CC BY
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УДК 81
doi 10.24411/2221-0458-2020-10045
LINGUISTIC DIFFICULTIES OF VERB LEARNING BY FOREIGN STUDENTS
A. V. Taryma, M.K. Artyna Tuvan State University, Kyzyl
ЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКИЕ ТРУДНОСТИ ПРИ ИЗУЧЕНИИ ГЛАГОЛОВ ИНОСТРАННЫМИ СТУДЕНТАМИ
Тарыма А.В., Артына М.К.
Тувинский государственный университет, г. Кызыл
The article examines the linguistic difficulties in mastering the verb aspects by foreign students in a non-Slavic audience. The greatest difficulty in practical work is to select the aspectual pair, to determine the way of its formation, to characterize the way of verbal action of the analyzed word. The work pays attention to the training of the verb aspects in the exercises that reveal the students' awareness of the specific meaning, the exercises for observation based on seeing imagery. Training allows students to prepare for speech practice, for the ability to vary and use the desired verb aspect correctly.
Keywords: category of a verb aspect; imperfective aspect; perfective aspect; aspectual pair; semantics of verbs
В данной статье исследуются лингвистические трудности усвоения видов (аспектов) глагола иностранными студентами. Наибольшую трудность в практической работе представляют такие упражнения, как выделение студентами видовой пары, определение способов ее образования, охарактеризование способа речевого действия анализируемого слова. В работе уделяется внимание отработке глагольных аспектов (видов) в упражнениях, раскрывающих осознание учащимися конкретного значения, а также в упражнениях для наблюдения, основанных на видении образов. Обучение позволяет студентам подготовиться к речевой практике, к умению варьировать и правильно использовать желаемый вид глагола.
Ключевые слова: категория глагольного аспекта; несовершенный вид; совершенный аспект; аспектная пара; семантика глаголов
Every teacher, even a very experienced category of a verb aspect to students. The one, is peeved about starting to explain the teacher knows that students will clearly
perceive this new category without enthusiasm; speech practice will stop for about a week.
Speech practice requires urgently that the concept of verb aspects should be introduced as early as possible, otherwise the educational material, which the teaching of the Russian language is based on, turns out to be non-normative which inhibits the mastery of natural speech. Therefore, it is inappropriate to distance, to postpone acquaintance with verb aspects as a concept supposed to be too complicated for the early stage of language learning.
What are the real difficulties in mastering the verb aspects facing both the teacher and the students at an early stage of learning? The most important of them must be recognized as the non-specific nature of the concept of a verb aspect for non-Slavic languages. The teacher, explaining the essence of aspects in a non-Slavic audience, is practically deprived of the opportunity to rely on the student's native language or the intermediate language.
A rational approach to the study of aspects is to explain the theory of the aspects in the students' native language or in the intermediate language. It is necessary to welcome in every possible way the practice of those departments, where teachers of Russian who speak the native language of students or an intermediary language, read small practical lectures on the category of aspects and use
educational material, which, at least to some extent, sheds light on the essence of the Russian verb aspect. Such lectures can be successfully replaced by printed materials in the language of the students. The idea of the need to use an intermediary language (most probably English) in a multinational student audience is confirmed by leading experts in the field of Russian as a foreign language. All the same, at least dosed, but teachers are forced to resort to it, this is confirmed by the practice of teaching Russian to a foreign audience. Although opponents of the intermediate language argue that foreign students, realizing the possibility of communicating with the teacher in an intermediate language (most often English), begin to abuse this situation: the teacher addresses a student in Russian, the student answers in English. Nevertheless, such behavior should be recognized as isolated facts and, in general, the use of an intermediary language in explaining complex linguistic phenomena is not disputed. This fact is confirmed by Paul Pimsleur, who believes that knowledge of a foreign language, and often several foreign languages, greatly facilitates the understanding of the grammatical phenomena of a target language, due to the fact that people have one physiology and common basic needs, which naturally affected the development of universal linguistic phenomena, such as, the expression of belonging, the meaning of procedurality and
resulting character in verbs, the replacement of nouns with pronouns: «People who have learned several foreign languages report that learning grammar becomes easier after having mastered the first two languages. Through knowing three languages, they discover that there are simple unifying principles underlying grammar's apparent complexity... Simirlarly, all languages have devices for conveying whether an action is presently going on (she is dancing) or is finished (she danced); for relating people and things to each other (Jack's wife, our car); for replacing a noun (the woman) by a pronoun (she)»» [4, P. 8].
