Forms of class organization in english lessons

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Melitopol State Pedagogical University

Forms of class organization in english lessons

Maxim Rutkovskyi

Bohdan Khmelnitsky



Resume

organization english lesson

The article deals with the teaching English to younger students. The authors describe 3 forms of training which were developed during the period of historical development of pedagogical methods. Psychologists have proven that joint activity in a team of teachers and students is the initial form of individual learning activity, and equal interaction with peers determines their mastery of such actions as goal setting, planning, control and evaluation, without which learning is impossible. The authors stress that the main purpose of using group work is the development of thinking, the formation of reflection, which is facilitated by group work, since the process of thinking permeates group interaction. They discuss the forms of class organization in English lessons. The authors make the conclusion that the most effective form of work in elementary school for the development of critical thinking is the form of group work. Younger students really like to work in groups, so in each of English lessons they try to apply this form of work at different stages of the lesson.

Key words:

teaching English, class organization, group work, critical thinking.



Анотація

Рутковський Максим. Форми організації класу на уроках англійської мови.

У статті розглянуто особливості навчання англійської мови молодших школярів. Авторами описано 3 форми навчання, які склалися в період історичного розвитку педагогічної методики. Психологами доведено, що спільна діяльність у колективі вчителя та учнів є початковою формою індивідуальної навчальної діяльності, а рівноправна взаємодія з однолітками визначає оволодіння ними такими діями, як цілепокладання, планування, контроль та оцінка, без яких неможливе навчання. Авторами підкреслено, що основною метою використання групової роботи є розвиток мислення, формування рефлексії, чому сприяє групова робота, оскільки процес мислення пронизує групову взаємодію. У статті охарактеризовано форми організації класу на уроках англійської мови. За результатами дослідження зроблено висновок, що найефективнішою формою роботи в початкових класах для розвитку критичного мислення є гурткова форма. Молодшим школярам дуже подобається працювати в групах, тому на кожному уроці англійської мови вони намагаються застосовувати цю форму роботи на різних етапах уроку.

Ключові слова:

навчання англійської мови, організація класу, робота в групах, критичне мислення



Setting of the problem. The effectiveness of the educational process depends on the forms of teaching that the teacher chooses. Forms of education correspond to the specific requirements of society at a certain moment, they must correspond to the real goals and objectives of the educational process. The history of world pedagogical thought and the practice of teaching knows various forms of organization of teaching. At the moment, 3 forms of training can be distinguished in the methodology: individual, frontal and group, each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, and with a reasonable combination of them, high rates of training efficiency are achieved.

In the book “Cooperation in Education” V.I. Dyachenko writes that the group method of education arose in the 15th-16th centuries, when contradictions appeared in the system of the individual method of education, which did not meet the requirements of the emerging bourgeois society. The individual method of learning has lost its effectiveness due to the growth of groups. Dyachenko writes that the group form of organization of education has revolutionized the entire educational process, it has become a backbone component. However, it is necessary to distinguish the group form of education from the group method of education. The group form of learning organization is a part of the group way of learning, along with individual and frontal work, which together form an integral unity (Dyachenko, 1991, p. 102).

At the end of the 16-17 centuries. there is a collective form of learning, i.e., a class-lesson system that, to one degree or another, includes individual and group work. However, the class- lesson system has its drawbacks, in connection with this, in the history of pedagogy there are various attempts to diversify it. So, Lloyd Trump tried to combine the collective form of education with the group one (David, 2007, p. 315). At the beginning of the 20th century US scientists Roger Johnson and David Johnson are developing a learning technology in cooperation in small groups, the development of this technology was continued by Ukrainian scientists.

At the moment, the form of organization of training is becoming increasingly important in the search for ways to improve the efficiency of students. Modern society puts ever higher demands on school graduates. In this regard, in recent years there have been great changes in the life of the modern school. A qualitatively new content of schoolchildren's education presupposes qualitatively new forms of assimilation. To develop the skills and abilities of students required today, many methodologists pay more attention to the group form of work. It harmoniously fits the classroom system and complements it, adapting to modern requirements, correcting some of its shortcomings (Vishnevsky, 2017, p. 104).

The Pedagogical Dictionary defines group learning and group work as follows: Group training is a type of training organized by a group of students who have chosen and (or) jointly created one training program.

Group work in the classroom is a form of organization of educational and cognitive activity in the classroom, which involves the functioning of various small groups working on both general and specific tasks of the teacher (Brown, 1983).

