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90INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL VOLUME 1 ISSUE 7 UIF-2022: 8.2 | ISSN: 2181-3337
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ENGLISH PROVERBS AND
SAYINGS IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Nargiza Abbasova Senior lecturer, Fergana State University Zaynalova Nargiza To'lqinjon qizi 2nd year master's degree student of Ferghana State University
Mahammatjonova Mohidil Shavkatjon qizi 2nd years master's degree student of Fergana State University https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7263808
Abstract. In addition to introducing pupils to the culture, the use of proverbs and sayings in English courses aids in the growth of all four language skills: speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Additionally, they increase pupils' vocabulary and foster critical thinking. The best approach to learn about a country's culture is through its folklore. The strategies and approaches for teaching English proverbs and systems in EFL classrooms are covered in this article.
Keywords: Teaching English, proverbs, skills, interactive methods, techniques, EFL classroom.
МЕТОДЫ И ПРИЕМЫ ОБУЧЕНИЯ АНГЛИЙСКИМ ПОСЛОВИЦАМ И
ПОГОЛОВКАМ В КЛАССЕ EFL
Аннотация. Помимо ознакомления учащихся с культурой, использование пословиц и поговорок на курсах английского языка способствует развитию всех четырех языковых навыков: говорения, аудирования, письма и чтения. Кроме того, они увеличивают словарный запас учащихся и способствуют критическому мышлению. Лучший способ узнать о культуре страны — через ее фольклор. В этой статье рассматриваются стратегии и подходы к обучению английским пословицам и системам в классах EFL.
Ключевые слова: Преподавание английского языка, пословицы, навыки, интерактивные методы, приемы, класс EFL.
INTRODUCTION
Proverbs and sayings, in turn, are the basis of oral folk art. The actuality of this following research paper can be identified with taking into consideration all information given above. Knowledge of the proverbs and sayings enriches the vocabulary, helps to assimilate the figurative structure of the language, attaches to the wisdom of the people, and develops memory. The aim of investigating this theme is to analyze the effectiveness of the use of proverbs and sayings in English lessons.
Proverbs are known as 'a wit of one, and the wisdom of many' by Lord John Russell (1950). The word proverb originates from Latin word 'proverbium' while the study of proverbs is called paremology from the Greek 'proverb' which dates back to the time of Aristotle. According to Adedimeji (2005), proverb is the short familiar sentence expressing a supposed truth or moral lesson. It is a saying that requires explanation, simple and popularly known and repeated. Mieder, (1993) a prominent proverb scholar, defines the term proverbs as a short, generally known sentence of folk which contains wisdom, truth, moral and traditional views in a metaphorical, fixed and memorized form which is handed down from generation to generation. According to Wright (2002:9), 'It is impossible to speak, read or listen to English without
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meeting idiomatic language. This is not something you can leave until you reach an advanced level. All native speaker English is idiomatic'. Indeed, various kinds of idioms, proverbs and sayings are quite common in English speech. Each proverb and saying has its own meaning and in order to keep up a conversation with a native speaker at a high level, you need to know what even the most popular and frequently used sayings and proverbs mean. Thus, I absolutely agree with the statement of Wright that it is almost impossible to use a foreign language without knowing and understanding the meaning of the proverbs, idioms and sayings of a given language.
Mieder (2004) contends that proverbs are found in many parts of the world, but some have richer stores of proverbs than others. I agree with Mieder's opinion and suppose that comparing to other languages there are much more idioms, proverbs and sayings in English, assuredly other languages are also rich for such expressions, but maybe they are not so frequently used. As a result of globalization, English has spread all over the world as a world language and has been used as a lingua franca for political, economic, educational, cultural, commercial and social reasons (Nilifer, 2011). Proverbs, therefore, play a role in the teaching English as a second language for effective communication. According to Rowland (1926)Proverb is stick in the mind, build up vocabulary, illustrate admirably the phraseology and idiomatic expressions of the foreign tongue, contribute generally to a surer feeling for the foreign tongue and it consumes very little time'. Agreeing with Rowland's opinion, I can say that the use of proverbs and sayings as a technique for teaching all language skills is very effective. Proverbs are not only melodic and witty, with rhythm and imagery but also reflect patterns of thought as proverbs are universal. They are therefore, useful in students' discussions of cultural ideas when they compare the proverbs' equivalents in different languages.