Another difficulty faced by the teacher is that, even at the very early stage of presentation of the verb aspects, they have to be introduced in different oppositions.
«Практика дробной подачи видовых значений кажется нам неоправданной: очень трудно подобрать или создать иллюстративный языковой материал в виде связного монологического или
диалогического высказывания, который ограничивался бы указанными значениями. Такой материал всегда будет отражать искусственные ситуации. Потребности речевой практики, даже в начальный момент предъявления видов, оказываются нереализованными, если в языковом материале не представлен, например, несовершенный вид в общефактическом значении. Кроме того, осмысление вида происходит более полно и адекватно, если
теория вида в его главных признаках сообщается целостно = The practice of fractional presentation of aspectual meanings seems to us unjustified: it is very difficult to select or create illustrative linguistic material in the form of a coherent monologue or dialogical statement, which would be limited to the indicated meanings. Such material will always reflect artificial situations. The needs of speech practice, even at the initial moment of aspect presentation, turn out to be unfulfilled if, for example, an imperfective aspect in a general factual meaning is not presented in the linguistic material. In addition, the understanding of the aspect occurs more fully and adequately if the theory of aspects in its main features is communicated in a holistic manner» [3, P. 5967].
The most difficult to explain is the imperfective aspect, since it has a broader and less definite meaning. Teachers often forget about this, directing all efforts to interpret the signs of a perfective aspect.
It is the difficulty of comprehending the general factual meaning that explains the numerous mistakes in the students' speech. For example, to the teacher's question "Что вы делали вчера?" students may answer: * Вчера я прочитал книгу or * Я приготовил домашнее задание. However, such difficulties can be removed if the teacher uses an intermediate language. Processability, resulting character and actual value are
successfully explained using the example of the temporary forms of the Continuous, Perfect and Simple groups. Compare:
а) Вчера я читал книгу. = Yesterday I read a book (Past Simple). In this case, the action translates the actual value.
б) Я прочитал книгу. = I have read a book (Present Perfect). Here the emphasis is on the result of the action.
в) Я сейчас читаю книгу. = I am reading a book (Present Continuous). The value of the action process is transferred through the Continuous form.
г) Я читал книгу, когда постучались в дверь. = I was reading a book when someone knocked the door. The example illustrates well the expression of a 'point', one-time action against the background of another action with a process value.
Such examples are classic and tend to be well understood by an English-speaking student audience.
As a result of explaining the verb aspects, the following signs should develop in the minds of students that characterize the main functions of the aspect and the patterns of their implementation in speech:
1) to designate an action as a process, to designate a repetitive action, to name an action that has (had or will take place), an imperfective aspect should be used;
2) to designate a specific action that has reached an internal limit (or termination) and completed, having exhausted itself, you should
use a perfect verb. But this information is still not enough to understand the linguistically undistorted picture of aspectual oppositions. It is necessary to introduce the concept of an aspectual pair. For this purpose, one should observe, together with the students, the semantics of some verbs with the so-called terminative stem. Such verbs designate an action capable of reaching its inner limit as a critical point, after reaching it, the action must stop (for example, read, write, solve, teach, etc.). Typically, students are fairly unmistakable in determining that the semantics of these verbs means the ability to reach the limit (or termination) of action. When analyzing other verbs with the so-called non-terminative stem (stand, live, be, etc.), students also almost unmistakably determine that the specificity of the semantics of these verbs does not allow them to express the achievement of the limit of action. This analysis leads students to the concept of an aspectual pair. Observations on two semantic types of verbs allow us to draw an important conclusion: not all verbs are capable of forming aspectual pairs, different types of the same verb denote the same real action, but in different aspects [3, P.78-297].
The next question to be resolved when presenting an aspect is the formal expression of aspectual oppositions. Demonstration of such aspectual pairs as читать - прочитать, делать - сделать, решать — решить, брать — взять, quite fully illustrates the
main ways of forming aspectual pairs (prefixation, suppletion).
Particularly unusual and difficult for the linguistic consciousness of students will be similar forms of the present tense of the imperfective aspect and the future perfect. Opposing these forms in a number of examples will help students in distinguishing them, although for some verbs that are phonetically close, this will turn out to be far from an easy matter: решаю - present, решу -future, оставляю - present, оставлю - future, etc.