Pidkasisty P.I. gives the following definition: “A group is a certain number of students - 3-5 people temporarily united by a teacher or on their own initiative in order to complete a learning task and have a common goal and functional structure” (Pidkasisty, 1998, c. 153).

Bobro T.A. in her article “Group work as an effective form of organizing a lesson” defines a group form of work as “... such a form of organizing activities in which small working groups are created on the basis of a class to jointly complete a learning task” (Bobro, 2015).

All of the above definitions say that small groups of students are created, united to complete a common task.

However, there is a difference between the group form of education and the group method of education. The form of learning is organized by the type of communication. Organizational forms of learning, in turn, determine the way of learning.

In modern pedagogy, developmental education is one of the priorities. Group activity of schoolchildren is one of the effective ways of its implementation, since educational activity is collective in nature and is a system of socially organized interactions, relationships, and communication. Therefore, it is closest to the conditions of real communication.

The actions listed above, together with the above features, make the educational activity collective, and it is they that should be modeled when they are used in the educational process. According to English scientists, the group form of educational activity most fully implements the above features (Jack, 2017, p. 13).

It is known that the thought process begins where a problem arises that needs to be solved. It should be noted that the main purpose of using group work is the development of thinking, the formation of reflection, which is facilitated by group work, since the process of thinking permeates group interaction.

Psychologists call the development of personality the main goal of education. Effective personal development is possible only through vigorous activity, which is a specific form of active attitude to the world (David, 2007, p. 232).

Many methodologists have been studying the group form of work as a way to improve the efficiency of work in the classroom, as one of the ways to implement a student-centered approach. The form of organization of work in the classroom has always worried teachers, because the effectiveness of training depends on their choice.

Bobro T. also points out that group work gives a lot and can be very useful in a foreign language lesson:

It develops the ability to communicate, its special form - group communication is one of the most adequate forms of work.

Strengthens interpersonal relationships, teaches you to better understand each other, i.e., contributes to the process of collective formation.

Teaches you to objectively evaluate not only others, but also yourself.

Provides the exchange of knowledge, better conditions for the development of speech skills and faster help than with collective work.

Promotes the growth of motivation for learning.

Raises the status of popularity and business status of the student in the team.

Diversify the lesson (Bobro, 2015, p. 155).

Describing the group method of work,

Pidksisty P.I. says: “During group work,

schoolchildren learn the elements of the organizational activity of a leader, employee, subordinate, form the experience of entering into contacts with the environment of adults - in natural business, production and social relations, adapt to production, life rhythm. An important role is played by organizational forms of education in the education of students, where the main character is self-government by the individual” (Pidkasisty, 1998, p. 318).

Now group work in a foreign language lesson is used mainly in the final stages of work on a conversational topic, however, during the entire educational process it is used very rarely. When using a group form of work, students get the opportunity to repeatedly include language material in their statements, transform and combine it with previously learned in various situations of communication. Also, the speed and intensity of acquiring foreign language speech experience, confidence and error-free performance of speech actions increase. Being interested in the overall success, students correct each other, correct mistakes, even without special instructions. The students demonstrate their speech independence.

The group form of work also contributes to the expansion of the horizons of students, since for full- fledged work in groups, the integration of various types of action, areas of knowledge is necessary. The effectiveness of teaching concerns not only the academic success of students, their intellectual development, but also moral (Pidkasisty, 1998, p. 27). At a high level of development of group skills, there is such a phenomenon as intra-group identification, which is a special character of the motivation of actions when the student treats other members of the group as himself. Humanity and mutual assistance become the norm of such relationships.

Thus, the group form of work fully meets the specifics of the subject of a foreign language, providing each student with the maximum opportunity to practice speech, despite the time constraints in the classroom system. When using frontal forms of work, the student does not get as many opportunities for oral practice as the group form provides, which gives a minimum of 15 minutes of oral practice per student if it is properly organized.

The group form of work is very interesting, since there are many ways to organize it. One of the forms of organization of group work is training in cooperation. It was developed by three groups of American educators from Johns Hopkins University (R. Slavin), the University of Minnesota (Roger Johnson and David Johnson), the J. Aronson group, California State University, and the Shlomo Sharan group from Tel Aviv University, Israel. Education in cooperation is aimed at the formation of certain skills, abilities, assimilation of concepts, academic knowledge provided for by the program. This method allows all students to understand the material and acquire knowledge. Groups are formed from "strong", "weak" and “average” students. Each student is interested in completing the task, understanding the material. Therefore, the "strong" students explain the material to the "weak" students, and the "weak" students, in turn, are interested in learning it. The teacher can ask any student to present the result of the work and evaluate his answer. Some scientists write that in world pedagogy, collaborative learning is seen as the most successful alternative to traditional methods. The level of knowledge of students increases, the efficiency of work increases, 10-15 minutes of oral practice are allocated for each student (Brown, 1998, p. 24).

