104PSYCHOLOGY AND ITS ROLE IN LEARNING FOREIGN
LANGUAGES
Mohiroy Azamova
Teacher of the Department of English language, Tashkent State Pedagogical University named after Nizami [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The present article explores the importance of psychology in teaching and learning foreign languages. The investigation highlights the position of psychological aspect in education and is focused on the problem of training highly-qualified experts who work in the "man-man" interactive system. The research studies the didactic features of the "teacher-student" interaction; the approaches and strategies which can enhance psychological adjustment of students in the course of foreign language acquisition according to their age peculiarities. Psychological adaptation influences the success in studying and students' professional practice in the future.
Keywords: practical activity, psychological adaptation, teacher quality, educational motivation, competence, psychological climate, linguopsychology, teaching foreign languages, learning foreign languages.
INTRODUCTION
Over the past quarter century, cardinal social transformations have occurred in modern society, which has led to the need for professional psychologists. The need for specialists who are able to solve practical problems of providing psychological support and solving important serious social problems has only increased over the past few years. Despite high demand in society, not all graduates are ready or suitable for practical activities. What is possibly caused, for the most part, by shortcomings in the education of students, can also be a consequence of mental and behavioral disorders in students received in the learning process. Because of this, the problem of studying becomes especially important. Training highly qualified specialists working in the human-human interaction system. In this regard, an important issue in this area that deserves special attention is the study of the mental development of students and the factors that influence them in the learning process. One of features of the relationship "teacher-student" are an individual approach and status-role differences in behavior. First of all, it depends on the general psychological climate in the
educational institution. For the student, an adequate assessment of the relationship to the teacher is formed in conditions of creative cooperation. Such relationships increase interest both in the personality of the teacher and in the subject itself, which makes possible the transformation of the student's thinking, the level of development of cognitive activity, interests and attitudes towards educational activities. The "personality" of the teacher is always of interest to the student. Sitting in audience and for the first time faced with this subject, there is a fear of those who give a lecture? Questions arise: does the teacher know the subject? Will the lecture be interesting? What new facts does he (the student) learn? How is the test / exam? This is only a small part of the questions that listeners ask themselves. The communicative features of the teacher characterize his personal qualities.
Undisputed is the fact that the training of specialists, their professional and social activities largely depend on the knowledge, skills acquired during studying at a university, but this preparation should not be limited only to their formation.
However, psychological adaptation is not only about didactic or communicative adaptation, it is entering an individual into a system of intra-group relations, adaptation to these relations, the development of such thinking and behavior that reflect the system of values and norms of this group, the acquisition, consolidation and development of new skills and interpersonal knowledge for effective communication in this group.
METHODOLOGY
An important role in the learning process is played by age, as well as conditions of education. To account for patterns and mechanisms age-related psychology helps us to develop a person's mental development and personality formation in life. To study the mechanisms and patterns of human development of sociocultural experience in the educational process (including the acquisition of foreign languages), pedagogical psychology helps us. Main purpose learning a foreign language at a threshold level is formation of communicative competence, where several components: linguistic competence, sociolinguistic, sociocultural competence, strategic, discursive and social competence. [15, p.6].
Since ancient times, language and speech have evoked a comprehensive interest in study, being insufficiently studied problems due to its complexity and interconnectedness with the mental side of human life. The forerunner of psycholinguistics A.A. Leontiev calls the German philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, because he belongs to "the idea of speech activity and understanding
of the language as a connecting link between society and man" (A.A. Leontiev). Hence in the 50s of the twentieth century an adjacent linguistics science -psycholinguistics appeared. The emergence of a borderline science with linguistics is associated primarily with the fact that there was a need to comprehend a number of tasks not only from the position of the sign system, but also from the mental side of human development. The subject of psycholinguistics is the ratio of personality with the structure and functions of speech activity, as well as language, as the main element that forms the image of the human world.