No less great difficulty are the forms of the future tense when assimilated by foreign students. The only advice the educators give in this case is not to make too big a gap between the study of the analytical and synthetic forms of the future tense. Students first learn the composite analytical form of the future tense, it does not present great difficulties for them. For example, Я буду рисовать, Мы будем слушать музык. Later, they are offered a simple synthetic form of the future tense, which turns out to be much more difficult in terms of the formation of a verb form, Я нарисую, Мы послушаем музыку, as a result, students can unconsciously use the analytical form, which they have already learned well, instead of the necessary synthetic one: Мы будем нарисовать дом instead of Мы нарисуем дом. Therefore, some methodologists recommend even to enter two future tenses at the same time, so that foreign
students do not form certain preferences in the choice of verb forms, since it will subsequently be very difficult to eliminate or correct.
«Совокупность всех этих очень сложных для учащихся теоретических сведений и необходимость доучивать к известным глаголам еще и видовые пары на какое-то время затормаживают речевую деятельность. = The totality of all these theoretical information that is very difficult for students and the need to finish learning not only the verbs, but also aspectual pairs slow down speech activity for some time» [1, pp. 170 - 171].
So that this period is not too long, one should not try on the very first day of presentation of the aspects to give the tense-aspect forms of all the verbs studied by this time. It is more useful to take several aspectual pairs and conduct training on them, the main goal of which is to work out the skill of choosing an aspect depending on a specific context.
At the beginning of training aspects, it is advisable to perform exercises that reveal the students' awareness of aspectual meanings, observation exercises based on seeing imagery. In the methodological literature, in textbooks and teaching aids, one can find pictures with the help of which the meanings of an imperfective aspect -the process of action- and a perfective aspect -reaching the limit of action- are semantised. For example:
Женщина готовила обед (что-то в кастрюле) = The woman was preparing dinner (there is something in a saucepan). Приготовила обед. = She has made dinner; Ловил рыбу с мостика. = He was fishing from the bridge. Поймал рыбу. = He has caught a fish.
But, of course, most of the training will take place on written and oral microtexts of a monological and dialogical nature, in which all the main meanings of the aspects should be presented on limited lexical material. «It is necessary to use coherent texts containing active speech material that take on special significance to work at such topics. Connected texts provide students with opportunity to produce speech more actively and freely» [5, P. 44].
The primary consolidation of the acquired knowledge about the aspect should aim to teach the differentiation of the aspect function in contexts representing an aspect (especially imperfective one) in different meanings. At first, much attention should be paid to the analysis of the functioning of aspects in a large number of microtexts. It is easier to start such an analysis on written materials reflecting samples of coherent monologue and dialogical speech. As a result of such analysis, students should practically comprehend the three semantic variants of the imperfective aspect (the process of action, the repetition of the action, the general factual meaning) and the terminative meaning of the
perfective aspect. Some teachers, wanting to move quickly to the speech practice of using aspects, shorten the preparatory stage. As a result, students, not realizing (through the analysis of sample texts) the essence of the aspects, make mistakes in speech, which may lead to the need to "re-explain" the aspects.
It is also recommended to pay attention to the following: formal analysis of verbs in microtexts should not be allowed (and it turns out to be formal if the students are given only one task - to name the aspect of the analyzed verb). Such kind of analysis is completely inadequate, since it does not reveal what is hidden behind the aspect in a given use, what are the tasks of the speaker who has chosen this particular type of verb. The analysis should be accompanied by the teacher's questions and the students' answers as to understand why and in what particular function the aspect acts in each specific case. This is the only way to prepare students for speech practice, for the ability to vary, choose and use correctly the desired form to express their own thoughts.
Let's try to show the course of such analysis by examples. For example, verbs in dialogue are subject to analysis:
- Что ты делал сегодня вечером? (1)
- Слушал в лаборатории пленку. (2)
- Долго слушал? (3)
Analyzing the first interrogative remark of the dialogue (1), students establish that the verb is used in a perfective aspect. The teacher
asks what goals of the questioner are dictated by: the desire to find out about what action took place in the past, or about whether the result of the action was in the past. Usually the majority of students are inclined to the first assumption and establish that in this case the imperfective aspect is used in a general factual meaning. When analyzing the verb in the response (2), the teacher asks the students what the speaker wanted to say: to report only about the action that took place, or about its result. Students answer in the same way as in the first case, then it is concluded that the verb (2) is used in a general factual meaning. From the analysis of the third response (3), it is concluded that the choice of an imperfective aspect is dictated by the tasks to name an action that is long in time.