There are various options for cooperative learning. One of them is Student Team Learning (STL, team learning). The development of this training option was carried out by scientists at Johns Hopkins University. It is a kind of basis and starting point for all other types of learning in cooperation.

The essence of the STL method is to set group goals. It involves the independent work of each member of the group, which must be combined with constant interaction between all participants. Particular attention is paid to the success of the entire group.

Students learn together. Each member of the group must acquire the necessary knowledge, form the necessary skills. The STL boils down to three principles:

"awards";

individual (personal) responsibility of each student;

each student has equal opportunities to achieve success (Dyachenko, 1995, c. 29).

The essence of this principle is that even a weak student can bring points to his group and influence its success by improving his own results. Scientists from Johns Hopkins University have developed four options for learning STL

Team-game activity - this form of group work differs from the previous one in that after group work, the teacher offers not individual testing, but a weekly competitive tournament between teams.

Collaborative Reading and Creative Writing (CIRC). It is more suitable for elementary school. In groups, students read and compose essays (Dyachenko, 1991, c. 30). In 1978 Eliot Arnson has developed a new collaborative learning approach called Jigsaw. This method is often referred to simply as "saw" because each student only has a piece of information and the students pass it on to each other. In 1986, Slavin R. developed a modification of this method "Saw-2", in which he provided the work of students in groups of 4-5 people. In this case, the whole group is working on the same material. However, each member of the group receives one topic for careful study.

In 1987, the University of Minnesota developed another collaborative learning method called Learning Together. This method was developed by David Johnson and Roger Johnson. Its essence lies in the fact that the teacher divides the class into groups of 3-5 people that are heterogeneous in terms of the level of training. Each group is given one task, which is a subtask of the larger topic. The essence of collaborative work is that the student himself wants to acquire knowledge. Therefore, the problem of motivation is no less important than the method of organization (Dyachenko, 1991, p. 31).

Think-Pair-Square-Share structure. In this structure, the teacher proposes a situation or a speech task of a transformational or reproductive nature and pronounces the sentence. Students in a group discuss the answer, which they think over first individually, then in pairs, and then in groups. One student gives the answer.

Structure of Numbered Heads Together. The teacher gives each group member a number. Then he names the situation and the speech problem of a substitutional nature and asks a question. Group members prepare a joint response. The teacher calls the number of the group. The student answers with the corresponding number.

Structures Fact or Guess the Fib. The teacher offers a speech task of a substitute or reproductive nature. When solving the problem, each of the group members pronounces a sentence, if it does not correspond to reality, it is repeated.

Three-Step Interview and Outside-Inside Circle structures. The teacher gives a speech task of a reproductive or transformational nature. This structure is designed to work out questions and is conducted in the form of an interview. Students 1 and 3 interview students 2 and 4, then switch roles. New couples are formed.

Outside-Inside Circle structure. The teacher sets a task of a combined nature, which offers a combination of previously worked out material with a new one. The students of the two groups form two circles (one inside the other) and turn to face each other. Students ask questions, trying to remember the answers, change partners.

Pairs Check structure. This structure is usually used as a means of controlling the understanding of grammatical material. The teacher introduces the rule to the children and asks them to use it when doing the exercises. The first and third students perform the first sentence of the exercise, the second and fourth control the correctness of the execution. Then the pairs switch places. Thus, the group completes the exercise to the end. The above varieties of group work can be used in various combinations at different levels of education (Brown, 1983, p. 15).

Group work can be organized with the help of a special organization of student activities:

buzz groups. In small groups, the problem is discussed for a few seconds, then it is discussed in the class, the group makes a decision.

hearing. A group of "experts" discusses the problem given to them, while others listen to them carefully, and then they themselves begin a discussion in their group on the same problem.

fishbowl. All participants in the discussion sit in a circle. Several students sit in the center of the circle. These students prepared their opinion about the problem in advance. Members of the outer circle, listen to the discussion of the students of the inner circle, and enter into discussion.

network. Students are divided into groups of 510 people each. The teacher gives each group a ball of thread. During the discussion, the speaker holds the ball and expresses his opinion, then passes the ball to the next participant without letting go of the thread. By the length of the thread, one can judge which group worked more actively.

star. Several small groups are looking for a common solution to the problem. To do this, each group chooses a speaker who discusses the problem in other groups, then returns to their group, where the participants are looking for a common solution (David, 2007).

