Modern methods of teaching foreign languages at schools is focused not only on obtaining knowledge and skills of foreign language communication, but also the development of socio-cultural competence. Without knowledge about the culture of the foreign language’s country, it is impossible to develop communicative competence fully, while achieving the goals of communication. The acquisition of such personal qualities as politeness, tolerance, respect for the culture and characteristics of foreign-speaking peoples, including the country of the target language, contributes to the formation of a diverse personality. Sufficiently formed socio-cultural competence of the student makes it possible to fully interact with representatives of other cultures. In this regard, the methodical activity of the teacher should be aimed at creating conditions that are most authentic among the native speakers of the studied foreign language, where the student is able to use a foreign language as a means of speech communication.
Despite the fact, that there is a large number of methods for the development of socio-cultural competence of senior students, it is the project activity that makes it possible to effectively increase the experience of communication in accordance with the national and cultural characteristics of the country of the studied language. In the course of project activities, a teacher should create a microenvironment, in which students can express their thoughts in the target language, and not just transmit the memorized material. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the effectiveness of the socio-cultural competence development of senior students through project activities in English lessons.
In the process of learning a foreign language, a student not only acquires new knowledge regarding grammar, vocabulary, etc., but at the same time there is an introduction to the culture of the studied language’s country. This knowledge is necessary for effective communication with the native speaker of the target language. One of the components of foreign language communicative competence is socio-cultural competence. A. N. Shchukin, and G. M. Frolova understand socio-cultural competence as "the knowledge of national and cultural features of the society, the language of which is studied, namely: the speech behavior of speakers, customs, etiquette, history, culture and ways of using this knowledge in the process of communication" [4]. Social and cultural competence is of great importance in teaching foreign language to schoolchildren.
Socio-cultural approach in teaching helps students to overcome language and cultural barriers, as this approach leads to the formation of students' knowledge about the specifics of the culture and realities of the country, such as cultural stereotypes, norms and rules of behavior, customs, rituals, etc.
Socio-cultural competence includes linguistic-cultural, sociolinguistic, socio-psychological and cultural components [1]. On this basis, the formation of this competence should be started with the first lessons with students.
The content of socio-cultural competence can be presented in the form of four components:
1) socio-cultural knowledge;
2) communication experience;
3) personal attitude to the facts of foreign language culture;
4) knowledge of the ways of using the language.
Teachers use many different methods to achieve the development of socio-cultural competence of students. One of the most popular methods is project activities. The problem of project activities are studied by Russian (I. N. Winter, E. S. Polat, V. V. Chernykh, etc.) and foreign (J. A. Coleman, S. Haines, I. Lee, D. L. Fried-Booth, etc.) researchers. The method of projects involves the use of accumulated language material through creative activity. The method of projects is determined as "the development of an idea or detailed plan of a practical product" [5]. Project activities are widely used in foreign language lessons, as it allows you to transfer the theoretical knowledge of students in practice, for the effective implementation of which requires the possession of certain language skills. This method allows you to creatively apply the accumulated language skills and convert foreign language lessons into a study of the problem or discussion.
The method of projects has many positive qualities, among which are the following:
1) The method of projects contributes to the development of communication skills and successful socialization of students [7]. Students tend to increase the level of their self-esteem, confidence in themselves and their abilities. Work in groups contributes to the development of planning skills, goal-setting, the ability to set rational tasks, assign roles and responsibilities for each type of activity, distribute them among the participants of the working group. This type of activity enhances the cohesion of students as a social group.
2) During project activities, students improve their knowledge and skills of their target language. Learners take part in purposeful communication, where they use the foreign language as tool for communication in a relatively natural microenvironment [8].
3) Due to the fact that the method of projects is constantly improving depending on the environment characteristics and the interests of students, leaners tend to increase their motivation, involvement in activities and the pleasure of working on the project. They are interested in completing tasks, thus stimulating them to learn a foreign language [9].
4), Students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills through project activities as well [6]. This is especially actual because these skills are essential in building a successful social life outside of school.
It is important to note that the implementation of project activities is particularly relevant for senior school age. High school students are known to have theoretical thinking, formal intelligence, internal reflection developed, which is necessary for the implementation of project activities. In addition, the main advantage of project activities is the ability to include the individual in the process of development and implementation of projects, i.e. there is an activation of search activity. This has a positive effect on the development of research abilities of high school students. Methodically correctly organized project activity, as a component of educational activity, affects the development of cognitive, personal and emotional-volitional sphere of personality [2].
There are different classifications of projects. Thus, S. Hines offers four main criteria by which the types of projects are distinguished:
1) Information and Research projects;
2) Survey projects;
3) Production projects;
4) Performance and Organizational projects [8].
However, the most complete, in our opinion, is the classification used by E. S. Polat. This classification can be applied to projects used in the teaching of any discipline. It is given on the basis of the following features:
1) the dominant method or activity in the project: research, creative, role-playing, informational, practice-oriented, etc.;
2) substantive scope: mono-project (within one region) and interdisciplinary project;
3) the nature of the coordination of the project: with an open, explicit coordination (direct) and covert coordination (implicit impersonating a member of the project);
4) the nature of contacts (among the participants of one school, one class, city, region, one country, different countries of the world); domestic, or regional, and international;
5) number of project participants (personal, pair, group);
6) project duration (short, average, long) [3].
E.S. Polat also highlights the following requirements for the use of the project method:
1) the presence of a significant research, creative plan of the problem/problem that requires integrated knowledge, research search for its solution
2) practical, theoretical significance of the proposed results;
3) independent (individual, steam, group) activities of students in the classroom or outside school hours;
4) structuring the content of the project (with the indication of step-by-step results and distribution of roles);
5) the use of research methods: the definition of the problem arising from the research tasks; the hypothesis of their solution; discussion of research methods; design of the final results [3].
