Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная
лингвистика
и
лингводидактика
–
Foreign
Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Journal home page:
https://inscience.uz/index.php/foreign-linguistics
Some problems of understanding English literature
Diana SHIMANSKAYA
Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received April 2024
Received in revised form
10 May 2024
Accepted 25 May 2024
Available online
25 June 2024
This article examines the problems that arise in
understanding rare works of English literature while reading
them. The problem of understanding speech, including written
speech, is traditionally considered one of the main problems of
general scientific knowledge. This is related to the decisive role
of speech in the philo-, social- and ontogenesis of the individual,
in particular, in the mediation of higher mental functions, in the
genesis of thinking, and in the moral and ethical development of
the individual. The study of the process of understanding the
literary text in English is related to the spread of the English
language in the modern world.
2181-3701
/©
2024 in Science LLC.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-3701-vol2-iss1
This is an open-access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru
Keywords:
English literature,
written speech,
understanding methods,
interpretation,
reading tactics.
Ingliz adabiyotini tushunishning ba
’
zi muammolari
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar
:
ingliz adabiyoti,
yozma nutq,
tushunish usullari,
izohlash,
o
‘
qish taktikasi.
Ushbu
maqola ingliz adabiyotining nodir asarlarini o‘qish
davomida ularni tushunishda vujudga keladigan muammolar
o‘rganilgan. Nutqni, shu jumladan yozma nutqni tushunish
muammosi an’anaviy ravishda umumiy ilmiy bilimlarning
asosiy muammolaridan biri sifatida qaraladi. Bu nutqning
shaxsning filo-, sotsial- va ontogenezida, xususan, yuqori psixik
funktsiyalar vositachiligida, tafakkur genezida, shaxsning
axloqiy va axloqiy rivojlanishidagi hal qiluvchi roli bilan bog‘liq.
Ingliz tilidagi badiiy matnni tushunish ja
rayonini o‘rganish
ingliz tilining zamonaviy dunyoda tarqalishi bilan bog
‘
liq.
1
Doctoral student, Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
344
Некоторые
проблемы
понимания
английской
литературы
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
английская литература,
письменная речь,
способы понимания,
интерпретация,
тактика чтения.
В данной статье исследуются особенности понимания
редких произведений английской литературы. Основное
внимание уделяется проблемам понимания письменной
речи, которые традиционно признаются ключевыми в
области общенаучного знания. Анализ основывается на
значимости речи в развитии личности, включая ее роль в
фило
-
, социо
-
и онтогенезе, в опосредовании высших
психических функций, а также в генезисе мышления и
морально
-
этическом
развитии.
Исследование
также
связывает процесс понимания художественных текстов на
английском языке с широким распространением этого
языка в современном мире, рассматривая сложности, с
которыми сталкиваются читатели при интерпретации
менее известных литературных произведений.
INTRODUCTION
Currently, English is considered a world language, spoken by more than 400
million people. It is the language of the Internet, business communication, and
correspondence. It is reasonable to posit that any individual who has received an
education in the modern era should be able to speak English. British language expert
David Graddol posits that by the year 2050, approximately half of the world's population
will either be proficient in English or have acquired some level of English language
proficiency. Over the next decade, it is estimated that approximately two billion
individuals will learn English, with three billion individuals expected to be proficient in
the language.
A literature review and methodology are presented below. The most significant
consequence of the spread of the English language in our country is the approval of the
position of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, which states that the study of English as a compulsory language should begin
in the first grade. English teachers have developed specialized curricula, such as a course
in English and American literature. As part of this specialized course, students are
introduced to a variety of literary works from both English and American literature. One
of the most challenging aspects of teaching English as a foreign language is interpreting
literary texts.
