TEACHERS’ READINESS FOR COMPETENCE-ORIENTED TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES TO MODERN PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: ANALYSIS OF SURVEY RESULTS

Abstract

The article analyses the results of teachers’ questionnaire survey, conducted by the scientific researchers of the Foreign Languages Teaching Department in the Institute of Pedagogy of the NAES of Ukraine, for the purpose of ascertaining the level of their understanding the essence of the primary education reform and their readiness for competence-oriented teaching foreign languages to students of grades 1-4 based on the concept of the “New Ukrainian School”. The questionnaire survey covered five areas of Ukraine, with more than 130 foreign language teachers working in primary schools of general secondary educational institutions. Summarized in tables and figures and interpreted by the authors, the respondents’ answers to 16 questions of the questionnaire confirmed a clear awareness by teachers of innovative changes in primary education and the relevance of competence-oriented teaching foreign languages to students of modern primary schools. In particular, the teachers gave answers to the following questions: the advisability of creating a special educational foreign language communicative environment for competenсe-oriented teaching a foreign language for primary school students; the need of forming elementary competences (linguistic, speech, sociocultural, general) for students of grades 1-4 during their mastering a foreign language; the feasibility of using the elements of the project method in foreign language lessons in primary school; the use of didactic games in foreign language lessons in primary grades; verbal means of assessing students’ academic achievement, etc. In addition, the results of the survey indicated individual gaps in teachers’ awareness of the existing documents for teaching students of grades 1-4 in accordance with the new foreign language curricula. This applies, in particular, to the use and selection of didactic games in the formation of subject competences, and to the introduction of a language portfolio. The main positions and conclusions of the article may be useful to teachers, authors of school textbooks, scientists, responsible employees of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.