METHODOLOGY AS AN EDUCATIONAL DISCIPLINE

METHODology AS EDUCATIONAL,

SCHOLARLY AND PRACTICAL DISCIPLINE

Methodology as an educational discipline

Methodology as a scholarly discipline

Methodology as a practical discipline

The term methodology in translation from Greek (metodike) means a branch of pedagogical study, investigating the laws of teaching a certain educational subject. In modern theory and practice of language teaching it is used in three meanings: methodology as an educational, scholarly and practical discipline.

 

 

METHODOLOGY AS AN EDUCATIONAL DISCIPLINE

 

Methodology is an educational discipline, giving a theoretical and practical training to teachers to be, foreign language tuition inclusive. This training is realized in the form of lectures, seminars and practical classes, the scope and content of which are determined by the corresponding curricula in the process of teaching practice, at the preparation and defence of year, graduation and master theses.

The course of methodology as an educational discipline includes the following sections:

1) linguodidactic fundamentalsof teaching. This section considers: the contents of methodology as an educational discipline; its links with other disciplines; methods of investigation; the system of education, including aims and tasks, principles, methods, means, organizational forms of education; the interpretation of basic categories of methodology and its conceptual apparatus;

2) methodological fundamentals of teaching language means of communication (phonetical, lexical, grammatical, stylistical, referring to linguistic and area studies);

3) methodological fundamentals of teaching communicative activities (listening, speaking, reading, writing and written speech, translation);

4) organizing and providing the process of teaching(planning of classes, types of the lessons, assessment of language teaching, forms of extracurricular work, modern technologies of teaching);

5) the contents of professional training of a foreign language teacher and the requirements to the teacher’s profession;

6) the stages, levels and profiles of foreign language teaching;

7) basic stages of developing methodology of foreign language teaching.

Thus, the course of methodology as an educational discipline is to provide the formation of professional competence in teachers to be (that is the ability of language teaching as a result of acquaintance with modes and methods of its teaching) and communicative competence in their pupils to be (that is the ability of practical use of a foreign language).

As the object of methodology is language, it is important to have an idea about the peculiarities of mastering this subject unlike other disciplines of the curriculum.

Language is known to be a system of signs (graphic, phonetic) available in human society with the help of which the exchange of thoughts among people occurs.

However, there are significant distinctions between mastering native and foreign languages. Firstly, a childs masters a language not due to its conscious desire to know a language, but owing to its spontaneous thought development as far back as early childhood. In the beginning a native language is a means of acquiring a social experience by a child and only then – a means of expressing its own thoughts. Secondly, learning a foreign language means acquiring new language code, that is new ways of thought expression.

The peculiarity of the subject “a foreign language” also consists in the fact, that the objective of teaching is not so much in acquiring knowledge about the subject itself, that is of language, as the formation of habits and skills in different types of speech activities. Taking into account the correlation between knowledge – habits – skills, a foreign language occupies an intermediate place among theoretical disciplines (humane, natural and educational series) and practical ones (music, drawing, sport, etc.). thus, a foreign language like other practical disciplines involves doing a great number of training exercises, which result in the formation of speech habits and skills. At the same time as in theoretical scholarly disciplines a significant scope of language knowledge in the form of rules and instructions is given.

The next distinctive feature of a foreign language as a subject consists in the fact there are no limits in mastering a language.

There are the following three types of methodologies revealing the contents of the subject: general, particular and special.

General methodologies focus on the description of laws and peculiarities of foreign language teaching without considering its concrete conditions, connected with the stage and profile of tuition and also peculiarities of learner’s native tongue. Thus, the principles of selection of teaching material, the ways of its introduction, the system of exercises, modes of work with technical aids, means of assessment in different conditions of teaching in general are the same and applied for various groups of learners. These methodologies are intended to characterize the general things that are typical of the organization and conducting of foreign language classes.

Particular methodologies deal with problems of foreign language teaching in concrete conditions of its learning taking into account a learner’s native tongue. The knowledge of general methods of foreign language teaching often turns out to be insufficient when teachers find themselves in specific conditions of teaching it, depending on the stage and profile. Such peculiarities of teaching and language acquisition depending n the conditions are the objects of particular methods.

Special methodologies deal with the peculiarities of teaching some aspect of a foreign language (its individual aspects or types of speech activities, the use of technical aids, the organization of assessment at classes, extracurricular work etc.). Such methods are published in the form of manuals and facilitate the extension of a teacher’s methodologic outlook as well as forming his or her professional competence.