Foreign language training in primary school

Методика использования игр на начальном этапе обучения иностранному языку в школе

Contents

Introduction …………………………………………………………………..…3

Theoretical bases of game at school on the initial stage teaching……………….5

Game as leading method of teaching of primary school pupils…………………8

Classification of teaching games ………………………………………………12

Methods of organization of game at school on the initial stage teaching……...16

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………..19

Resources……………………………………………………………………….21

Introduction

Lately at teaching foreign language large attention is spared to the active methods of teaching, which would provide the personal interest of student in a study by them language and showed out them on colloquial speech. By means of active methods of teaching a teacher invites a student to creative activity. More active than all creative tasks are used on the lesson of foreign language, that contingently the features of object a purpose of which is teaching to the language as to the means of intercourse. For achievement of this purpose on the lesson of foreign language it is necessary to create situations which would maximally approach a student to the natural conditions of teaching. The most organic form of organization of such teaching is a game, which explains vocal activity of student, intensifies their intellection, emotionally painting her. The taught appear in instance where a necessity activates anything to say, ask, find out, prove, by anything partaken with an interlocutor.

A game is the leading form of activity of child in a primary school age. In a game show up especially full and at times unexpectedly man’s abilities, child in particular case. Undoubtedly, executing the requirements of Course series only, it is impossible to attain the required results in the work, as impossible to attain them using playing situations only. A game, near and simple for a child, presents a many-sided problem for science. Not every game, let living and interesting, befits for the use of her on the lesson of foreign language. Therefore a choice of necessary game is a basic task of not only teacher but also methodists, psychologists, working with the primary classes of high school.

The question of the use of playing situations on the lessons of foreign language it was engaged in and the leading specialists of the whole world occupy such, as L.S. Vygotsky, M. N. Skatkin, K. D. Ushinsky, V. I. Skulte, I.L. Sholpo, R. S. Nemov and others. But until now they did not come to common opinion of role of game in the process of teaching of primary school pupils. One considers that due to a game a successful capture becomes possible children by foreign speech, that a game is a "global operating model and naturalness of reasons of intercourse". A game, being the main type of activity of primary school pupils, allows doing communicative-valuable any linguistic units, to "wipe" linguistic barriers, mixing to enter into intercourse in foreign language even at presence of necessary skills. Others - that a game only is a second-rate "helper" in organization of educational process. Thus, a question about the role of teaching game in the process of teaching foreign language at primary school pupils remains actual and at the same time practically not worked out.

Theoretical bases of game at school on the initial stage teaching

In primary school age children dispose considerable reserves of development. Their detection and effective use is one of main tasks of the age-related and pedagogical psychology.

With entering of child school alteration of all his cognitive processes, acquisition of new qualities, peculiar to the persons of ripe years, begins under influence of teaching. It is related to that children join in the new for them types of activity, requiring from them presences of new psychological qualities. Their arbitrariness, productivity and stability, must become general descriptions of all cognitive processes of child. On lessons a child from the first days of teaching needs during great while to save increased attention, be assiduous enough, to perceive and it is good to memorize all that, what a teacher talks about.

It is well-proven psychologists that ordinary children in the primary classes of school are fully capable, if only them it is correct to teach, master more difficult material (i.e. it is correct to pick up the systems of exercises, corresponding to the program). However there are two important tasks, which must be decided. First from them consists of that, as quick as possible to adapt children to work at school and at home, to teach to study, not spending superfluous physical efforts, to be attentive, assiduous. In this connection an on-line tutorial is made so that to cause and support permanent interest at a student, but at the same time to carry the certain didactic loading.

The second task, in opinion of psychologists and teachers, arises up in connection with that many children come in school not only not geared-up to the new for them role but also with considerable individual distinctions. There is a necessity of the psychological smoothing of children from the point of view of their readiness to teaching due to undercutting of backward to the well advanced pupil.

Another problem consists of that deep and productive mental work requires from children assiduousness, inhibition of emotions and adjusting of motive activity, concentrating and maintenance of attention on educational tasks. Many quickly get tired, get tired.

Attention in a midchildhood becomes arbitrary, but yet enough long strong is involuntary attention of children. Primary school pupils can pass from one type of activity to other without the special difficulties and internal efforts. The most perfect lines attention for children finds out only then, when an object or phenomenon, directly coming into a notice, especially interesting for a child.

