Methods of conceptual linguistics

In today's globalized world, knowledge of one or more foreign languages is almost the main condition for success for an increasingly wide range of professionals. At the same time, the difference between “language proficiency” and “language proficiency” becomes more and more significant. Competitiveness in the labor market is determined not by the memory of many foreign words and grammar rules, but by practical communication skills.

The success of a person is determined by the skills of establishing contact, conducting conversations, persuasion, and finding an agreement. From the point of view of a foreign language, these skills lay the ability to adequately understand the interlocutor and find a “common language”. It is very important to have the same idea that people have when they mention a particular language unit. As early as the 30s of the 20th century, J. L. Weissberger noted that a foreign language is similar to a strange house of being, where each people lives in its own way, which complicates the conversation between the “inhabitants of the houses”. Over the past century, a huge path has been traveled by scientists studying the issues of cognitive linguistics and intercultural communication, factors have been identified that influence the processes of understanding in the course of international communication.

The modern methodology of teaching foreign languages also could not stay away. It was not teaching goals that began to come to the fore, but developing and educational ones. Each teacher today has the task not only to help students learn basic vocabulary and grammar and learn how to build sentences, but also to familiarize them with the culture of another people, to cultivate respect for foreign traditions, customs, mores, to help comprehend a different worldview and to attach to the system of concepts, different from relatives. The last task is especially difficult: to explain the worldview of another people through units of thinking. After all, a concept is nothing more than a “quantum of knowledge. " Yu.S. Stepanov defines it as a clot of culture in the mind, that in the form of which culture enters the mental world of man. V. I. Karasik and G.G. Slyshkin see the meaning of this term in belonging to consciousness, determinism by culture and “objectification” in language. In other words, in order to understand foreigners, it is necessary to remember a number of signs together with each word. Characteristic of the concept that it calls. In semantics, the science of the meaning of words, each element represents a triad: a word (sound and graphic form) - a concept (a class characterized by certain attributes) - an idea (representations of communicants). Speaking a phrase, we transmit messages consisting of a chain of concepts, while implying our own understanding of the world. Thus, the remark “On the street is a tall house” at the same time carries a message that the item is in the named place. On the other hand, it implies that in a particular place there is one of the elements that belong to a certain class of things (“there is not a pillar, not a fence on the street, but what we call a house”). This element has a number of features: it is a residential building, premises. If we undertake to translate this sentence into English, it is worth considering the polysemy of the word and choosing the equivalent to the desired meaning. Very often, words cannot be found in exact languages, so the teacher’s task is to clearly define the concepts and often set the situational framework for the application of each element, to describe in detail the characteristics, components and functions of concepts called individual words.

This applies to the simplest areas of life. In the first year, students inevitably touch on the topic of education. At this stage, it is very important to talk about some features of the training system in a foreign country. To correctly understand what term to designate a teacher, you should study the basic principles of the whole system. For example, if we are talking about the UK, it is worth starting with the fact that children go to school earlier and learn to work independently almost immediately. Our guys got used to the format: the teacher told - gave examples - answered questions - gave a clear task - controlled its implementation - gave the correct answer - the student learned the material. In England, the task of a teacher is to identify a specific problem and outline a task. Pupils independently delve into consideration of the topic, in the selection of material. That is why it is so important in what type of school to study. There are 3 types of public high schools in the UK. General schools are the most common. Grammar ones offer good preparation for further higher education mainly in the humanities. Modern ones have an applied orientation and are intended for those who do not want to continue their studies. However, in Britain it is much more prestigious to study in private schools, which provide sufficient knowledge for admission to Oxford and Cambridge. In order for students to correctly understand what the British mean when they talk about the “old school tie” (“tie of the old school”), you need to remember that in expensive, well-known schools they make the right acquaintances with the possibility of further assisting each other in finding work .

Such a system is reflected in teaching positions. Of course, you can call “teacher” about any person who studies at a school, university or other educational institution, using the most general term. However, it is worth remembering that the subject can be called "master / mistress". University professors have their own ranking system. The lowest rank the English designate the term "lecturer". So they talk about who not only gives lectures, but also holds seminars and consultations.

After several years of work, the novice teacher is awarded the position of “senior lecturer” - “senior teacher”. He later gets a higher “reader” rank. If a person remains in one place of work, he will never receive a higher rank. The title "professor" is awarded only with a change of work in the presence of a certain experience, title. At the same time, you should not confuse a lecturer with a mentor (“tutor”), which is a product of the British system, where students spend a lot of time independently studying certain topics. In modern British universities, Oxford and Cambridge, the tutor is chosen by the students themselves, who at the beginning of the year are offered a list of courses for which they would like to enroll. At the beginning of the semester, this person breaks up enrolled students in pairs or makes individual appointments 1-2 times a week. These classes are needed to discuss written work on given topics and materials or reviews of these works. These works are written in order to learn how to express their thoughts, trust their own judgments, and help evaluate their knowledge. A completely different education system in the United States of America. If the concept of “assistant professor” is found in American texts, you cannot translate it as “assistant,” although in the same way as in our country this term means a beginning teacher. In this position, a person has been working for 8–9 years, during which he gives introductory courses and conducts practical classes. The next rank “associate professor” roughly corresponds to the European rank of associate professor. As a rule, this is the name of the master working on a doctoral dissertation, recommended for the title of a special commission. The highest rank - “full professor” - corresponds to the title of “professor” in our country. This is the case with students. The word "student" in English often means not a student of higher educational institutions, but any student. Despite this, there is also the term “pupil”, which is used to refer to students and followers of masters. Thus, the main task of the teacher is to clarify, explain and form a clear presentation of each term in students.

To achieve the best results in the formation of linguistic and regional skills, it is worth combining several methods in work. In this case, the teacher must take into account the effectiveness, efficiency, time and strength of skills.