INTERACTIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING THROUGH DISCUSSIAN IN A SECONDARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM

Abstract

Background: Discussion is extensively used in native and foreign language classrooms at school and is viewed as language an instrument for enhancing capacity of students in different communication situations. Noteworthy is the fact that researches employ a range of different terms to refer to the concept synonymously: polemics, debate, public polylogues etc. Moreover, there is a lack of common understanding regarding characteristics of discussion as a method of interactive learning as well as its types in the context of different national educational systems.

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to revisit the meaning of the concept «educational discussion» based on the analysis of definitions offered by psychological, didactic and linguistic researches. The objective of the study is to characterize discussion as an interactive teaching method and to determine those content components of teaching Ukrainian and Spanish in high school which are appropriate for applying the method of discussion.

Results: Our theoretical speculations have led us to the conclusion that an educational discussion method in language pedagogy should be viewed as a special method aimed at building communicative and strategic compe­tence of the student. Empirical researches carried out by the authors based on questionnaires, observations and interviews enable us to suggest that the method of discussion in teaching Ukrainian and Spanish has to be used in different stages of secondary education. The results of the survey of teachers-practitioners have shown that discussion appears effective for learning any aspect of the language (vocabulary, stylistics, grammar). The course of the discussion (debate, polemics) provides the information for monitoring the progress in students’ speaking skills. The advantages of the discussion method lie in the awareness of the role of dialogue in communication and necessary enriching the vocabulary. It is through educational discussion that the students practice new grammat­ical constructions in live communication with interlocutors and correct their own and others’ mistakes. Therefore, discussion has significant advantages for the development of communicative competence of the student at all stages of secondary education.

Comparing the views of leading experts in Ukraine and Europe made it possible to present the main charac­teristics of the discussion as a method of interactive language learning: individual and collective development of learners’ personality, cooperative interaction of interlocutors, organizational function in the educational process; variety of forms of classroom work.

Discussion: Interactive language learning and collaborative interaction of communication partners provide intensive language learning for students. By analyzing, criticizing, approving of the statements of the participants in the discussion, students develop communicative and strategic competence. At the same time, the use of the method of discussion is extremely effort-taking for the teacher, since requires unconventional techniques and creativity.