In the context of foreign language learning, the term "interpretation" is typically
employed to refer to the comprehension of the content of a text. During the course of the
work, the focus is on grasping the author's underlying purpose. However, this issue can
be approached from an alternative perspective, one that is somewhat at odds with the
previous one. Interpretation can be defined as the process of identifying the reader's
personal meanings within the text. To comprehend a text is to imbue it with one's own
meaning, to create a text that is unique to oneself. However, how can this be
accomplished if not only the language, but also the very realities to which the text refers
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
345
are foreign? Furthermore, it is important to note that not every student needs to read a
work of fiction in order to gain the desired understanding. The question thus arises as to
the point at which the creation of "your own" text begins in the case of interpretative
activity. It is evident that the motivation for such an endeavor stems from a fascination
with the unfamiliar. In most cases, interest is generated when the relevance of the text for
the student is apparent. In this context, the literary text is not in a favorable position. One
of the primary didactic tasks of the teacher is to make a work of art relevant to the
student. Consequently, studying a work of art in a foreign language is not merely about
acquiring an understanding of the words within the text; it also encourages the
generation of the student’s own meanings. Organizing this process necessitates
additional effort and skills on the part of the teacher. The optimization of the learning
process in English is undoubtedly facilitated by an understanding of the psychological
foundations of the process of understanding an English literary text.
A discussion of the results is presented below. One of the primary areas of focus
within the field of psychology of thinking, as developed by S.L. Rubinstein, A.N. Leontyev,
B.G. Ananyev, V.V. Znakovym, and others, is the analysis of the process of understanding.
Nevertheless, a consensus definition of the phenomenon of "understanding" has yet to be
reached. The problem of understanding was initially posed in the context of analyzing the
relationship between the content and phenomenological manifestations of this
phenomenon with thinking and knowledge. Consequently, most authors attribute the
problem of understanding to the area of thinking, in particular to the area of problem
solving (deciphering signs, establishing connections between text components, etc.).
Accordingly, G.S. Kostyuk posits that understanding is a cognitive process aimed at
resolving the challenges confronting an individual [1]. Menchinskaya defines
understanding as the uncovering of the essential aspects of objects and phenomena in
reality. In our estimation, these interpretations fail to fully capture the essence of the
phenomenon. In our view, the emotional component, as determined by the aesthetic
function of the artistic text, must also be taken into account in relation to literary texts. In
this regard, we adhere to the perspective of V.A. Artemov, who posits that understanding
is a complex mental process comprising the discovery of the genuine interconnections
and relationships that exist between the phenomena of the objective world, in the
manifestation of one or another attitude towards them.
One of the challenges in studying the process of understanding an English-
language art test is that the structural features of the message (text) itself as an object of
mental activity have not been sufficiently studied.
We now turn to the analysis of the concepts of "text" and "literary text." In
linguistics, a text is typically defined as "a coherent sequence, complete and correctly
formatted" [5, p. 471]. In addition, several aspects of text research are highlighted.
Structural text analysis addresses the issue of the structural organization of the text, as
well as the identification of text units and their characteristics. The functional aspect
considers text units in their functioning in speech. The grammar of the text is focused on
the construction of grammatically correct units and the study of the conditions for
compliance with code norms. The stylistic aspect considers the dependence of text units
on style, identifying their characteristic features.
In the context of artistic texts, it is important to recognize that these texts are an
integral part of the broader cultural heritage of society. Culture is the collective memory
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
346
of a society. It encompasses the continuity of the moral, intellectual, and spiritual life of
an individual and a society. Cultural heritage in the field of literature encompasses both
inherited texts and inherited symbols and images.
A literary text may be distinguished from other types of texts according to two
criteria [1].
1) Functionally: A literary text is any text that, within a given culture, is capable of
realizing an aesthetic function.
2) structurally: a literary text must be constructed in a certain way, that is, it must
be encrypted many times and with different codes.