One of the types of group work is the method of projects. It has been used in the educational system since the 1920 s. The project methodology was proposed by American educators and philosophers D. Dewey, W. Kilpatrick and E. Collins.

The pedagogical dictionary gives the following definition: the method of projects is a system of education in which students acquire knowledge and skills in the process of planning and performing gradually more complex practical tasks - projects.

J. Dewey, the founder of the method, says that it should be learning on an active basis, through the expedient activity of the student, in accordance with his personal interests. Thus, the design methodology combines theoretical and practical knowledge from different industries.

At the present stage, this technique was developed and applied in our country by Polat E.S. The essence of this technique, improved by Polat, is that students are given a specific problem, the solution of which they must find, and the result of this solution must be formalized materially, for example, in the form of a presentation, a magazine. The project will be most creative if it is done in groups. The number of people in a group can be from 3 to 6 people. The composition of the students is selected depending on the goals of the project.

Drawing up a project in a group is a rather difficult task and requires certain skills and abilities that can be developed while working in collaboration. The project method teaches to apply one's knowledge, to be creative in solving a problem, to navigate in the information space, to analyze information, to highlight the main thing, to think critically, and increase motivation.

Specifically, in foreign language lessons, this method contributes to the integration of four types of speech activity. When teaching a foreign language, the project method contributes to the formation of communicative competence, regional and linguistic competence (Jack, 2017, p. 4). The formation of communicative competence is also realized in the final speech on the defense of one's own project. The experience of teachers and research in this area show that the use of the method in foreign language lessons increases academic performance, understanding of the material, interest in the subject and learning efficiency. At the same time, the principles of an individual approach to learning are implemented.

The use of a certain method of working in groups depends on the age of the students. Group work in the classroom is very attractive to younger students. At the initial stage, it is advisable to use such forms of group work as role-playing and dramatization. But younger students must be thoroughly prepared for such forms of group work. The guys need to be taught to work in a team, to help each other, and not to compete.

The theoretical work of such psycholinguists and sociolinguists as Kaspar G., Carlson T., Allwright K., many methodologists, as well as an analysis of the practical experience of teaching, made it possible to systematize the methods and techniques of teaching group communication in foreign language lessons.

The organization of group communication must begin with the formation of speech groups. As shown by numerous studies of psychologists, the optimal composition of the group is 4-5 people. Depending on the nature of the task, the composition of the speech group may vary. Depending on the goals, the composition is formed, it can be homogeneous and heterogeneous. The composition of the groups should be heterogeneous, so that each group has its own consultants who are able to take the initiative in speech interaction and provide all possible assistance to shy or lagging students in this group (Bikeeva, 2018).

Bobro T. writes that for the successful work of a speech group, first of all, it is necessary to select its composition according to the following criteria: level of education, academic interests, extracurricular interests, extracurricular activities (general context of activity), personal experience, sociability, the number of choices (the number of students who want to communicate with the given student), the ability to perform the appropriate task, performance, emotionality (Bobro, 2015, p. 153).

According to these criteria, homogeneous and heterogeneous groups are created, depending on the task and goals of the work. The composition of the group can be changeable, and change even in one lesson to complete different tasks.

Bobro T. says that when a teacher sets a goal to help weak students, he forms heterogeneous groups, which may include several weak students, so that they are less embarrassed by their ignorance.

It is possible to create speech groups for a long time, subject to their successful work, the creation of speech groups from poorly prepared students so that they study according to their own plan, gradually go to class with the results of their work and thus assert themselves in the class and in their own eyes.

The activity of the group will be successful only with the optimal distribution of functions, and this depends on the leader and consultant. Leadership can be instrumental (the leader is appointed) and expressive. A group is most effective when both leadership roles are played by one person. When appointing a leader, two functional structures of the group must be considered.

The speech group is an obligatory intermediate link between pair and collective communication. Compared to paired communication, more attention is required here, and taking into account the strategy of not one, but several interlocutors and taking into account the relationship between them (Bobro, 2015, p. 154).

If the teacher plans to organize one problem for discussion for all groups, the purpose of the assignment can be communicated after the groups have been organized. If you plan to discuss different problems, tasks should be announced before the groups are organized. Then those students who are interested in one topic will have the opportunity to unite.

Group activity of students in the lesson consists of the following stages:

Preliminary preparation of students for the implementation of a group task, setting educational tasks, a short briefing of the teacher.

Discussion and drawing up a plan for the implementation of a training task in a group, determining ways to solve it (orienting activity), distribution of responsibilities.

