent a certain ladder where each new step leads the student to a higher level. So the complex contains exercises from reproductive to productive (creative). When going to the productive level, the opportunity to communicate opens before a student.

It is proved that learning material should be integrated into cycles that have a single structure. Each cycle includes four aspects interconnected both by thematic, lexical, and grammatical content:

1) thematic aspect (it develops the ability to communicate in a foreign language on the basis of communicative and searching, communicative and cognitive tasks);

2) grammatical aspect (it focuses on correcting and practicing student grammatical skills (the communication-based approach to systematization and improving grammatical knowledge);

3) lexical aspect (it is aimed at expanding the students thematic and lexical units and developing the ability to work with them);

4) creative aspect (it gives students the opportunity to convey creatively their own perceptions of thematic material: through drawings, essays, compilation of poems, thematic projects, interviews, articles for school newspapers, etc.).

It should be noted that in the learning process we are interested in those situations of reality that encourage speaking. Such situations are called speech or communicative. They always contain a stimulus to speech.

In real communication, communicative situations arise by themselves. These are natural situations. They can be used in the process of foreign language learning, for example, sports competitions on the eve, lateness of students, reading a story, etc. Therefore, teachers specially create communicative situations simulating natural ones. Such artificial communicative situations require certain detailing of the external circumstances and conditions in which there is a dialogue, the presence of a verbal stimulus, distribution of roles for communicants and relations between them, etc.

Learning communicative situations are created to stimulate motivation and interest for communication, the desire to perform the task better. Teachers may use Wimmelbuch for achieving a communicative goal. Implementing the work with the Wimmelbuch in lessons gives wide opportunities for activating the educational process. The Wimmelbuch is the visual means belonging to the group of active methods of teaching practical English. Plot pictures of the Wimmelbuch are the conditional reproduction of people real activity and create conditions for real communication. The effectiveness of learning is primarily due to the explosion of motivation and increasing the personal interest in English learning (Lobachova, 2017).

The conclusions and the perspectives of further research

The main strategy of foreign language teaching is the communicative approach, which determines the practical purpose of studying and learning foreign languages (mastering foreign language intercultural communication through forming and developing intercultural communicative competence and its components). Due to the communicative approach, the process of learning a foreign language is built adequately to real speech communication, that is, the learning process is a model of speech communication that takes place in real life.

Learning should be organized in such a way that while mastering foreign language activity a system of language is formed in the students' minds and they perform motivated actions with speech material for solving communicative tasks aimed at achieving goals and intentions of communication. Therefore, the task of a foreign language teacher is to formulate accurately motivational statements for learning a language (e.g. to travel without go-betweens, to settle all questions with the hotel, to choose the best service and route by yourself, to learn about culture and traditions of a foreign country, to watch films in English, to listen to English songs, to use applications and computer programs in English, etc.) and form a person who is able to participate in intercultural communication. It is important to form a communicative competence that includes both linguistic and socio-cultural components.

In addition, developing communicative skills will help students to continue their studying, improve professionally, and work abroad that contribute to the expansion of the international relations of our country and its entry into the educational and economic space.

In further papers, it is planned to propose linguistic exercises for developing communication skills for student successful professional activity.

References

1. Busy Teacher: How to Teach Conversational English: 9 Best Practices. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.busyteacher.org/14409-how-to-teachconversational-english-best-practices.html

2. Jordan, Catapano. (2017). How to Motivate Students with Encouragement. Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/how-motivate-students-encouragement

3. Lobachova I. (2018). Methodical Tips for Improving Students' Foreign Language Speaking Skills in English Lessons. Professionalism of the Teacher: Theoretical and Methodological Aspects, 8, 42-50. Retrieved from http://pptma.dn.ua/files/2018/8-2/4_Lobachova_42-50.pdf

4. Lobachova I. (2017). The Practical Value of Using Wimmelbuch in Teaching English to Primary Schoolchildren. Science and Education. Academic Journal of South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushynsky, 5/CLVIII, 148-151.

5. Teach Thought Staff. (2017). 21 Simple Ideas To Improve Student Motivation. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/21-simple-ideas-to-improve-student-motivatio/

СПИСОК ВИКОРИСТАНИХ ДЖЕРЕЛ

1. Busy Teacher: How to Teach Conversational English: 9 Best Practices. (б.д.). Взято з http://www.busyteacher.org/14409-how-to-teachconversational-english-best-practices.html

2. Jordan, Catapano. (2017). How to Motivate Students with Encouragement. Retrieved from: http://www.teachhub.com/how-motivate-students-encouragement

3. Lobachova I. (2018). Methodical Tips for Improving Students' Foreign Language Speaking Skills in English Lessons. Професіоналізм педагога: теоретичні й методичні аспекти, 8, 4250. Взято з http://pptma.dn.ua/files/2018/8-2/4 Lobachova 42-50.pdf

4. Lobachova I. (2017). The Practical Value of Using Wimmelbuch in Teaching English to Primary Schoolchildren. Science and Education. Academic Journal of South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushynsky, 5/CLVIII, 148 -151.

5. Teach Thought Staff. (2017). 21 Simple Ideas To Improve Student Motivation. Retrieved from: https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/21-simple-ideas-to-improve-student-motivatio/

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