The capacity to comprehend a literary text (as well as art in general) is contingent
upon not only the content of the object of understanding, but also upon the individual
characteristics of the understanding subject. The aforementioned characteristics include
the capacity for imaginative thinking, emotionality, the ability to appreciate beauty, and
numerous others, which collectively define the concept of "artistic competence." General
competence is evidenced by an individual's capacity to gain new knowledge and skills, as
well as their ability to cope with tasks that are essential for their professional activities or
for life in general. Artistic competence represents the most generalized characteristic of
an understanding subject. The phenomenon in question can be broken down into three
interrelated aspects [2].
1. The cognitive complexity of the
recipient’s worldview, which encompasses the
ability to perceive multidimensionality and alternativeness.
2. The capacity to decode the information conveyed in an artistic text, its sign
structure, and to translate the content of the language of art into the language of human
emotions and meanings, is dependent on the possession of a specific set of codes.
Finally, The presence of a system of operational skills and abilities that determines
an individual's capacity to perform activities that are appropriate to the text and that
objectify it.
The subject’s comprehension of a literary text is typified by a high degree of
conventionality and metaphorical nature of the emerging images. Moreover, it is crucial
to acknowledge the significance of ambiguity in the interpretation of a work of art.
Consequently, an essential prerequisite for comprehending a work of art is the
congruence between the aesthetic values and existential structures of the author and the
subject who perceives and interprets the artistic creation. [2]
The current period of research is associated with attempts to expand the scope of
application of techniques developed in previous years. One avenue for expansion is the
extension of the procedures employed in the study of printed texts to oral speech.
A pilot study was conducted to investigate the process of understanding an
English-language literary text. The study aimed to examine the following characteristics:
–
The subjects’ knowledge of the meanings of individual words that make up the
text.
–
The ability of subjects to establish semantic connections between text words,
sentences, and groups of sentences.
–
The ability to retain the basic logical units of text in RAM.
–
The manifestation of an emotional attitude towards the text read. Based on the
aforementioned findings, the following battery of techniques was employed as specific
research methods.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
347
To investigate the subjects’ comprehension of the grammatical and lexical
elements of a literary text, a methodology based on the completion of missing words, as
developed by V. Taylor, was selected. The test is based on an individual's capacity to
perceive and complete an incomplete structure presented to them. The technique
comprises texts in which the subject is required to restore the missing words (with every
fifth word being omitted). The degree of comprehension of the text is gauged by the
number of correctly identified words. A correct response is defined as one in which the
subject employs not only an identical word, but also synonyms and words that are closely
related in meaning, as well as a word belonging to the same grammatical category. This
indicates an understanding of the fundamental logical-structural relationships present in
the text.
The selected excerpt is taken from Mark Twain's work, The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. The passage in question consisted of 310 words, with 57 words
missing.
The selection of this particular work was motivated by a number of factors.
The author's language is straightforward and accessible, devoid of excessive
dialect, technical, or other specialized vocabulary.
Prior to this course, students had no familiarity with this work in English. Its
widespread recognition likely contributed to their interest in reading it in a foreign
language and facilitated their comprehension.
To assess the subjects' capacity to establish interrelationships between the
individual components of the text, we devised a series of open-ended inquiries. In
developing the questions, we adhered to the principle of free reproduction of the content
under examination.
To investigate the emotional aspect of comprehension, we employed the Color
Relationship Test. Prior to and following the reading of the literary text, subjects were
requested to rank cards with eight classic colors from the M. Luscher test according to
the degree of attractiveness. Moreover, in this case, the focus was not on the specific
color chosen, but rather on the change in color preference that is hypothesized to occur
after reading the literary text. In this study, we sought to examine all the designated
components of understanding a literary text.
The results of the analysis thus indicate a low level of understanding of the text,
which suggests that the English language teaching system currently in place in modern
schools may be inadequate. Consequently, it is imperative to investigate the
psychological underpinnings and patterns of the comprehension process of English texts
and integrate them into the existing educational curriculum.
REFERENCES:
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Doblaev L.P. The semantic structure of an educational text and problems of its
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New in foreign linguistics. Vol. VIII. Linguistics of text.
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–
234 P.
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika
–
Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика
–
Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue
–
1 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
348
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