Work on the implementation of the educational task.

Supervision of the teacher and adjustment of the work of the group and individual students.

Mutual verification and control over the implementation of the task in the group.

Communication of students on the call of the teacher about the results, general discussion in the class under the guidance of the teacher, addition and correction, additional information from the teacher and the formulation of final conclusions.

In the article by Vishnevsky E. I. the main 6 ways of forming groups in the lesson are indicated: at the choice of the teacher (he himself distributes students into mini-groups), at the request of students, by recruiting leaders (leaders choose the composition of their groups), by a certain attribute, by the style of intellectual activity (erudite, critic, skeptic, idea generator, outsider), randomly (drawing lots).

In addition to the distribution of students into groups, it is necessary that the teacher clearly formulate the tasks for each group, the plan and stages of work. The atmosphere in the group should be positive, there should be no antipathy between group members, group work should not occupy the entire lesson (Pidkasisty, 1998).

The group form of work in the classroom is effective, however, it must be reasonably combined with individual and frontal forms of work to achieve the desired results. The combination of these forms is determined by the teacher depending on the tasks he solves.

For example, when going through the topic “Professions”, students are given or hung on the board pictures depicting people of different professions and given the opportunity for each group to independently choose a profession for discussing. At the same time, the condition is set that each student of the group must say at least 1-2 phrases. The picture itself is of interest, plus not imposing one's opinion when choosing a protected profession, reassuring me that the result will not be bad.

Another example is the development of memory and communication skills. Work goes in pairs (group). Each student is given his own picture, which he can show to his interlocutors for 2-5 minutes. After that, students should say as accurately as possible in turn what was depicted, while not repeating. The student who showed the picture can ask leading questions: “Do you remember what was to the right of the object you named? Was there a fire in the fireplace?”

Grade 3 really likes group work on the speed of finding the difference in the proposed drawings. It is important to note the winners here.

Very often, interesting moments of group work can be taken from children's games. In grade 3, when fixing vocabulary on the topic “A Man”, we spend the following game. The class is divided into two groups. From each group, one person is selected who will call the answerer from the opposite group. In advance, a “little man” is drawn on the board from those elements that have already been studied. Two more "little men" (of each group) should appear nearby. If the named student does not know the word, then a penalty point is recorded for his team. The team whose "little man" is drawn first wins.

The children really like working in groups with separated and rearranged passages of text. Each group gets a piece. Students get to know him, retell aloud, and then there is a quick wits contest: who will quickly arrange what they heard in the right order. The difficulty for the teacher is in one thing: to correctly select and divide the text.

No less interesting is the work in groups, when one is given phrases from the card "A", and the second from the card "B" and is given a limited time to find their pair and play a mini-dialogue.

We have developed a final lesson on “The English Year” in the third grade. We use the group form of organizing a lesson at the final stage to systematize the material covered, to identify the level of knowledge of regional information, the level of skills and abilities of children to carry out foreign language communication. To achieve these goals, we use the interest of younger students in quizzes, competitions, contests. The lesson is held in the form of competitions between groups. The competitive program is selected in such a way that students demonstrate their abilities in all types of speech activity: the ability to perceive speech by ear, build a statement in the form of a monologue, and write a statement in the form of an abstract. We divide students into groups, in each group a captain is appointed. At the first stage, riddles are given to students, at the second stage, students recite poems that they learned while studying the topic.

At the third stage, students are given cards with the beginning and end of sentences, the task of the students is to connect the parts using multi-colored pencils (each color corresponds to a certain season) and make sentences. Team members read the sentences and justify their choice. In the fourth step, students answer questions. The fifth stage is the defense of written projects on the theme of the seasons. At the end of the competition, points are calculated and the winner is announced. In order to relieve fatigue, students sing a song. This lesson contributes to the development of all types of speech activity, is an effective means of controlling the assimilation of vocabulary and grammar, and motivates the interest of students.

At the initial stage, it is also possible to use projects, it contributes to the development of motivation for learning a foreign language, the creative abilities of students. We also developed a project using group work in elementary school

Students from grades 1 to 4 are invited to participate in the project. First, we test the guys to determine their level of knowledge. Then the students are divided into groups: one group collects a piggy bank of English learning games, the second group mounts a movie, the third group collects didactic material. Then, together with the guys, we use them in an English lesson and analyze the effectiveness of the games. To summarize, we analyze the final results. Such activities are exciting for younger students, they do what they are interested in within the framework of a foreign language, which contributes to the motivation to study it. The children learn to work in groups, to cooperate, to distribute roles among themselves.

