Pedagogical Experience Description

Pedagogical experience description on the topic “National identity development of a personality by means of the subject “English language” in the context of the European values system”

Modern integration processes on the European continent have strengthened relationships and mutual influences on national educational systems. As a result, a new international pedagogical concept has appeared. It is known as “The European dimension in education”,which reflects the process of building common European educational space. Contemporary Ukrainian education has set a goal to promote the development of democratic culture, formation of competences necessary for living and working in the European Community,acquisition of relevant political, legal and socio-economic knowledge.

Today, the inclusion of the European dimension of education into curriculum is perceived by the EU member states as a preconditionfor contemporary development of the European Union. Thus, the national curriculum for schools in England and Wales,updated in 2000, is far more focused on the European dimension compared to the previous version. The document notes that the educational programmes developed by school teachers within the National Curriculum “should aim to contribute to the development of pupils' sense of identity through knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural heritage of Britain's diverse society and of the local, national, European and global dimensions of life”.

Foreign language is considered to be abasic subject for the introduction of the European dimension in education. A characteristic feature of current stage is the intensification of learning modern languages in Member States schools with the aim of mastering the Community languages by young people to live and work in the united Europe. Implementation of the European dimension within the discipline "Foreign Language" is facilitated by:

-         increasing the number of students who learn foreign languages(learning the first foreign language at ISCED Level 1, the introduction of a second foreign language in secondary schools);

-         increasing the proportion of foreign languages in school education (allocation of more hours to learning foreign languages and introduction of bilingual education in many countries);

-         strengthening the role of sociocultural component of the content of foreign languages teaching (bringing the content of foreign languages teaching in line with the concept “Europe as a common multinational home”).

The search of national identity is becoming a pivotal sociocultural tendency of the modern world.The national identity crisis of some societies has reached the extent when handling the issue is not just about choosing an adequate development strategy, it is rather a matter of survival. First of all, globalisation influences thenational identity of post-communist societies that have been experiencing complex and contradictory processes of change in the political, economic and socio-cultural systems. These changes lead to numerous attempts of finding a new identity both at the level of individuals and social groups or society in general.

The issue of national identity is extremely urgent in modern Ukraine, which is in a force field of conflicting socio-civilizational tendencies such as globalisation, national, ethnic and state embodiment, modernisation and determining the foreign policy strategy. The independence of Ukraine involves the formation of an integral civil, political,self-identified community,capable to stand up to internal and external challenges.Ukraine is in the process of becoming a full-fledged nation-state with its own interests. The new Ukrainian identity should contribute to overcoming ambivalence and instability of the national self-determination, ideological and political confrontation as well as confrontation between different, often incompatible forms of self-identity.

Relevance of the issue of national identity development at the foreign language lessons is predicated by contradictions between modern requirements for an individual as a nationally aware citizen of Ukraine, the need to develop students’ national qualities which enable them to maintain ethnic identity in a multicultural environment on the one hand and ineffective system of national education in foreign languages learning on the other hand.

Having regard to the social and educational importance of the aforesaid, I have focused my attention on the educational issue of “National identity development of a personality by means of the subject "English language" in the context of the European values system”.

Purpose of the study:

1.     Determine the state of the problem in educational theory and educational practice.

2.     Theoretically justify, develop and test an experimental model of the national identity development of a personality by means of the subject "English language".

3.     Determine the criteria, indexes and levels of students’ national identity development.

4.     Suggest guidelines for the national identity development in the process of learning a foreign language.

The academicnovelty of the study:

·        the model of national identity development of a personality by means of the subject "English language"has been developed;

·        a set of requirements for the selection of Ukrainian studies component of a foreign language content has been defined;

·              forms and methods of national identity development during English lessons have been further developed.

The practical importance of the study is to develop and implement the model of national identity in the process of a foreign language learning which allows to implement psychological and pedagogical conditions (content, forms and methods of training and education, emotional values, educational ethno-cultural environment); to prepare guidelines for implementation of the idea of students’ national identity developmentin the process of learning a foreign language.

The analysis of teaching experience of my colleagues and researchers suggests that the leading national education tendencies of modern educational systems in Ukraine and abroad are:

·        the idea of preservation of ethnic identity of a personality;

·       ensuring schooling development on the basis of combination of modern and traditional cultural values of the Ukrainian nation;

·        implementation of the national component in educational content.

The summary of existing pedagogical approaches, which are used to ensure the effectiveness of students’ national education, allowed toidentify the main requirements for the organisation of this process:

·        availability of national content in a foreign language lesson;

·        involving students in the development of national values;

·        formation of moral and ethical knowledge;

·    availability of teachers’ professional competence in the process of students’ national education.