With the consistent study of foreign languages, pedagogical psychology helps to determine the laws governing the development of socio-cultural experience by students, its preservation in consciousness and the ability to use it in various situations. Also determine the features of the organization of the educational process and how this process affects the educational and cognitive activity of the student.[10, p.25]. One of the psychological and methodological concepts of teaching foreign languages belongs to B.V. Belyaev. The key idea of designing the concept is to provide the instrumental component of the process of teaching foreign languages. B.V. Belyaev assisted to develop the methodology of fundamental psychological process of teaching foreign languages. In his opinion, psychology lies precisely at the basis of the methodology and is a fundamentally correct relationship between the methodology and psychology. Teaching foreign languages directly depends on the quality of training and the development of the ability to switch thinking from one language to another [6, p.26].
Approaches to learning foreign languages in many ways due to the age at which a person begins to learn a language. In teenage and adolescence, the processing of knowledge actively develops [1, p.30]. Adolescents have already developed logical thinking and the ability to introspect. They are able to reflect on various topics, draw general conclusions based on particular premises and, conversely, reason from general to particular. Leontiev A.A. showed that with increasing age there is a gradual improvement in direct memorization, and more quickly than indirect. In comparison with a child, an adult student is considered as an active subject of pedagogical interaction, which can independently organize its activities. The actions of an adult subject are characterized by a specific orientation of cognitive and communicative activity.
An adult has certain strategies for life and activity, so an adult learner has a number of differences from a learning child, which are as follows: • He is an independent self-governing person;
• The presence of extensive life experience;
• Initially high specific motivation for learning (as a rule, this is an opportunity to solve professional problems or self-realization of oneself as a person as a whole);
• Desire for the practical application of acquired knowledge and skills in everyday and professional life;
• Adult learning activities are subject to professional, social and other restrictions;
• High requirements for quality and learning outcomes.
• Pragmatic attitude towards education, increased responsibility. [1].
Learning motivation is directly related to the level of the intellectual
development of the student and the structural organization of the educational process as a whole, and in the consistent study of foreign languages. In order to maintain educational motivation, more opportunities should be given for individual work and self-expression.
Modern foreign language teaching is based on a personality-oriented approach to learning (L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinshtein, B.G. Ananyev, I.A. Zimnyaya), which assumes that all methodological decisions of the teacher "should be refracted through the prism of the learner's personality - his needs, motives, abilities, activity, intelligence and other individual psychological characteristics "[11, p.174]. In this case, the personality of the student is considered as a subject of pedagogical activity, which independently determines the nature of this activity and communication.
Of particular importance today is the differentiation and individualization of the learning process. According to G.V. Elizarova, in the process of learning a foreign language "should have such an effect on the personality, as a result of which it will be transformed into a self-developing emotionally mature intellectually cognitive organism that can cope with unforeseen culturally determined communication situations through defining or creating unique search tools, processing and practical application of information "(G.V. Elizarova). In this regard, problems that are related to the cognitive styles of students in teaching are becoming relevant. Many foreign and domestic psychologists and teachers (G. Witkin, B. Lou Liver, V.S. Merlin, M.N. Berulava, G.A. Berulava, V.A. Kolga, I.M. Paley, M.A. . Cold and others. B. Lou Liver) believe that careful attention to cognitive styles is presented day is the most effective principle of language teaching, since there is no universal teaching method for everyone (O.A. Obdalova, A.V. Soboleva).
Learning cognitive styles directly expresses individual uniqueness of the nature of the relationship between all human properties (V.S. Merlin). The creators of one of
the most famous multicomponent personality systems, J. Royce and A. Powell, define personality as a structure of psychological characteristics, which is determined by six interacting systems - sensory, motor, cognitive, affective, as well as a system of styles and a system of values (O.A. Obdalova, A.V. Soboleva).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The sensory and motor systems are responsible for the processes of input and output of information, its encoding and decoding. The cognitive system is associated with the analysis and processing of information. The affective system activates the processed information. Based on this, cognitive and affective systems are the main elements responsible for processing information. Style system is closely related with the value system, since it depends on generalization and transforming information from cognitive and affective systems. In addition to all this, the style system is responsible for the choice of information processing methods. The value system also summarizes information, but not for choosing a method of action, but in order to single out goals and identify opportunities and ways to achieve them. It is important to note that style systems and values, like cognitive and affective systems, are associated with information processing, but the level of generalization provided by these systems is higher. It turns out that they integrate information at the level of a holistic personality.