The next project is held on the topic “Food” and is called “It's delicious!”. Students, with the participation of the teacher, discuss the goals, content and nature of the project. The aim of the project is to create a menu for a cafe and a dramatization on the theme "Visiting a cafe". Thus, the content of the project work is based on the logical continuation of the content of the textbook on the topic “Food”.

At the initial stage of work on the project, students master the lexical material on the topic. Then, in groups of 2-3 people, students make up dialogues on the topic. 2 groups are formed to draw up projects. Each group must come up with a name for their children's cafe and come up with a menu. Each student in the group writes a recipe for a dish, these recipes are combined into a menu. In the menu, children include drawings and applications. Each team makes up a "Visit to a cafe" dialogue using the menus they have compiled.

Such an organization of the lesson contributes to the expansion of vocabulary, the development of skills in writing essays and drawing up dialogues, and the development of grammatical skills. As a result, the child realizes how much he knows and what he can already tell in English.

The group form of work at the initial stage contributes to the motivation of students, increases interest in the subject, makes the learning process more exciting and entertaining. The assimilation of the material takes place in a playful way, easily and naturally, which contributes to an increase in work efficiency.

To captivate children into the world of the English language, you can start work in the lesson by naming the “password” (password). The students take turns whispering the “password” to the teacher and sitting at their desks. A "password" can be any word, phrase, or sentence that is related to the topic currently being studied. At each lesson, the teacher announces a new "password" for the next lesson. But you should not get carried away and start lessons from this game moment for a long time; it is better to work in this way for a week and after a while resume this game. Children love the moment they are allowed to work as secret agents. What to do if the students could not say "password"? We announce to them that "their mission failed" and they need to prepare for the next "special operation" with all responsibility. Such a game moment develops imagination, memory, and healthy competition among students.

Great support in the study and use of lexical units in the speech of students is provided by such a learning tool as Flap Book (a book with flap windows). We make them from ordinary large and small envelopes, cardboard. These teaching aids can be made in different forms: for example, such books are used in the form of a window for working with vocabulary on the topic “nature”, “weather”, “present continuous time”; school backpack - "school supplies"; mirror - a description of a person's appearance; washing machine - "clothes"; the bed can be used for presentation and vocabulary development on any topic, the main thing is to connect fantasy and imagination and figure out what lies under the bed of a brother or sister, grandmother, cook, etc.

Unusual monster Willy comes to us at the lesson and can eat anything. On the cards you can write words in your native or foreign language. Children are happy to feed Willy with these words, while translating the vocabulary into their native or English, making sentences with these words: “I feed Willy with ...”, “Willy likes ...”, “Would you like some ..., Willy?”.

If we need to refresh vocabulary on certain topics, then we ask students to name a word that begins with a certain letter: “Say the

colour/animal/number/day of the

week/month/fruit/vegetable beginning with “a”, “c” etc.”

The use of board games can be another way to form the motivation and activity of students in foreign language lessons. "Poison Wood" and "Memory Game" are the games that we use most often to work with the learned vocabulary. They develop attention, memory, imagination, and also have a competitive moment. Let's look at each game in detail.

Poison Wood. This game is best used for a positive conclusion to the lesson. The legend of the game is as follows: in the modern world, as you know, there is a bad ecological situation. The forests are poisoned with pollutions. Various necessary items were dropped into this forest from a helicopter (words on topics, for example, clothes, food, furniture, vehicles, etc.). The participants of the game need to save these items. They must put on a special protective suit (depict how they put on and fasten the suit). On the table there are identical cards with words on different topics (the more the better). The teacher chooses one category of words that they will save. The cards are face down. Among the cards with words there are about 10 cards with poison. Students take turns picking up one card. If the word belongs to the “rescued” category, then the participant takes the card for himself, if from another category, then you need to put it aside. Students can be assigned different tasks in each game: read, translate, make a sentence with a given word, etc., it all depends on the goal of the teacher. If the participant cannot complete the task with the received word, then he returns the card to the table and skips the move. If a participant pulled out a “Poison Card”, then all his collected cards “burn out” and go to the “trash can”. The winner is the participant who collected the most cards per game. Poison Wood is best played in small groups of 2 to 6 people. The class can be divided into 3-4 groups and guide them during the game.

Another game with cards of the same format and the same back is the Memory Game. Different material can be written on the cards depending on the purpose (words, phrases, sentences). Tasks for participants: find a match (translation, antonyms, synonyms). The cards are laid out face down on the table in the form of a square or rectangle. The game involves 2-4 children. In turn, they turn over 2 cards, if there is a match, then the participant completes the task and takes the cards for himself if he answered correctly. If the student has found a match, then he makes another move. The player with the most cards wins.

