Discussion as a modern educational technology in teaching English

Abstract

The main function of the education connected with foreign languages is to provide the learners with qualified knowledge according to their future carrier. The paper deals with the problem of methodological organization of teaching a foreign language in the form of a discussion. The discussion provides more opportunities for intellectual and creative development of schoolchildren through mastering their foreign language communicative competence. The chapter touches upon the peculiarities of competency-based approach, learning motivation and use of the discussion method in teaching. The responsibilities of a teacher at the stages of planning, moderating and the final stage are highlighted. Some examples of using the author’s learning materials in foreign language lessons are given. In the research process, the following methods were used: analysis and generalization of domestic and foreign pedagogical, psychological and methodological literature on the use of discussion in teaching foreign languages; study and generalization of the pedagogical experience of teachers of the Evseviev Mordovia State Pedagogical University on the use of discussion in teaching foreign languages; quantitative and qualitative data processing methods. The effective discussion is a good practice for English speaking students. It helps to develop students’ communication competence on all levels of language: phonetic, lexical and grammatical.