Individuality is based on differences in strong-willed, intellectual, motivational areas, in the properties of the nervous system, temperament, etc. In domestic science is widely the personality structure proposed by B.G. Ananyev, who distinguishes in it the properties of the individual, the properties of the personality and the properties of the subject of activity. Therefore, domestic science considers individuality in conjunction with the individual style of cognitive (cognitive) activity (B.G. Ananyev).
Individual style reflects the characteristics of the system. operations to which a person is predisposed by virtue of his individual properties and is a system of ways of verbal transformation of information, which is formed on the basis of motives and goals of activity by mediating the word with cognitive styles, which are treated as individual operating systems of ways of processing information at the preverbal level
[15].
Cognitive styles, however, determine the individual psychological characteristics of cognitive processes, the tendency to use human-specific ways of
interacting with information, the specific cognitive structure of the personality, which mediates processes of operating information at all levels of the cognitive sphere.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that cognitive style refers to process characterization cognitive activity. Style parameters are proportionate with many different psychological characteristics of the personality (features of sensorimotor and psychophysiological characteristics, including temperament). The cognitive style is associated with all levels of individual properties, affects the individual style of activity and depends on it.
Between psychic and personality levels of individuality, cognitive styles are considered as ways of mastering an individual's picture of the world, including linguistic. And since language is an inseparable and important part of cognition and a means of forming a linguistic picture of the world, the process of teaching a foreign language should be based on the characteristics of the cognitive area of the personality of students.
In foreign and domestic literature on psychology about one and a half dozen individual operating techniques information (cognitive style parameters). In the article Obdalova O.A., Soboleva A.V. "Taking into account the cognitive styles of students as a way of individualizing the process of teaching a foreign language", the authors preferred to single out those that directly affect the intellectual and psychological processes of mastering language material and can be applied in the current system of higher education.
The authors also highlight such "bipolar constructs" as field dependence / field independence, narrow / wide range of equivalence (analyticity / synthetics), rigidity / flexibility of cognitive control, narrowness / breadth of category, tolerance / intolerance to unrealistic experience, specific / abstract conceptualization, high / low cognitive complexity (sharpening / smoothing), focusing / scanning control.
According to psychologists, individual values of people in each of these cognitive styles are located between the poles, forming a uniform distribution, i.e. for each cognitive style, most people have average values, and extreme values are much less common (O. A. Obaldova, A. V. Soboleva).
People who have an extreme degree of severity of any of cognitive styles are less adaptive than those located in the middle of the range. The most adaptive are people with a mobile cognitive style who can consciously change the settings of their cognitive apparatus based on the situation.
Personal and intellectual maturity help students combine the ability to act differently depending on requirements of the situation, while maintaining some
tendency towards one of poles. Mobility is considered by psychologists' evidence high maturity of cognitive personality structures. Thus, we can conclude that individualization at the basis of cognitive styles largely determines the development of the style of individual activity, which develops as an integral effect of the interaction of the individual with the subject and social environment and can change with changing conditions of activity, is developed in the process of development, training and education.
As M.A. notes Cold, learning to communicate on a foreign language, taking into account cognitive styles, means creating conditions for both updating the existing system of stylistic characteristics of intellectual behavior and expanding the composition of stylistic behavior by mastering different styles at different levels of stylistic behavior, as well as the interaction of various cognitive styles in the study of any educational topic, the assimilation of concepts and problem solving [17, p. 189]. Thus, the language with a psycholinguistic approach It is considered not as a subject for study, but as a skill that a person needs to master and be able to use it correctly. From this position, the task of the teacher is to develop this skill.
Therefore, in such a process it is necessary to use not only linguistic, but also psycholinguistic methods that rely on the true motives of human behavior. These techniques are based on the assertion that language is a system, a means of communication, and not a set of grammatical rules. This approach is the basis for teaching speech activity in a foreign language in many linguistic centers [14, p.102].