Let's give one more example.
- Откуда ты идёшь? (1)
- С почты. Получал посылку. (2)
- Получил? (3)
- Получил. Вот она. (4)
The analysis of the aspects in this text can go something like this.
Teacher. What aspect of verb is in the second conversational turn?
Student. Imperfective one.
Teacher. Why? What did the speaker want to express: the fact that there was the action, or that it had a result?
Student. There was an action.
Teacher. What does the interlocutor ask about in the third turn?
Student. About the result, because he has already known what action had been in the post-office.
Teacher. What is the speaker reporting in the fourth turn?
Student. About the result, therefore the verb is perfective.
Such analysis should be carried out on a sufficient number of examples until students learn to understand accurately the main features of the aspects. It is impossible to limit ourselves to the analysis of aspectual meanings only at the initial stage of acquaintance with the aspects. It is necessary to carry out such analysis of the verbs for a long time, and perhaps during the entire period of learning the Russian language. You should not use long texts for analysis (this will take a lot of students' time), but occasionally it is imperative to offer small texts for analysis as homework.
The needs of speech practice, even at the earliest stage of learning, imply the assimilation of aspects in different positions: in all tense-aspect forms, in the infinitive, in the imperative, in affirmative and negative structures. If the main features of an aspect in tense-aspect forms are thoroughly explained, then the problem of using aspects in the infinitive, imperative, in negative structures, passes without a special accent: the aspects in the indicated positions function in the same basic meanings.
However, in order to prevent possible errors, which are quite common in the speech of students, several rules should be given, focusing on the choice of the aspect:
1) imperfective aspect in the infinitive after the verbs начинать - начать, кончать - кончить, продолжать, переставать -перестать, уставать - устать, учиться -научиться, привыкать - привыкнуть and some others;
2) perfective aspect in the infinitive after the verbs забывать - забыть, успевать -успеть;
3) imperfective aspect in negative structures with verbs in the tense-aspect form, if the purpose of the statement is to deny the presence of an action (Я не читал этот роман);
4) perfective aspect in negative structures, if the purpose of the statement is not a denial of an action, but a denial of its result (Я не прочитал еще этот роман);
5) predominantly imperfective aspect with negation in the imperative mood (Не приходите! Не звоните!);
6) imperfective aspect with modal words when negated (не надо делать, не должен говорить);
7) perfective aspect with verbs in the imperative mood, expressing advice, request, order (Посмотрите! Отдохните! Расскажите!);
8) imperfective aspect with verbs in the imperative mood to express the urge to action (Вставай! Пишите! Приходите!).
Systematic practicing of verbs will prepare students for compiling independent coherent statements with verbs in different aspect oppositions. We recommend special exercises that can be used to develop the skills of using the main features of the aspect in speech. However, before completing these activities, the teacher should ensure that students have a solid knowledge of actual pairs in all their forms. To do this, you can conduct a preliminary oral survey. If students do not know the aspects well enough, training will have no effect.
Here are the types of exercises that are performed orally.
1. Ask about the duration of the action.
Teacher. Я прочитала новый роман.
Student. Сколько времени вы читали его?
Teacher. Вчера я написала письмо.
Student. Сколько времени вы писали его?
2. Ask if the result of the action referred to has been achieved.
Teacher. Вечером я читала книгу.
Student. Вы прочитали ее?
Teacher. Вчера я был на почте, получал посылку.
Student. Вы получили ее?
3. When you hear about the student's action, tell the student that he/she often (usually, always) does this.
Example: a) - Сегодня Петр встал в 8 часов.
- Он всегда встает в 8 часов.
b) - Сегодня Петр забыл тетрадь.
- Он часто забывает тетрадь.
In order to be more specific and natural, these exercises can be done in a slightly different way. The students are given cards where the verbs to be practiced are written. For example, one of the students received a card with the perfect verbs решить, получить, приготовить and make affirmative sentences with them. Other students should ask him how often he does this action or how long he does it.
Example: а) - Вчера я получил письмо.