Based on the requirements, we can distinguish the following stages of project activities:
- Preparatory, which includes:
(a) identification of the problem and the resulting objectives of the study;
(b) hypotheses of the solution of the problem and methods used to solve the problem, their discussion;
For example, during the first lesson, the teacher offers students to answer some questions, which lead to the topic of the project, for example: "Do you enjoy traveling?", "Have you ever been abroad?", "What countries have you visited?", "What kind of transport do you prefer to travel by?" and others. Next, the teacher introduces the students to the project activities and announces the topic: "traveling". Students are offered to read the vocabulary on the topic "traveling". They can use the technique of mind mapping for the distribution of new words. The teacher gives various quotes and idioms on the topic and tells students to talk about their meaning. For example:
Task. How do you think, what is the meaning of these proverbs?
Long way, long lies;
Every country has its customs;
The longer we roam, the welcomer home;
East or West, home is best; There is no place like home.
Another way is to announce the topic of the project using ICT (information and communication technologies). For example, during a lesson the teacher offers students to complete a before listening task, then watch a video on the topic "traveling abroad" and complete such tasks to consolidate the material as:
Task 1. Check your understanding: matching;
Task 2. Check your understanding: typing;
Task 3. True or False;
Task 4. Answer the following questions based on the video;
Task 5. Make up a dialogue using the following words and phrases from the video.
In addition, it is advisable to use such exercises as:
Task 1. Match the vocabulary words on the left with the definitions on the right.
Task 2. Find the “odd one out”. Give your reasons.
Task 3. Explain the meaning of the phrases in your own words.
Task 4. What are advantages and disadvantages of travelling by air/rail/sea/road? Give your reasons.
The result of the preparation lesson is to introduce students to the topic of the project, its basic vocabulary, the research problem, and also to divide students into groups for further work on the project.
- Main stage:
(a) identification of sources of information, ways of presenting the results of the study, distribution of tasks and responsibilities among project participants.
(b) data collection, systematization and analysis;
(c) choose the form of presentation of the project results.
During the second lesson (the main stage) students are getting prepared for the project itself. At the beginning of the lesson there is a revision of the studied vocabulary. Students read the "Guide and tourist" dialogue and make a dialogue base on the previous one.
On this stage students with the help of the teacher choose a topic methods based on the task: "Imagine that you/ your group has won a tour to another country. Describe your dream tour embossing the following points:
– The destination;
– The length of the trip;
– The transport you are going to use;
– Type of tourism (all-inclusive, eco-tour, etc.);
– Places of interest".
Within each group, students decide who and for which point will be responsible, which sources are better to use, etc.
A chosen project can be presented as a presentation, video, advertisement, etc. Students together with the teacher determine the form of the project at this stage of the work. In our case, it was presentation in the form of a booklet, where each student of the subgroup is responsible for a specific section.
The results of the main stage is consolidation of vocabulary on the topic of the project, division of students into groups, choice of forms and methods of research.
At this stage it is recommended to use such exercises as:
Task 1. Complete the dialogue/text with the words from the box.
Task 2. Explain the meaning of the given words.
Task 3. Imagine you are going abroad. Fill in the customs declaration.
Task 4. There are several vocal mistakes in the text. Find and correct them.
- Final stage:
(a) presentation of the results of the problem under study;
(b) evaluation of the process of activity and results – reflection.
The final stage is characterized by exercises aimed at understanding and consolidating the information obtained in the course of project activities. For example:
Task 1. Write down the main idea and the key words of each presentation.
Task 2. Make a short retelling of the given information.
Task 3. Fill in a mind map with the presented information.
The third, final lesson, is the preparation of the project in the form of a presentation (booklet) and performance with the project. All teams show their projects, at this time the students of the other teams fill in the chart with keywords from each table “traveller's leaflet". For example:
Task 1. Complete the chart «Traveller’s leaflet» with the information given by other groups.
Table «Traveller’s leaflet».
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Country |
Key words |
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Destination |
Trip length |
Transport |
Type of tourism |
Places of interest |
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At the end of the lesson the teacher organizes a discussion of the results and the results of the work. For this, we selected the following task:
Task. Discuss your ideas with the whole class. Try to persuade those who have chosen another kind of holidays that your choice is better.
Expressing an opinion, giving reasons, use:
I have another opinion…
I don’t think it’s a good idea…
I’d rather not…
You’d better…
All things consider, I’d say…
To sum up, I’d recommend…
As a result, students not only have mastered the knowledge on the topic "Travel", but also gained experience in speaking to the public, presenting their project and analyzing the work of their classmates.
Based on the classification by E. S. Polat, this project can be described as primarily creative, as the result was creation of a brochure “Traveller's leaflet”. In accordance with the sign of the subject-content area, it is an interdisciplinary project, because it include the knowledge of geography, history, etc.
Thus, when working on the project, students learn to perceive foreign speech in a more natural environment, express their thoughts in the foreign language, ask questions and answer them. During preparation for their project, students have also got acquainted with the peculiarities and norms of culture the target language’s country, which contributes to the development of students socio-cultural competence. In addition, the implementation of such type of tasks as the project stimulates the activity of students in groups, collective activities. The method of projects increases the motivation of students to search for additional information on a given topic, makes learning a foreign language more interesting and attractive due to the fact that the topic of the project is chosen based on the interests of students. The project method has a large number of advantages over classical methods of teaching, including increasing the level of students’ motivation to learn a foreign language, visual association of knowledge in various school disciplines, as well as freedom for mental and creative activity.