According to the paremiologist Wolfgang Mieder(1993), proverbs have been used and should be used in teaching foreign languages as didactic tools because of their educational wisdom. I strongly agree with this opinion, the meaning of proverbs and sayings does not lie just beneath the surface, which makes students think logically and as a result the teaching process is much more effective. Mieder argues that 'since they belong to the common knowledge of basically all native speakers, they are indeed very effective devices to communicate wisdom and knowledge about human nature and the world at large'. (Mieder,1993). In another book Mieder also emphasizes that 'when it comes to foreign language learning, proverbs play a role in the teaching as a part of cultural and metaphorical learning'. I also have the same opinion, it is important to be able to analyze the proverbs and sayings of the native and studied languages, to understand what events in the fate of the people, the peculiarities of the mentality they are caused. Such a culturological analysis and interpretation of proverbs in the process of learning a foreign language contributes to the formation of a common culture of students, an understanding of the cultural origins of the ethnic group, an awareness of their cultural identity, and an empathic attitude toward representatives of another lingvosocium.
Mieder also notes that the use of proverbs in the teaching of English as a second or foreign language is important for the learners' ability to communicate effectively. Mieder also states that 'textbooks on both the teaching of native and foreign languages usually include at least some lists of proverbs and accompanying exercises'. (Mieder, 2000) ere, we want to emphasize that some lists of proverbs and several exercises are not enough for the effective usage of proverbs and sayings in the EFL classroom. The more proverbs and sayings we see on
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the pages of our books the more efficient the teaching and learning processes will be and this is the main purpose of education.
Proverbs and sayings were created by many generations of people, developed over the centuries. Knowledge of the proverbs and sayings of the country of the language being studied enriches the vocabulary, helps to assimilate the figurative structure of the language, attaches to the wisdom of the people, develops memory. It is important to use proverbs and sayings for the development of children in order to make correct speech, concentration, and memory. In addition, in these small in volume works, the history, the wisdom of our ancestors, their ideas about what is good and bad is captured, so you can think about it with the pupils. Using the proverbs, we see as different peoples on different continents in different ways, but at the same time equally modified similar life situations, phenomena of objective reality, characterizing them with peculiar features. Each culture developed a certain system of norms of behavior that ensured a psychological balance in a collective, a society.
The study of proverbs can provide cultural insights and stimulate communication, as learning the proverbs of the target language gives a foreign language learners an opportunity to practice and develop their oral communication^ MacDougall, 2004).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The aim of this study is to find the empirical evidence about effectiveness of various techniques for teaching English proverbs and sayings in the EFL classroom, which was observed and analyzed from pupils of ninth grade at the school №2 specialized on some subjects which is located in Fergana, Uzbekistan that consists of 30 students, that are divided into two groups as experimental group and ordinary group. The hypothesis of researching theme is that using of new techniques of introducing proverbs and sayings in English lessons, students will be able to enrich their vocabulary, develop language skills, broaden their outlook, and increase the level of critical thinking.
This article demonstrates the method which is considered to be quantitative by taking 30 students as the sample. The sample of students was divided into two groups; 15 students for experimental group and 15 students for ordinary group. Before giving treatment, the writer gave pre-test. Then the writer taught in the experimental group by using proverbs and sayings as a teaching tool and in ordinary group with the help of traditional method.
Here are used three methods as quantitative, observation-based and interview in order to investigate this current theme. The quantitative method includes here quasi-experimental study as the research design. We can get acquainted with this study with the help of the following table: Table 2.1.
Pre- and Post-test Design
Select the first group Pre-test Teaching through proverbs and sayings Post-test
Select the second group Pre-test Teachinf in a traditional way Post-test
Observation-based approach is selected by the researcher to learn how to conduct the lesson with the help of proverbs and sayings from experienced teachers of the school №2
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specialized on some subjects which is located in Fergana, Uzbekistan. The analysis of the lesson which has been taught for the 9th grade pupils is analyzed.
Interview part contains different opinions of the teachers of Fergana state university, Uzbekistan. The teachers of High Educational Establishments express their own ideas on teaching learners to master vocabulary and all four language skills by using proverbs and sayings as they train future schoolmasters.
The writer gave the post-test to both groups. The scores of pre-test and post-test were collected from fifteen vocabulary tests. The finding of this study shows that such techniques as role-playing, speaking with sketches, discussion and others were effective to teach students proverbs and sayings. There is a significant effect after using proverbs and sayings as a teaching tool for students' language skills and their intercultural communicative competence. It means that using proverbs and sayings as a teaching tool is effective on students' language skills at ninth grade at the school №2 specialized on some subjects which is located in Fergana, Uzbekistan.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
According to this research, we should have a discussion on what we were going to achieve and what we achieved. Firstly, speaking about the usage of proverbs and sayings as a teaching tool in my own experience, the first methodology tool which I used on the basis of that was questionnaire at the school №2 Specialized on some subjects which is located in Fergana, Uzbekistan from pupils of the ninth grade. In this case, 15 pupils was as the ordinary group and 15 pupils as an experimental group.