Memory of children of primary school pupils is good enough; it touches mechanical memory which in the first years of teaching develops quickly enough and well first of all. Logical memory some falls behind in the development, because in most cases child, being busy at studies, labour, game, intercourse, fully to treat mechanical memory.

It is the psychologists' opinion that active development of memory of children at the first school years is assisted by the decision of the special mnemonic tasks (tasks, which develop the cogitative abilities of child, necessary for memorizing and reproducing of material).

For many children with entering school additional duties appear on a house. At this time it is very important that in domestic labour activity of primary school pupil reflections found and those knowledge and abilities which he acquires at school were used. In other words, it is important that teaching passed continuously from life. It, from one side, will do studies more intelligent and necessary (motivation will appear), and with other, in practice will expose the utility of knowledge, got at school.

A large value for intellectual development of primary school pupils has expansion of sphere of socializing with surrounding people, both with teachers which serve models for imitation and basic source of knowledge and with comrades. Thus, important role in stimulation of intercourse on this stage play the group and complex forms of work (useful both for general development of child and for the study of concrete object, especially foreign language).

From higher said follows, it is necessary to take into account in the process of teaching of primary school pupils the foreign language, that:

• teaching is based on the psychophysiologic age-related features of students;

• educational activity depends on desires and reasons of children. Teaching the foreign language must be realized by integration of teaching process with the different types of activity typical for this age: motion activity, playing or labour ones;

• the departmental to the foreign language teaching is built so that to do a teaching process more effective and increase burn-time of student.

Game as leading method of teaching of primary school pupils

A game, specific in the process of teaching and peculiar to the child type of activity, was and remains the article of research of both native and foreign scientists. As early as XIX century passing part of intelligentsia, concerned by education of children, called educators and parents in full to use a game, especially its educational possibilities.

Domestic pedagogics examines child's game as important mean of education and comprehensive development of children. For younger pupils games have an exceptional value: game for them is studies and labour and serious form of education. A game for the primary school pupils is a method of cognition of outward things. Playing, a child studies colors, form, properties of material, relations; studies plants, animals, their life and environment of dwelling.

Playing activity of child is original and difficult, by it, apparently, and it is possible to explain existence of opposite opinions among teachers in the estimation of role of game. One consider that games did not yet take the proper place in schools, and other - a "game is overloaded by didacticism, regulate and control every step and act of child" Reason of these defects we find in unawareness of function of game and her value many teachers in development of personality of child.

L. S. Vygotsky talked: "Game as leading activity for children determines major alterations and forming of new internals of personality", that exactly in a game children master public functions, codes of conduct, that a game teaches, changes, brings up, i.e. leads the way development.

The main element of game is a playing role, it is not so important what, important, that it helps to reproduce various human relations, existing in life. As regards the developing value of game, it places in its wild, because a game is emotions always and where emotions are, there is an activity, there is an attention and imagination, and there is a thought works.

Thus, it is possible to summarize and formulate the basic personal touches of game:

• activity (vocal);

• explained, absence of compulsion;

• deeply personal;

• teaching and education in a collective and through a collective;

• development of psychical functions and capabilities;

• "studies with fascination".

But the specific of game consists in that "educational tasks come forward before a child not in an obvious kind, and masks. Playing, a child does not set the educational problem, but as a result of game he studies something". To put a purpose to rest, commuted, there is not a necessity: character of game foresees it already.

It is necessary to take into account that playing activity has biplane character. Game, in spite of all positive moments, it is a mean, method of educational work only, and a purpose is mastering of material and acquisition of knowledge.

Some psychologists and teachers advise from the beginning of teaching to dissociate employment from a game and count implementation of educational tasks the "serious duty of child", as, than anymore a teacher will guard a child from serious employments, the more difficult there will be passing to them. Thus they suggest to "do serious employment for a child entertaining". From it is here possible to do a next conclusion: aiming to instil to the children love to the foreign language, a teacher must so build employments, that a child feels pleasure and the same satisfaction, as well as from a game. And how the program on English sets the problem to provide the certain level of communicative competence of student before a teacher, then at the choice of game, it is necessary to take into account the aims of her use on the lessons of foreign language:

• forming of skills;

• development of vocal abilities;

• teaching to intercourse (communications);

• development of necessary capabilities and psychical functions;

• cognition (in the field of the studied language);

• memorizing of vocal material.

