THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION ADULTS TO SELF-LEARNING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Медведева А.В.

Магистрант 1 курса образовательной программы «Тьюторское сопровождение в образовании», Дальневосточный федеральный университет

РОЛЬ МОТИВАЦИИ ВЗРОСЛЫХ К САМОСТОЯТЕЛЬНОМУ ИЗУЧЕНИЮ ИНОСТРАННЫХ ЯЗЫКОВ

Аннотация

В статье рассматривается необходимость формирования и развития мотивации у каждого современного человека к самообразованию. Самомотивация играет важную роль в процессе изучения иностранных языков, неизменной частью которого является самостоятельное обучение.

Ключевые слова: мотивация, самообразование.

Medvedeva A.V.

1st year undergraduate educational program “Tutoring in education”, Far Eastern Federal university

THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION ADULTS TO SELF-LEARNING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Abstract

The article considers the necessary to form and improve the motivation for self-education of each modern person.  The self-motivation plays an important role in the process of learning foreign languages and it is an unchanging part the self-learning.

Keywords: motivation, self-education.

In the contemporary world, each person should take an active part in the life and development of the global community. Currently, in the interdependent world, the learning of foreign languages is becoming not only a hobby or a necessary measure for a job. For the moment, the confident knowledge and fluency in a foreign language but preferably a few languages has become a standard.

Now we are talking not only about a personal desire to learn a foreign language but also about the effective integration of Russia into the world community, the main requirement of which each modern person should know and speak a foreign language.

The basis for the expansion and promotion of the foreign languages learning is a strategy of the state national policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025 (approved. Presidential Decree of 19 December 2012 N 1666), which is focused on improving of the inter-ethnic relations, not only in Russian Federation, but the relationship between Russians and nations and countries.

The Russian Federation state national policy tasks of the education include: <... using bilingualism and multilingualism in the educational system as an effective way of preservation and improving of ethno-cultural and linguistic diversity of the Russian society; the improvement of textbooks and training programs to create all-Russian civic awareness, foster a culture of inter-ethnic communication in the next generation; revival and maintenance translation of national literature in the languages of the nations living on the territory of Russia…> [4].

Moreover, according to the competences, which a modern person has to have in the global society, the knowledge of a foreign language is considered at the same level as the high or vocational education. Most researchingы find the response in the experience of foreign colleagues.

Centuries later, the modern pedagogy refers to K.D. Ushinskiy, who gave an important role of foreign languages in a life of each person [3]. His justification of leaning of foreign languages is a today’s reflection.

“Knowledge of foreign languages, especially modern ones is able to give an opportunity to a Russian for the full, original and many-sided improving and development, but without it the straight and wide path of the science will be always closed to him. Even the most intelligent person will lie under scantiness, vagueness, incomplete and one-sided information and conceptions if he does not have a key to the wealth of western science and literature” [5, с.119].

Learning a foreign language is hard work, a person can not speak a language if he learns it only 2-3 days a week. The daily learning is necessary to get positive results of the educational process. That is the main rule, which Ushinskiy based in his work on: “Even six, seven or eight lessons a week must be scheduled for an initial learning of a foreign language, if we want to achieve some positive results, but do not just waste time” [5, с. 120].

However, despite the variety of languages courses, schools and tutors, our modern Russian society is still “dumb” if we are talking about the knowledge and fluency in foreign languages.

This spring, the analytical “Levada-Center” conducted a nationwide survey of the level of foreign languages in Russia. According to estimates, about 70% of Russians do not speak any foreign languages [2].

Table 1

Responses	%
English	11
German	2
Spanish	2
Ukrainian	1
French	<1
Chinese	<1
Others	2
Speak but badly	13
Do not speak at all	70

 

Certainly, non-each person who wants speaking a foreign language is able to find finance and time to uninterruptedly study every day. However, the self-dependent learning of foreign languages will lead to positive results providing fluent communication with native speakers and people of other cultures, speaking the same language.

In the modern society, the self-education and self-improvement is becoming more and more actual as the process of improving professional skills and abilities. The “self-learning” learning skill is one of the primary principles of the tutoring. However, one cannot speak about the “self-learning” like anything new. For instance, in medieval university students had to self-educate in their process of studying [6].

Later, in Tsarist Russia, the phenomenon of self-education was found in the pedagogical process of Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Students had to find answers for questions by themselves while teachers made the educational process to motivate students were interested in any learning subjects and conducted their own research [1].

Thus, the self-education has a quite long history, but whether it is a motivation for a modern person?

Undoubtedly, the development of the information age gives the self-education a new social meaning. Currently, the self-education has become an integral part of the society. The Self-education is an individual and social values encouraging self-improvement in both private and professional fields increasing the knowledge and developing and improving the person and society respectively.

However, is it true? What goals does a person plan to achieve when he or she begins or continues learning a foreign language? So why are there just few people learn foreign languages by themselves? Are we talking about the weak motivation or other values?

The motivation is necessary for self-education of adults. There are several motives for the self-education: the motive of success, overcome of professional tasks, amending the financial security, professional recognition, career, etc. However, here we may talk about the formation of values lead to the motivation and the self-motivation.

To motivate adults to learn a foreign language by themselves, first we have to find out their initial values stimulating them to learn the foreign language. Then, we may try to inculcate in them the self-education value that is an important part of the motivation to the self-learning foreign languages for more efficient educational process and short period of learning and as a result to increase number people speaking foreign languages in the Russian Federation.

References

1. Glushchenko L.I. Pedagogy of Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum in 1811 -1817 // URL: http://www.roerich.kz/shurnal/texts/licey.htm
2. Levada-center research: 70 percent of Russians cannot speak any foregn languages // Center of humanitarian technologies URL: http://gtmarket.ru/news/2014/05/28/6787
3. Shurygina Y.A. K.D. Ushinskiy about learning of foreign languages. Topicality, tradition, the present // News of Penza State Pedagogical university of V.G. Belinskiy, 2006. No. 6
4. Strategy of the state national policy of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025 (approved. Presidential Decree of 19 December 2012 N 1666) // the “Garant” system URL: http://base.garant.ru/70284810/#block_1000#ixzz3GvwWf3Ot
5. Ushinskiy K.D. Pedagogical writings 2 part // Pedagogy, 1998. P. 350
6. Wikipedia Historical reference of tutoring // URL: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D2%FC%FE%F2%EE%F0