Psychological and pedagogical techniques in research of social and personal roles of 1 st-year students

The article is devoted to the research on the process of adaptation of Plekhanov Russian Economic University first-year students to learning in higher education institution as exemplified by foreign language classes. The three-stage research is focused on practical use of psychological and pedagogical techniques streamlining the easy integration of students into the learning process of higher educational institution. In the article, we describe and analyze the results of the 1st stage of the study, aimed at identifying personal and social roles of students in the process of establishing small social group within training unit. Entering the university, students face both academic and personal problems, in particular, the problem of determining their personal and group roles. The article also highlights the applied techniques used in the research and its objectives.