Summing up, it should be noted that the search and application of unusual forms of work resonates with students, brings satisfaction to the work done and the activity of children to the teacher. Thus, games and non-standard techniques in English lessons in elementary grades help to repeat and consolidate words on the topics studied in an interesting, varied way; develop imagination, memory, speech; contribute to the formation of motivation to learn a foreign language. But you should not stop there, you need to look for nonstandard techniques and engage in creativity on your own.

A fragment of the lesson on the use of group work is proposed for the third grade on the topic Past Indefinite.

The purpose of the lesson is to use a group form of work to improve the efficiency of the educational process, mastering the grammatical topic.

To form skills on the topic, it is advisable to use the following tasks for group work.

After explaining the grammatical material, the teacher groups the students into groups of three according to the principle of a strong, average and weak student in one group. The teacher gives students cards with sentences in Present Indefinite, which need to be redone by changing the tense to Past Indefinite.

The teacher says, “Now we know how to make sentences in the past tense. Each group receives one card in which they need to redo the sentences by changing Present Indefinite to Past Indefinite. You must complete the exercise together; you can discuss and consult. Then the teacher says that he will check the result of their work, he can ask any of the students in the group.

Each card has 4 sentences. The teacher is assigned a group leader responsible for completing the task, an editor who writes down the correct answers and a proofreader who monitors the correct execution of tasks. Students do the exercise together and write down the overall result of their work. The teacher stipulates in advance that he can interview any member of the group. Thus, each student must be ready to present the result of the overall work.

When the tasks are completed, the teacher asks students, paying special attention to the understanding of the material by weak students (Bobro, 2015, p. 87).

The following sentences can be offered on the card:

Mr. Smith lives in London.

A frog wants to go to the lake.

The children play in the garden.

They watch TV every evening.

The following fragment of the lesson using group work is proposed for the 8th grade on the topic “Secondary Education in Britain” in the section “Education: The World of Learning”.

The purpose of the lesson is to use a group form of work to improve the efficiency of mastering the material and increase motivation.

For the formation of speaking skills and assimilation of material on the topic, it seems appropriate to use the type of group work "Saw".

The teacher divides the class into 3 groups of 4 people.

A teacher says: «You all know well the system of education in our country. But what do we know about the system of education in England? I think it would be interesting for you to know how children learn in England. But our work is going to be unusual. We will divide the class in three groups at the next lesson, four pupils in every group. Every group will be given a part of the whole theme. But now I will give every pupil a card with basic information on his theme. But your task is to find some additional information, learn it and be ready to speak on the topic. You will be experts in your sphere. Take your card, children, there are some sites where you can find useful information”.

The teacher divides all material on the topic into 4 points. The teacher gives each student a part of the general topic, he is given a card with the material. Students must learn this material and independently supplement it with information from Internet resources. In the next lesson, the teacher makes groups of four, each student has his own part of the general topic. Students studying the same subject but in different groups meet and exchange information as experts on the subject, their discussion is called "expert meeting".

A teacher says: “Now when you have studied the information, I unite four pupils who have different themes in a group. In the same way I form two other groups. So, pupils A, B, C, D, you are in the first group. Pupils A1, B1, C1, D1, you are in the second group. Pupils A2, B2, C2, D2, you are in the third group. We are going to work in such a way. There are three persons who are experts in one sphere:

Primary Education - pupils A, A1, A2;

Compulsory secondary education - pupils B, B1, B2;

Comprehensive schools - C, C1, C2;

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). “A” Level Exams - pupils D, D1, D2.

So, a pupil from one team goes to the second, and there he discusses the topic with the pupil, who has the same one, the same the first pupil does in the third group. Having discussed the theme, he goes back to his team and tells them everything he knows on the topic plus the information he learned in the other groups, the members of his group listen attentively to their partner as it is the only way to get the information and be ready to answer the questions about the system of education, and a teacher will ask all questions about the whole theme. Here is the way the group should work: A- A1-A2, B-B1-B2, C-C1-C2, D-D1-D2.

Please, begin your work. And remember that you must speak only English in your discussions”.

The students work according to the given scheme.

The topic “Secondary Education in Britain” can be divided into the following points, to which the teacher provides text-based reference material. Their teacher, along with basic information, offers students on cards:

Primary education;

Children in Britain do not have to go to school until they reach the age of five and very few go to nursery schools before that. Primary education takes place in infant schools (pupils aged from 4/5 to 7 years) and junior schools (from 8 to 11 years) (http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/ questions/education /, http://www.learnenglish.de/ culture/educationculture .htm)

Compulsory secondary education;

Secondary schools are divided into five forms.

