Education Reform in the Uk and Russia.
ТЕМА № 10 NEW CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION.
EDUCATION REFORM IN THE UK AND RUSSIA.
Life has changed. Political, national and economic considerations are closely interlaced with each other but they all influence the status of teaching English at this or that particular time. Economic considerations for teaching and learning English are more than considerations: they are imperatives. Globalization makes our planet a smaller place, integrating financial, information and trading systems, and the role of English in the process of modernization, science and technology is significant. Perestroika reached behind the secure barricade of the university walls, and brought new challenges. It reached all the institutions teaching English, and challenged the existing standards of language competence. The effectiveness of student’s performance (показатели знаний), which used to be viewed in terms of linguistic effectiveness (grammar, vocabulary, phonetics) acquired new dimensions of para-linguistic (body language, facial expressions – мимика, выражение лица) and extra-linguistic competence (cultural awareness). The bottom line (практический результат) of this competence is the effective usage of English for communication purposes in the future careers of students: thus performance objectives (цели обучения с точки зрения результатов) replaced purely educational objectives, or learning the language for its own sake. Tо provide the students with this competence teachers had to familiarize themselves with real-life situations and new relevant areas of knowledge which might require the knowledge of English on the part of our students. Innovative (новаторский, передовой) teachers had to acquire computer and business correspondence skills, to learn about negotiations and reports, and study the subject matter of customer service, business ethics and international business culture. Our audiences changed too: workers and engineers on the oil rigs (нефтевышки), accountants of
EDUCATION REFORM IN THE UK AND RUSSIA.
Life has changed. Political, national and economic considerations are closely interlaced with each other but they all influence the status of teaching English at this or that particular time. Economic considerations for teaching and learning English are more than considerations: they are imperatives. Globalization makes our planet a smaller place, integrating financial, information and trading systems, and the role of English in the process of modernization, science and technology is significant. Perestroika reached behind the secure barricade of the university walls, and brought new challenges. It reached all the institutions teaching English, and challenged the existing standards of language competence. The effectiveness of student’s performance (показатели знаний), which used to be viewed in terms of linguistic effectiveness (grammar, vocabulary, phonetics) acquired new dimensions of para-linguistic (body language, facial expressions – мимика, выражение лица) and extra-linguistic competence (cultural awareness). The bottom line (практический результат) of this competence is the effective usage of English for communication purposes in the future careers of students: thus performance objectives (цели обучения с точки зрения результатов) replaced purely educational objectives, or learning the language for its own sake. Tо provide the students with this competence teachers had to familiarize themselves with real-life situations and new relevant areas of knowledge which might require the knowledge of English on the part of our students. Innovative (новаторский, передовой) teachers had to acquire computer and business correspondence skills, to learn about negotiations and reports, and study the subject matter of customer service, business ethics and international business culture. Our audiences changed too: workers and engineers on the oil rigs (нефтевышки), accountants of