Choosing, or thinking of a game for plugging in a lesson, it is necessary, foremost:

1. To define is the main purpose of game, what a child must learn in it? Is a child capable independently to build the utterance of such level, it will not cause for him difficulties?

2. To create a playing situation, maximally close to reality.

3. Clearly and accessible to describe a situation to the child (that he perceived it at once).

4. To play with a child with pleasure.

Thus, at the use of playing activity on the lessons of foreign language on the initial stage of teaching it is necessary to take into account the main internals of teaching game, which are marked in its name: it must be teaching and it must be a game.

A soviet encyclopedic dictionary determines a game as type of unproductive activity reason of which consists not in her result, and in a process. Therefore, entering a game in a lesson, it is necessary to take into account that her didactic result is important for a teacher, but can not be incentive reason for activity of children. To play a child can only then, when he wants it and when it interestingly him, and with those, who causes liking for him. A teacher can not be only by the organizer of game, he must play together with a child, because children with the utmost pleasure play with adults and that is why, that a playing atmosphere collapses under the look of strange observer.

Thus, the game is oriented to the area of the nearest development action, combining a pedagogical purpose with interesting for a child reason of activity.

Classification of teaching games

Application of game for development of skills of foreign speech is not enough studied area of pedagogics. Not every game (let living and interesting) befits for this purpose. Therefore choice of necessary game is one of basic tasks of teacher of foreign language. This choice must be conducted taking into account purposefulness of game, possibility of its gradual complication and lexical filling.

The games selected for employment differ from ordinary child's games that the factor of imagination, fantasy of child, and the invented situations depart as though on a background, and a supervision and attention become a dominant.

Speaking about the varieties of games, it is necessary to notice that this question behaves to the digit of problem. Every teacher or researcher goes near this theme from position of the children based on the personal experience of teaching. So I.L. Sholpo offers the variant of classification of teaching games which can be used on employments by a foreign language with primary school pupils.

Chart 1. Classification of teaching games

Cognitive-entertaining games

Preparatory

Creative

Grammatical

Lexical

Dramatic

Business

Phonetic and other

Imitation on a theme

Schematic:

The basic aim of preparatory games is forming of certain skills. This group of games is subdivided into a few kinds: grammatical games, forming and developing vocal activity of student; lexical, training vocal and cogitative activity and use of vocabulary; phonetic, forming and perfecting phonetic abilities by immersion of child in melodic of the studied language; and other games, responsible for forming and development of certain knowledge and abilities.

Due to creative games development of vocal abilities is possible studying in situations most close to reality. This group is characterized by a rich specific variety from which we distinguished a few well-known and often used games. It is dramatic, business games which are the important types of game, in connection with that, enough often learning certain grammatical or lexical material, a student is not able to use him in one of vital situations, and such types of games help its participants conditionally to reproduce practical activity of people. They create the terms of the real intercourse.

Unlike dramatic games which teach "how shall I say, a business game answers questions "why" (reason) and "why" (purpose) something is needed to say. The actions of participants of business game can be maximally close to the communicative acts by means of imitation of situations of their labour and educational activity.

In similar games a student seize such elements of intercourse, as ability to begin conversation, support it, burst an interlocutor in a necessary moment, to accede to his opinion or refute him, ability to listen an interlocutor, set wh-questions et cetera.

On a border between a dramatic and business game there is such type of activity, as improvisation on a theme the known fairy-tale, already lost in a withstand kind. This type of activity can be characterized as final or control, as he helps a teacher to trace after mastering of certain material.

Thus, it is possible to conclude that:

• Essence of child's game consists in execution some role.

• The methods of realization of employments must be built taking into account the age-related and individual features of structure of linguistic capabilities of children and be sent to their development.

• A game is only a shell, form, maintenance and setting of her must be teaching, i.e. capture the types of vocal activity as by the means of intercourse.

• Teaching of primary school pupils the foreign language must carry communicative character, when a child seizes a language, as means of intercourse, id est not simply masters separate words and vocal standards, but studies to construct utterances on the models known to him in accordance with arising up for him communicative necessities.