The innovative model of national identity development is the system of interrelated components of national identity such as: national self-awareness, national self-identity and traditional culture which can be implemented by a teacher in the classroom as well as during extra-curricular activities. (see National Identity Development Model)

I am deeply convinced it would be unreasonable for a teacher toenter the classroom and say that today we are going to learn to love our country and tomorrow we will learn to respect our heroes. Teachers should create an atmosphere and choose materials that would give knowledge about history, traditions, people that would teach students to compare and draw conclusions. In my view,optimalare the methods, techniques and forms that actualise communicative potential, form critical thinking, behavioural norms, the ability to think, analyse, ask questions, find students’ own answers, analyse problems, make their own conclusions, acquire the skills of adaptation, defend their interests, respect the interests and rights of others, participate in public life.

Among the techniques that contribute to students’ national identity development at English lessons are collective forms of interaction, including group and pair work.It is in groups and pairs where the discussion of a problemis the most effective and where certain views on life and world are formed in collaboration with other students. An effective method of work in this direction is using a role-playing game which is a form of collective interaction.

Besides the methods above mentioned, I use traditional conversations, discussions and various forms of work with a book, periodical press and the Internet. They help introduce the younger generation to the values of a democratic society which involves the formation of foundations of civic culture and national identity. The forms of learning can be lessons-excursions, business games, trips to local places of interest, lessons- conferences, integrated lessons and others.

An important feature of students’ national identity development in the foreign language learning is intellectual and age availability of the material studied by students.Adhering to the age principle, we differentiate three levels of assimilation of Ukrainian study component in the foreign language content corresponding to three basic age groups of students: younger learners (grades 1-4), secondary school students (Grades 5-9) and high school students (10-11 grades).

In the early school years it is important to implement a comprehensive educational influence on studentsin order to form fundamental principles of national identity which is the ability of a child to realise him/herself as a member of the family, children's group, as a student, a resident of the town or village; bring up the love for home, land, street, country, nature, native word, life and traditions.

The leading activity of primary school children is a game. Therefore, the national identity development in primary school isreached with the help of toys, representatives of different cultures (a teddy bear, which is the most popular toy among children of the English speaking countries and a motanka doll, which is a traditional Ukrainian symbol). Using toys and role playing games helps to create a developing environment and high motivation for language learning, practice communicative skills according to the age level of the students, a culture of communication and successful socialisation of students.In this way, children experience the world and their nation,become aware of themselves as representatives of the Ukrainian people, becomeproudof this factand acquire self-esteem as Ukrainians.

While learning colours in primary school students become familiar with realities of the English-speaking countries along with the state symbols of Ukraine by means of the subject "English language", namely the Ukrainian and the British state flags. Appropriate attention in primary schools, in my opinion, should be paid to interactive activities both in the lesson and during extracurricular activities; humanisation of relationships within the systems "teacher-student", "student-student"; democratic style of teachers’ communication with students; ensuring the necessary conditions for creative self-actualisation of each individual.

A precondition of national identity development of secondary school students lies in acquiring a high degree of national self-awareness, realisation of features of traditional Ukrainian culture and ways of their manifestation in different spheres of public life, which involves understanding the historical process of the Ukrainian nation formation, knowledge of the Ukrainian history, rituals, customs, myths, symbols and traditions of national culture in general. Therefore, studying the topic "Leisure” in the 5th form, I dedicate some time to the cartoon "All about the Cossacks" to define its cultural and historical value. In this lesson I usually use project-based technology and role playing which contribute to the formation of students’ communicative abilities and educate individuals by means of foreign language learning.

National identity development is one of the main objectives in teaching English while studying such topics as "My School", "Our Country", "Famous People", "Traditions and customs", "Sport", "Music" "Theatre", "Cinema", "Painting", "Holidays" and others. For secondary school students fostering a sense of respect for another culture is often accomplished through reading texts which contain new or problematic information such as  proverbs and sayings, rhymes, poems, songs, personal letters from peers from foreign countries, leaflets, extracts of original literature which open a "window" to the world of another culture, affect students’ feelings and emotions.

While studying the topic "Nature and weather. Protection of the environment" I usually dedicate a lesson to "Ecological problems of our region". The formation of national identity in this lesson is achieved through recognition of the importance of environmental protection, environmental safety and preservation of nature in our region. Students draw a map of environmental problems of Rivne region related to pollution, deforestation, climate change and the consequences of the Chernobyl accident in the region, look for possible solutions to these problems and create projects on environment protection of their native land. Preference is given to the project-based method since it is highly communicative and allows for an enabling atmosphere of creative research.