English pupils go to the first form, when they are 11/12 years old. In the fifth form at the age of 16 they may either leave school or continue in the sixth form. What kind of schools can you enumerate? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_education, http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/ questions/education/, http://www.britishcouncil.org/ usa-education-uk-system-k-12-education.htm)

Comprehensive schools;

Most British children go to comprehensive schools, which take pupils of all abilities without exams. Children are put into sets, small groups. They have wide choice of subjects.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_schoo 1Б, http://www.hel.fi/hki/opev/en/Comprehensive+ schools)

The General Certificate of Secondary

Education (GCSE). “A” Level Exams;

At the end of the fifth form children take their first public exam for the General Certificate of Secondary Education. Pupils who stay on in the sixth form, prepare for their “A” Level Exams. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCE_Advanced_Level)

The list of questions at the end of the group work:

When do British children start schooling?

Do all children in Britain go to nursery schools?

In what types of school is primary education given in Britain?

At what age do children usually finish infant and junior schools?

How long can pupils stay in secondary schools?

How old are British pupils when they finish the fifth form?

Is schooling in the sixth form compulsory in Britain?

How long does compulsory secondary education last?

What is the main type of secondary schools in Britain nowadays?

What subjects are taught there?

What is the idea of putting pupils into sets?

Why were comprehensive schools introduced in Britain?

Are there paid schools in Britain?

What are boarding schools?

The use of a group form of work in foreign language lessons increases motivation, the effectiveness of the educational process, develops independence and responsibility. By doing grammar exercises in a group after explaining the topic, students can discuss incomprehensible points, help each other, and improve their collaboration skills. The work proposed for mastering the topic “Secondary Education in Britain” contributes to the development of independence, the ability to cooperate, and listen carefully to each other. This type of work makes the learning process more interesting and entertaining for students.



Conclusions

The most effective form of work in elementary school for the development of critical thinking is the form of group work. Younger students really like to work in groups, so in each of our lessons we try to apply this form of work at different stages of the lesson.

Group work allows everyone to show their individuality, to understand unclear issues and, thus, everyone has the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice.

In group forms of work, the teacher puts strong students in such conditions that they have to explain the topic again, thanks to this they remember more firmly, put new material into long-term memory, and weak students begin to realize this material. We know that strong learners often grasp the surface of knowledge, grasping on the fly, such knowledge is quickly forgotten. Weak students, having realized the new material, put it into long-term memory. As practice shows: children write poorly for tests for a year and for residual knowledge only because at one time knowledge was not firmly included in their memory. We think that it is necessary to use group work methods in elementary school, because they contribute to the solid assimilation of students' knowledge.

Thanks to the methods of group work, the guys learn to explain, prove their point of view, express their thoughts, learn to listen and hear each other. At first, the smarter, more confident guys overwhelm the rest, not noticing and not listening to the opinions of others, but when they make the wrong decision repeatedly, they begin to wonder if I am always right. This is where the teacher should be on the lookout. It is he who points out to the children that the correct version was in their group, but they did not hear it, because the speaker did not insist and could not convince the opponent who was more confident in his rightness. Over time, a more self-confident student begins to listen to the opinions of others, and an insecure student learns to prove his point of view more firmly and persistently. All members of the group begin to listen to him, and later the whole class does. So, children learn to be confident in their knowledge and skills, but not self-confident.

We would like to note that it is sometimes difficult for a teacher to “resolve” an incorrectly started discussion in a group, it is important to notice the wrong train of thought of the children at the initial stage, or to carefully monitor how the process of work in the group is progressing. The teacher needs to be always ready to help the students without imposing his own decision. The teacher, on the other hand, needs to choose the right tasks for group work, so that it is both interesting and necessary for learning new or repeating the material covered.

Having studied and analyzed the methodological literature on the use of the group form of work in foreign language lessons, we were convinced of the effectiveness of the group form of work. Its application is psychologically justified and pedagogically expedient. There are various types of group work that form all types of language activities. The teacher has the opportunity to choose the type of group work in accordance with the skills that need to be formed.

We can say that there are certain principles for the formation of groups and the principles of their work, which must be taken into account when using the group form of work.

There are also age-specific features of using the group method, which should also be taken into account when choosing the type of group work.



References

Bikeeva A. S. (2018). Some methods for developing the creative abilities of students in foreign language lessons. K. 230 p. [in Ukrainian]

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