• Intercourse in foreign language must be explained and purposeful.

• It is necessary o create for the child of the positive psychological setting on foreign speech (the method of creation of such positive motivation is a game).

• A game, entered in an educational process on employments on a foreign language, as one of receptions of teaching, must be interesting, simple and animated, to assist the accumulation of new linguistic material and fixing of the before got knowledge.

Methods of organization of game at school on the initial stage teaching

At the practical aims of teaching the foreign language at high school a task consists of forming of skills and abilities of receptive and productive types of vocal activity. Modern methodology foresees development of all four types of activity in an aggregate, i.e. listening, speaking, reading, writing develop simultaneously. But taking into account of the age-related features of children of primary school age, a leading role on this stage of teaching gives oneself up to verbal activity. Thus, basic attention on the lessons of foreign language in the first years of teaching is spared to mastering of vocabulary and simple grammatical constructions.

By the school program on foreign languages for a primary school age the volume of vocabulary and grammar, which every student must capture is certain. Fullmarking words, numerals, simple grammatical constructions, words and word-combinations for expression of consent or disagreement are included in their number.

At introduction of new material (both lexical and grammatical) requires more than time on primary exercises (acquaintance, working off, fixing). Therefore, it is not necessary to enter more than 10 words in a lesson.

As for repetition of the before entered units, then it is inferior to definite pattern: than less time passed from the moment of introduction of lexical or grammatical unit to speech, the it must recur more frequent (after a 5th lesson a reiteration can become rarer, but quite destroying her from everyday life is impossible).

If to enter grammatical material continuously from a vocabulary, then mastering of each of them is facilitated. Separateness, absence of semantic connections between the serve of material is very hampered his mastering, especially for a primary school pupil.

One of questions of work with playing material at school on the initial stage of teaching is a question about the amount of games to every lesson and necessary for fixing of certain material number of reiterations of playing situations. The amount of new material, as experience of psychologists and teachers shows, depends on a few factors: from difficulty of lexical or grammatical material; from the degree of tie-up of material inter each other (from logic of teaching); from the stage of teaching; from preparation of student. In respect of game, psychologists advise to use her for teaching of junior schoolboy as possible more frequent, especially on the lessons of foreign language. Optimal time (from the calculation of duration of lesson 45 minutes) makes 25-30 minutes.

Taking into account the psychological feature of this age, new words must recur on a lesson as possible more frequent, that a student had the opportunity of them to memorize. In modern scientifically-methodical complexes such work is already foreseen, but teachers can to organize the reiteration of words on the different stages. For example, in the 4th class after an acquaintance with the theme of "Nature" a teacher can offer a task to remember as many as possible words within the limits of the set theme. If thus or similar to him to work off all trained words tasks, the material will be mastered by children quickly enough and tested with the minimum expenses of time.

Studying corresponding literature, it is possible to distinguish the next factors of selection and organization of playing material on a foreign language in the junior classes of high school:

• frequency and prevalence of the use of grammatical or lexical unit in speech;

• existence of rich study of synonyms row generates surplus, besides, that sufficient is only his most widely-used part;

• absence of the real possibility in the conditions of initial school for a capture all vocal material, by the foreseen studied language;

• overstating of volume of the studied material negatively tells on quality of its possession.

Conclusion

A task of teaching is to teach schoolboys freely to use a language as means of intercourse, spiritual enriching and forming of intellectual culture. As basic attention in teaching must be spared to comprehensive vocal development of child, then the primary purpose of teaching the foreign language at high school must consist in forming of personality which owns abilities and skills freely, communicative justified to use vocal facilities of language for perception (listening and reading), expression of ideas and desires (writing and speaking) in different spheres, forms, kinds and genres of speech.

The methods of realization of employments must be built taking into account the age-related and individual features of children and be sent to their development.

Teaching to the foreign language must be realized by integration of teaching process with the different types of activity typical for this age: motive, playing, labour.

A game, entered in an educational process on employments on a foreign language, must have a didactic ground, be interesting, simple and animated, expedient and purposeful, to assist the accumulation of new linguistic material and fixing of the before got knowledge.

On condition of observance of these positions, forming of communicative abilities and skills of junior schoolboys in the process of teaching to the foreign language will pass quicker, more high-quality and to require additional efforts and materials.

Resources

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