The need for self-education of prospective teachers of foreign languages

Lecture 1

Self-education of Prospective Foreign Languages Teachers

1. The need for self-education of prospective teachers of foreign languages.

2. The concept of self-education.

3. Organizing self-education.

4. Readiness and academic skills vital for self-education.

a) Reading skills;

b) The skills of independent searching for literature;

c) Writing skills;

References:

1) Shylova, Iryna. Self-education and psycho-pedagogical competence of students: mechanisms and conditions of development // ВІСНИК ЛЬВІВ. УН-ТУ. Серія педаг. 2009. Вип. 25. Ч. 3. С. 268–274. VISNYK LVIV UNIV. Ser. Pedag. 2009. Is. 25. Past 3. P. 268–274.

2) Введение в специальность: учеб. пособие для студентов пед. ин-тов / Л.И. Рувинский, В.А. Канн-Калик, Д.М. Гришин и др. – М.: Просвещение, 1988. – 208 с.

3) Зубра, А.С. Педагогическая культура преподавателя высшей школы.

4) Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications. 5p.

The need for self-education of prospective teachers of foreign languages

More than three hundred years ago the outstanding educator Ja.A.Komensky dreamt of exploring of such modes of didactics at which teachers would teach less, and pupils would study more. Komensky made a special stress on independent efforts of pupils which may not be replaced by any skilled teacher.

Today such concepts as «continuous education», «raising one's qualifications (improvement of professional skill)», «self-education» are very frequent in the pedagogical literature. According to Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications, teaching is 'a profession placed within the context of lifelong learning: teacher education is a continuum of professional development covering the full span of individuals’ careers. Teachers recognize the importance of acquiring new knowledge, and have the ability to innovate and use evidence to inform their work. They are fully engaged in the process of lifelong learning and are able to evolve and adapt throughout their whole career. They participate actively in professional development and this is recognized within their own systems. They also contribute to young people and adult learners becoming more autonomous lifelong learners'.

Thus, familiarizing of students with self-education is a new important function of higher education today. But why does it get such prominence?

Firstly, it is impossible to receive a package of knowledge for all life. Today it gets absolutely clear that no matter how much necessary and useful knowledge we may transmit at school, or high school, one would anyway need to accumulate it throughout all the life. Naturally, transition from the information method to the heuristic one, to the maximum development of abilities, to the ability to study independently not only at higher educational establishments, but during all subsequent professional work and life is important. It's a maxim that experts who do not refresh or enrich their intellectual luggage day by day, in a sense of their professional validity will lag behind the present day's requirements, by performing their work habitually.

Secondly, knowledge, skills, abilities, habits, beliefs are impossible to transfer from the teacher to the student. Each student masters them in independent work: by listening and understanding oral information, by reading, analyzing of texts, writing of abstracts, etc.

Thirdly, if a student lives in a state of high intellectual effort he turns into a person of high culture. Independent work develops high culture of mental work (mechanics of reading, book studying, taking notes, aspiration to penetrate into the essence of a question, to go deep into yet unsolved problems). By improving the culture of mental work, a student reaches better results in mastering knowledge. In the course of independent work individual abilities of students, their dispositions and interests most fully come to light. Independent mental work develops such qualities, as organization, discipline, initiative, will, persistence, ability to analyze facts and phenomena; independence of judgments, independence of thought, a feeling of personal responsibility.

Fourthly, practical experience and special observations show, that aspiration to be engaged in self-education and the corresponding skills are usually developed at school and high school. 40 % of students consider the lack of skill to work independently as the main reason of their dissatisfaction with their studies.

All the above mentioned facts prove that for the future teacher the study skill, the skill to accumulate the knowledge throughout life, is professionally vital. According to K.D. Ushinsky, the teacher lives as long as he studies. As soon as he ceases to study the teacher inside him dies.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30