MODERN FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE CONTROL IN TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

СОВРЕМЕННЫЕ ФОРМЫ КОНТРОЛЯ ЗНАНИЙ В ПРЕПОДАВАНИИ ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ

Иванова Диана Эдуардовна

студент, факультет иностранных языков и регионоведения, Московский государственный университет имени М.В. Ломоносова,

РФ, г. Москва

ABSTRACT

This article raises the question of modern forms of knowledge control in teaching foreign languages. The article presents some mostly used in own practice examples of evaluation exercises.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Данная статья посвящена современным формам контроля знаний с элементом геймификации в преподавании иностранных языков.

Keywords: foreign languages; educational process; knowledge control.

Ключевые слова: иностранные языки; образовательный процесс; контроль знаний.

Knowledge control plays a significant part in the learning process. Among the benefits it is possible to underline that tests and other forms of it may illustrate the positive results of learners, which will contribute to increasing their motivation on the path to a high command of a foreign language. In addition to this, some mistakes indicate what both teachers and their students should concentrate on in a more thorough way.

First and foremost, it should be mentioned that there are different types of evaluation:

1. Current;
2. Thematic;
3. Periodic:
4. Final [2, с. 108].

Current control is of immense significance for the educational process, since it enables teachers to have a firm grasp of learners’ knowledge, their strengthnesses and weaknesses. Besides, the results may either cast a doubt on the methods used or confirm their efficiency. Owing to the fact that this kind of knowledge evaluation is primarily applied, the article will have a more detailed look at it.

First and foremost, the development of communicative competence is considered the main purpose of modern education. Communicative competence may be defined as “the ability to solve communication problems from everyday, educational, industrial and cultural life relevant for students and society by means of a foreign language” [1, ст. 109]. As it follows, approaches to teaching foreign languages should be reconsidered and adjusted to the modern students’ needs. For this reason, teachers, tutors, professors have commenced to replace traditional forms of control, especially vocabulary dictations, by other types, which can involve elements of gamification. Here comes the question of such a present-day approach as gamification.

Let’s proceed with the meaning of this latest educational trend. Gamification is “the use of elements of game-playing in another activity, usually in order to make that activity more interesting”, thus spurring learners' motivation and engagement [3].  Apart from this obvious asset, provided that the game underlies control exercises, the whole process will allow students not only to revise material, but also enjoy the activity fulfilled. It can be accounted for by the vividness and interactiveness of the game conditions. Last but not least, knowledge control through the prism of the game may stretch learners’ sense of competition, which encourages their enthusiasm despite language problems. It is clear from what has been said above that gamified learning is likely to help a person acquire a taste for English without noticing it.

There can be little doubt that vocabulary control sparks vibrant discussion owing to a great variety of methods. For instance, in case of one-to-one education, the modified use of the game “Alias” may result in a beneficial learning tool, which can be depicted in the following way: the teacher says the words from a certain list, which was compiled after studying a topic, asks the student to translate them, then explain and make their own sentence. Thus, this exercise examines not only how well the student remembers the new words, but also how accurately they understand them. In general, it develops linguistic competence, which is an integral component of communicative competence. Besides, it should be mentioned that this type of control makes students a little more relaxed, because despite the fact that they are required to have a good command of new words, it is still essentially a game, due to which they get more pleasure from the process.

In this connection a question is bound to arise the problem of memorising new vocabulary, which is considered one of perennial difficulties concerning learning a foreign language. This article underlines learning new words via associations, which entail both right and left hemispheres, to be more precise, on the one hand, students process information and try to remember as much as possible, and on the other hand, they use their emotions and creativity, coming up with an associative connection. In order to diversify this method, the following task can be presented: a teacher names a colour and asks a student to make an association with one of the new words and create a sentence. Therefore, it favours a higher level of attention and memory performance.

Let’s pass on to grammar. The control tasks also can contain elements of the game. For example, it is possible to adapt the game “noughts and crosses” to tenses practice. Every space has a sentence in which learners need to put the verb in the correct form. The class is divided into two groups. In such a way, game and education are combined, thus improving the command of tenses. On the whole, this task in a playful form with a competitive component enhances the students’ motivation, contributes to the concentration of attention on the exercise and develops strategic thinking.

Apart from this, as a lot of emphasis is laid on learners’ needs, their personal interests predominantly are taken into account. If a student is keen on physics and mathematics, the exercise may be described in the following manner: a teacher prepares a tablet in which, for example, there are sentences for translation to revise grammatical constructions and new words, then he/she closes each cell with a piece of paper on which there is an unfilled mathematical or physical formula. The student needs to fill in a formula to see the sentence and translate it. At the same time, on the other side of the pieces of paper, it is to write an important date or event for this person or something else that is etched on their heart. Thus, this exercise contributes not only to language acquisition, but also to the mastering of other subjects, and also has a pleasant effect on the emotional background, which increases the motivation to continue learning the language.

Taking into consideration all mentioned above, in modern education there is a tendency to elaborate interactive ways of knowledge control for the sake of a better engagement of a target audience. Nevertheless, the quality of knowledge obtained should be a key focus while creating a task.

References:

1. Asimov E.G. The dictionary of methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of language teaching) / E.G. Asimov, A.N. Shchukin. St. Petersburg.: Zlatoust, 1999. - 472 с.
2. Shutova V.D. Types and forms of knowledge control in a school subject “foreign language” // Symbol of science. Linguistics and literary studies. 2019. № 1. – 108 с.
3. Oxford Dictionary [electronic resource] – Access mode. – URL: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gamification?q=gamification+ (accessed 29.04.2023)