Learning English at university level

Learning English in Russia is not an educational problem any longer. It is a most important social problem.

English-speaking people do not fully realize the significance of learning English to foreigners for the simple reason that they are the lucky owners of the language, which has become the most important means of international communication.

They get this generous gift from their English-speaking parents and acquire the knowledge of their mother tongue effortlessly while millions of foreigners spend years trying to master the language, which they desperately need for their work. That is where the social aspect comes in.

English is learnt in Russia not for fun, not as a luxury or as prestigious evidence of culture, education and the social rank of parents, not even so much as a means to open a new world. It is all that, but that is not the main thing.

The knowledge of English has become an objective social need because for millions of people the English language is now a tool of their trade. Businessmen, tradesmen, engineers, scientists and scholars all over the world must know English because it is the international means of exchange of information and experience.

Russian people have always been keen on studying foreign languages in general and the English language in particular, especially after the Second World War. Nowadays, with iron curtains being lifted, doors to other countries opened, travelling by private invitation allowed, partnerships in trade, business and science encouraged, the ever-increasing thirst for the English language is turning into a demand to be taught it as soon as possible.

Technical problems and barriers of distance separating peoples do not exist any longer because scientists worked hard and did their bit. Politicians — at long last — are beginning to do their duty and break down the political barriers of bureaucracy, formalism, mutual mistrust and old feuds.

As these serious and difficult obstacles are being overcome, a new barrier has come to the forefront — the language barrier. Foreign language teachers have found themselves in the focus of public attention.

The situation with foreign language learning in Russian Universities is in some ways different from that of many European countries. In Russia, students in all specialities have foreign languages on the curriculum as an obligatory subject for two to four years out of the average five years of the full course. Thus, our students not only want to learn foreign languages, but also have to learn them because students of any subject, any discipline must learn a foreign language as part of their syllabus.

At the beginning of the university course of foreign language learning it is necessary to formulate its actual — and realistic aims and tasks. Students must know from the start what variety of the foreign language, and to what extent, they are going to master it. Many people get bitterly disappointed and lose interest in foreign language studies because they were not duly informed that it is not possible (if you are not a genius, but these are scarce) in the limited period of learning — 2-4 hours per week for 2-3 years — to master a foreign language, to acquire all the various skills: reading special literature, newspapers, fiction, writing scientific papers, understanding the lyrics of songs, everyday speech, etc., etc.

The tasks of foreign language learning must be formulated from the beginning. In many universities these tasks are very humble: to teach students a foreign language for special purposes, i.e. as an actual means of communication among specialists of different countries, meaning both — oral and written kinds of communication. In other words, foreign language learning is oriented towards mastering skills for professional communication, and learning language for special purposes.

Another important aspect to be taken into consideration is distinguishing between passive, aimed at recognition (reading, comprehension) and active, aimed at production (speaking, writing) forms of language use. The distinction is essential because these two forms require different means and methods of learning and — most importantly — different learning materials.

Teaching methods are learner-oriented. In other words, foreign language learning is concerned, first and foremost, with satisfying the real needs of the students and not with revealing the knowledge of the teacher. The intensive and efficient learning of grammar, vocabulary, translation, etc. is scientifically grounded and concentrated only on those items which students actually need for the purposes specified at the beginning of the university course.

Learning foreign languages to university students of non-philological subjects is complicated by the fact that for these students a foreign language is not part of their special, professional education, which may result in a lack of motivation.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14