Effective methods of teaching English in primary school

In the modern world, there are an infinite number of developed methods of teaching a foreign language to children aged 7-11 years.

Teaching a foreign language is a complex process of transferring knowledge about a foreign culture. It can be noted that throughout the whole time, scientists have not come to a common opinion when choosing a universal method for learning a foreign language.

At the moment, there are several, in our opinion, effective and efficient methods.

• 1.    Game method is suitable for children of preschool and primary school age. The essence is simple: the teacher conducts games during which children improve their knowledge of the language. The method is based on creating an imaginary situation and accepting a particular role by the child or teacher. Educational games are divided into situational, competitive, rhythmic-musical and artistic.

• 2.    Communicative method, the purpose of which is speech activity, is more suitable for school-age children. This method makes it possible to obtain a coherent and stable knowledge, since the emphasis is on teaching students to actively communicate in the language and the development of four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Within the framework of the communicative method, a wide range of educational tools and techniques is used: communication of children with a native teacher and with each other, game elements, audio and video materials, etc.

• 3.    Learning through video involves the use of only video-materials for learning English. These may include films, cartoons in a foreign language, documentaries, or educational video courses. This technique can be used for teaching children of any age, since it is aimed at forming skills for recognizing foreign speech and involuntarily memorizing it.

• 4.    Mixed method – in which you combine other methods at your own discretion, play games with the child, learn songs, develop projects, etc.the Main advantage of the method is variety. It will be easier for you to interest your child, he will never know in advance what you will do today.

Situational games are role-playing games that simulate situations of communication about a particular occasion. They are divided into games of a reproductive nature, when children reproduce a typical dialogue, applying it to a particular situation, and improvisational games that require modifications of various models.

Most games that promote vocabulary and grammar acquisition are considered competitive. They are won by the one who has the best command of the language material. These are all sorts of crosswords, auctions, Lotto, Board games, executing commands, etc.

Rhythmic-musical games are all kinds of traditional games such as round dances, songs and dances with the choice of partners, which contribute not so much to mastering communicative skills, but to improving the phonetic and rhythmic-melodic sides of speech and immersion in the spirit of the language. Artistic, or creative, games are a type of activity that stands on the border of play and artistic creativity, the path to which lies for the child through play. They, in turn, can be divided into dramatizations (staging small scenes in English), pictorial games (graphic dictation, coloring pictures) and word-creative (collective composition of small tales, selection of rhymes).

The main advantage of the game method is that it is adaptable for children of any age, with its help you can develop both oral speech, and knowledge of grammar, spelling, etc.

The project methodology is suitable for children from 4-5 years old. The teacher chooses a topic and devotes a series of classes to it. It offers various activities that help children learn something interesting about the topic of the project, gives tasks for independent work (or with their parents, depending on their age). At the final lesson, children bring creative, large-scale works on a given topic for their age.

In each of these methods, as a rule, a number of methodological principles must be observed.

Training is conducted in situations that are natural for communication. All situations are taken from the child's life and are interesting to him: say hello (greeting), let's play (let's play), let's run and have fun (let's run and have fun). A child of preschool age gets used to English speech, learns to distinguish words in the flow of speech, perform tasks, commands and requests, and tries to become a participant in the communicative process himself, using English.

The founder of the principle, G. Palmer, who argued that the language should be mastered through oral communication. For preschool age, this principle is the main one, since children do not yet know how to read and write in their native language (younger and middle preschool age).

Learning English, children at this age, first of all, get acquainted and master the sound side of speech, rhythm, intonation, learn to understand English-language speech by ear. All these skills and abilities children will use in the older preschool age when they learn to read and write.

"Экономика и социум" №6(73) 2020