While conducting the lessons in these classes the researcher had to approach in various ways in teaching language skills, such as listening, speaking, writing and reading as for an experimental class was to be used proverbs and sayings, in contrast to this, the ordinary group was taught through Direct Method. Pre-test was taken from both groups without any treatment or warning. The content of the tests are also the same. The results of two groups did not differ from each other with big variations as the students of experimental group gained 59,6% and the learners of ordinary group collected 57,3% out of 100%. On the other hand, after implementing treatment through proverbs and sayings into experimental group, the results of post-test that was taken after some period of time showed remarkable changing in the students' achievements.
Before using, there was not expected so noteworthy development by the researcher. Hypothesis which was given at the beginning of the research writing was proved as the investigator mentioned that using of new techniques of introducing proverbs and sayings in English lessons, students will be able to enrich their vocabulary, develop language skills, broaden their outlook, and increase the level of critical thinking.. Moreover, the results of an experimental group were going to be higher than ordinary ones.
There should be spoken about the attitude of the pupils that they were interested into the lessons. As two parallel groups were taught differently, there were number of questions by pupils about the reason of it. Furthermore, the teachers of the school №2 Specialized on some subjects which is located in Fergana, Uzbekistan were interested in the results which were expected to receive and in addition to this they helped for conducting the lessons in two ways as well.
The next point that deserves to be discussed is conducting lessons and observing the lessons of experienced teachers. The researcher used some criteria in observing and evaluating the lessons of professional teachers. What is more, after observing the lessons, I tried to conduct
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the lessons both for experimental and ordinary group. I tried not only to search for various handouts on internet but to create several ones by myself. Moreover, I learned how to pick up different proverbs and sayings for different themes and levels of the learners.
On the other hand, there were some difficulties which were faced during the research. The first limitation that I faced was taking pre-test from a new staff of pupils as I had not been acquainted with them the procedure of taking this kind of examination took effort. The further limitation in implementing proverbs and sayings into teaching process was choosing pre-test materials for the pupils. As I had not known their background knowledge, it was a bit difficult to create a test that would help me in my research work, so I asked for help from their teachers. The third one was teaching in different ways for two groups. It was time consuming to prepare different lesson plans and find different teaching materials, techniques and handouts for two groups. In some cases even the teacher can be confused with variety of teaching methods. After the method was proved that is effective on students' achievements, the writer would like to mention some limitations that this research faced during the treatment process. Sometimes it was difficult to find appropriate activities and handouts for exact theme, and proverbs and sayings is not such kind of phrases that you can create by yourself. Using proverbs and sayings as a teaching technique needs a great preparation of teacher before the lesson and deep knowledge of folk art of mother tongue and target language. Therefore, I could not find any proverbs in the textbooks of English of the ninth form, so I had to search for all the materials on the internet or create them by myself. I didn't had any limitations and difficulties during observation and interview parts of my research as the teachers were very kind and eager to help.
CONCLUSION
Taking everything into account which was obtained during the investigation, it is obviously seen how the use of proverbs and sayings as a teaching tool is significant in teaching vocabulary and other language skills for secondary level learners. Proverbs and sayings have a great didactic potential in the formation of students' intercultural communicative competence. Therefore, it is important to be able to analyze the proverbs and sayings of the native and studied languages, to understand what events in the fate of the people, the peculiarities of the mentality they are caused. Such a culturological analysis and interpretation of proverbs in the process of learning a foreign language contributes to the formation of a common culture of students, an understanding of the cultural origins of the ethnic group, an awareness of their cultural identity, and an empathic attitude toward representatives of another lingvosocium.
The present study showed that proverbs and sayings increase interest in a foreign language, help develop language intuition, lay the ability to think in linguistic concepts. Many proverbs and sayings are international. However, the proverbs used in the lesson should not only have an educational value, but also be simple in language, common, and most importantly -giving rise to speaking. Proverbs and sayings can greatly increase the level of critical thinking, but it is important to choose appropriate techniques for teaching them.
Using proverbs and saying as a teaching tool as an experiment in the current class and at the same time comparing the traditional method of teaching language skills with it served as the frame for implementing proverbs and sayings into teaching process. While experiencing this procedure, the researcher could identify the techniques and tasks of using proverbs and sayings and other methods as well.
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Learning a foreign language is a very difficult process and the teacher should use as many techniques and tools that will help learners as possible. Here the researcher wanted to identify the effectiveness of using proverbs and sayings as teaching tool while teaching and learning the English language.
To conclude, one can comprehend that this investigation can be sufficient for further researchers on this theme. Furthermore, with the help of researching this theme, the researcher concluded about the usage of various techniques based on proverbs and sayings in teaching foreign languages for secondary level learners and determined the significance of proverbs and sayings in teaching process.
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