In the course of educational process in high school I try to develop students' interest in the Ukrainian cultural and historical heritage, traditions, respect for family values, state and national symbols of Ukraine. Thereby, the formation of students’ national self-awareness and national self-determination, outlook, sustainable system of values and ideals of national identity is achieved.

For example, while studying the topic "Ukraine and the English-speaking world. Art and Culture" in the 10^th form, I dedicate one of the lessons to the Ukrainian folk art and craft, namely the Ukrainian embroidery. Such lessons help improve students' knowledge about the traditional culture of the Ukrainian people (national costume, holidays and rituals, material culture) and form respect for the history and culture of their people, awareness of their national and ethnic origin. In this lesson I usually resort to group work, which enhances learning activity of each student.

Using authentic movies has an important ideological and educational value. They introduce history, culture, life, traditions and customs of the English speaking countries. The development of national identity in high school involves not only the acquaintance with customs and traditions of a foreign language culture, but also full implementation of cultural dialogue, during which students learn to compare socio-cultural features of a foreign country with their own national culture, which makes them competitive in the European and world educational space. To this end, I offer my students the movie “Braveheart” for viewing and further discussion in the course of lessons on "Country Studies. The UK". Thereafter, students are encouraged to make their own film review based on comparing and contrasting cultural realities and behaviour of people of different nationalities. This lesson promotes the development of students’ national self-determination, awareness of the importance of humanism, justice, equality and human rights of all people. Students describe the main character (a man who fought for dignity and independence of the Scottish people and sacrificed his life for the course) and compare him with Ukrainian historical figures and modern heroes who defended the freedom of our country.

An example of project work where form 10 students had to use language as a communication tool in the dialogue of cultures is the project on "Education in Ukraine and abroad." The work started with preparation of a plan. Thereafter, creative groups were formed based on the students' preferences as regards education of the country they wanted to learn more about. The students were advised on the project preparation and expected results. The groundwork such as collection of information about the education of one of the countries and preparation of presentations was carried out by the students outside class hours. The teacher regularly monitored the progress of students who briefly reported on the implementation milestones of their work. The results of students’ coordinated work in creative groups were summarised in multimedia presentations. In the course of presentations the students commented on the special features of educational systems of each country, outlined the most interesting facts, drew parallels between the educational systems of different countries and traced the differences between education in Ukraine, the UK, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

In order to engage students in the dialogue of cultures and comparison of native and English languages, students make an audio recording of the Ukrainian cartoon “Once upon a time there lived a dog” in English, since this cartoon is based solely on folk material of the Ukrainian people. The main thing in the cartoon is not the story itself, but the humorous, bright and witty way, in which it depicts everyday life of the Ukrainian village, main characters, Ukrainian customs, clothing, everyday items, national ceremonies, holidays and celebrations. During the recording of this cartoon students immerse into the world of Ukrainian life, customs and rituals, which have another form of expression for the English speaking people. Students try to analyse cultural phenomena and their impact on the formation of the Ukrainian nation and national identity development and compare them with the realities of foreign language culture, which are different from our lifestyle, values and norms of behaviour in different situations.

I strive to ensure continuity in the students’ national identity development through such form of extracurricular activity as school summer language camp, which  has been held at our school annually since 2007. In order to foster students’ love for their “small” Motherland – villages, cities, local communities, traditions and history, such activities as theatrical performance of Ukrainian folk tales, listening and reciting poems of Ukrainian writers in English, carrying out task- based games, quizzes and contests are widely used in the camp.

In addition, I initiated classes of journalism in our summer language camp where national identification of the young Ukrainians is achieved by means of project work, fostering students’ sense of kindness and mutual respect, positive attitude towards people who speak a foreign language, their culture and at the same time maintaining respect for their own people, love for their motherland, native language and faith in the future of their country. One of the students' favourite activities is creating their "Dream of Ukraine." Young patriots gladly draw and write their dreams on pieces of fabric that are then sewn into one. These activities deepen students’ patriotic feelings, help students become aware of their belonging to the national and state community.

Therefore, implementing my model of national identity development I managed to achieve that my students not only learn English with great interest but are also brought up to be patriots of their country. This is confirmed by active participation of my students in the work of our school European Club, successful participation in the All-Ukrainian English language Olympiad of the ІІ and III stages, obtaining international certificates in the English language skills and high academic achievements in external independent testing. As a result, my students not only enter Foreign Languages Departments of national and foreign universities, but also become active public figures. And this is my mission to bring up tolerant students who respect one another, have positive attitude towards people of all nations, their culture, love their motherland, language, people and have strong faith in the future of their country.