- Ты часто получаешь письма?
- Да, я часто получаю письма.
b) - Сегодня я решил три задачи.
- Сколько времени ты решал их?
- Недолго, они легкие.
Then, the verbs that are on the cards of other students are subjected to the same working out.
Another option is also possible. Students receive cards with imperfective verbs, for example, сдавать (экзамен), посылать. The student composes affirmative sentences with
imperfective verbs with the meaning of general action. Other students should ask the speaker if the result of the action has been achieved.
Example: а) - Мой друг сдавал экзамен по истории.
- Сдал?
- Да, сдал.
b) - Вчера я был на почте, посылал посылку.
- Послал?
- Послал.
4. Make up dialogs according to the example, use the verbs читать-прочитать, учить-выучить, решать-решить, etc.
Example: - Что ты делаешь?
- Готовлю домашнее задание.
- А ты?
- А я уже приготовил.
5. Make up dialogs similar to the one below.
Example: - Вы решали задачу?
- Решал, но не решил.
6. Make up dialogs similar to the ones below. Pay attention to the use of the aspect in responses.
Example: а) - Почему вы не пришли к
нам?
- Я переводил текст.
b) - Вы свободны?
- Да, я уже перевел текст.
7. Compose a short coherent text with the following verbs.
а) собраться, петь, танцевать, поздравить, пожелать; b) молчать, спросить, объяснить, посоветовать.
8. Finish the sentences by using the right verb aspect.
а) Мы сидели у товарища и. . b) Я приготовил домашнее задание и... . c) Я не смогла заниматься, я ... .
In our opinion, the verb aspects are learned with great difficulty not because each individual phenomenon receives limited References
1. Glazunova, O. I. Grammatika russkogo yazyka v uprazhneniyah i kommentariyah. Morfologiya [Russian grammar in exercises and comments. Morphology.] - 4-e izdanie. - Sankt-Petersburg : Zlatoust, 2007 - 424 p. (In Russian) - Tekst : neposredstvennyj.
2. Govorim po-russki bez perevodchika : Intensivnyj kurs po razvitiyu navykov ustnoj rechi [We speak Russian without an interpreter : Intensive course on the development of speaking skills] / otvetstvennyj redactor L.S. Kryuchkova, L. A. Dunaeva. - 13-e izdanie, stereotipnoe. -Moscow : FLINTA, 2018.- 176 p. (in Russian) - Tekst : neposredstvennyj.
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lexical reinforcement, but because of the insufficient elaboration of a number of methodological issues that we wrote about. Failure to fulfill or underperform the tasks, facing the initial stage, affects the later stages of language learning negatively. The aspect of the verb is a cross-cutting grammatical topic that accompanies the entire process of learning the Russian language.
V. Kuz'mina. - 10-e izdanie, ispravlennoe. - Moscow : FLINTA, 2019. - 104 p. (in Russian) - Tekst : neposredstvennyj
4. Pimsleur, Paul. How to Learn a Foreign Language. - Simon and Schuster, 2013. -160 p. - Tekst : neposredstvennyj.
5. Taryma, A. V. Sistema i formy raboty po razvitiyu rechi (iz opyta prepodavaniya RKI v Pedagogicheskom universitete Vnutrennej Mongolii, KNR) [System and forms of work on the development of speech (based on teaching Russian as a Foreign Language in Inner Mongolia Normal University, People's Republic of China)] / A. V. Taryma, M. K. Artyna. - Tekst : neposredstvennyj // Vestnik Tuvinskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Pedagogicheskie nauki. - Vyp. 4. - 2019. -№ 2 (47). - Pp. 40-46. (in English) - Tekst : neposredstvennyj.
Тарыма Алефтина Викторовна - кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры русского языка и литературы Тувинского государственного университета, г. Кызыл, e-mail: tar-aleftina@yandex.ru
Артына Мира Кан-ооловна - кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры иностранных языков Тувинского государственного университета, г. Кызыл, е-mail: mirartyna@yandex.ru
Aleftina V. Taryma - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of the Russian Language and Literature, Tuvan State University, Kyzyl, е-mail: tar-aleftina@yandex.ru
Mira K. Artyna - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages, Tuvan State University, Kyzyl, е-mail: mirartyna@yandex.ru
Статья поступила в редакцию 28.08.2020