Linguopsychological approach considers memorization of individual words with their translation as an ineffective method, since human thinking is associative and not a word remains in memory, but a process. It is recommended to memorize not single words, but whole texts. At the initial stage of training, these can be small dialogs. Then their complexity and volume increases. As teachers note, in this case the main point is precisely memorization by heart, and not retelling, because when retelling the student involuntarily recalls the content of the text in his native language and mentally translates it, which inhibits speech reproduction. In the case of memorization, he plays ready-made clichés and then uses them in the right situation, which is also an element of immersion. This technique works on any educational level.
In the course of further training, students are offered original texts in a foreign language, both prose and poetry. Acquiring these texts, students begin to understand foreign (e.g. English) humor. Therefore, this is a new stage of understanding. However, do not forget about the principal accents. reading comprehension: text
structure analysis, highlighting keywords and phrases, etc. This preparation helps learners to develop reading skills "diagonally."
On the other hand fascinating reading at the right level difficulties without constant reference to the dictionary causes interest and additional motivation for learning a foreign language. It is important to note the basic requirements for the process of learning to read: students should not read the text word for word, but learn to read it. When reading literature in his professional field, the student should be able to highlight the main idea of the whole text. The text is usually divided into paragraphs or chapters. The next step is to find the key sentence of each paragraph. A key sentence can be found using keywords.
The linguopsychological approach can also include practical task, as a discussion of everyday issues. Students read other people's diaries and write their diary in a foreign language. In other words, they begin to live their life in a foreign language.
In addition, the practice of viewing is motivating TV shows in a foreign language. Students are expected to watch one episode per day and prepare the appropriate assignments for this episode. Exercises are not grammatical, but semantic in nature. Thus, students are involved in the process and wait for the next episode, as if they were just watching a series in real life. This transforms the learning process from duty to pleasure.
An important practical exercise in this phase is cross-cultural training. Its purpose is to become familiar with intercultural differences in relationships between people. At the training, situations are played where communication in different cultures occurs differently. As a result of the training, the skill to transfer acquired knowledge to new situations develops.
According to the classification proposed by W. Brislin, there are five types of trainings that are recommended in the learning process: self-awareness training, in which a person learns his cultural foundations; cognitive training, which provides information about another culture; attribution training, where students learn to explain situations from the point of view of another culture; behavioral training, including practical skills training [12, p.213].
Cross-cultural training in listening comprehension of oral foreign speech. Understanding by ear usually causes particular difficulties for students. Learning to listen is one of the most difficult tasks for any teacher, since it takes a long and rigorous practice to build a skill. One of the problems with listening is the mental blocks that students often set themselves. One unfamiliar word can suddenly slow
down the process of understanding, and further perception of speech is inhibited while the student is trying to remember the analogue of an unfamiliar word. As a result, the thread of the narrative is lost, and the student considers himself unable to understand spoken language, thereby creating a serious psycholinguistic problem for himself. To solve this problem, teachers recommend organizing group discussions [14].
During joint communication, students are not afraid to make a mistake, because they feel like equal participants in the process. As an auxiliary element, listening to songs in accordance with the preferences of the students can also act. Freedom of choice in this case acts as a motivating factor.
CONCLUSION
Thus, the implementation of a systematic approach to consistent teaching of foreign languages in linguopsychology involves turning it into a way of analyzing both the features of the already existing psychological organization of the person and the process of phased development of the person in the process of learning a foreign language.
This approach to the consecutive study of languages allows you to make the process more fun, motivates students to obtain knowledge in accordance with their professional orientation. The communicative orientation in teaching a foreign language is crucial in the linguo-psychological approach.
After analyzing a number of works by Russian psychologists, we found that knowledge of pedagogical and age-related psychology, as well as the formation of motivation in the process of teaching foreign languages, help determine the patterns of mastering sociocultural experience and the features of the organization of the educational process that affect the student's cognitive activity.
Accounting for cognitive styles in the learning process is directly related to the development of information, the formation of knowledge, skills, abilities, and contribute to further interpersonal communication.
The implementation of a systematic approach in linguopsychology motivates students to further study foreign languages through the variability of educational programs.
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