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more and more complex in the cognitive aspect with age. An adaptive reaction appears failure, which is
expressed in a change in this strategy, and not in a hasty and unjustified transition to another strategy. All
this is accompanied by better self-regulation, which allows you to cope with strong negative emotions.
Structural components of socio-cultural competence consider the following:
- motivational-value - the formation of motivation for striving for achievements, attitudes to social
interaction, characterized by values of social and personal order, attitudes to moral norms prevailing in
this society;
- operationally meaningful - the scope and nature of knowledge, skills and abilities that allows you to
conduct a critical analysis of your own and others' actions, predict their consequences, carry out
communication, etc.;
- emotional-volitional - the ability to choose a decision, to self-control and self-regulation, willingness to
take responsibility, determination of actions.
To conclude, socio-cultural competence is counts as the steeping stones in teaching foreign
languages. In some cases, this component is characterized as the subjective potential of a person's actions,
capable of ensuring the safety of his existence among his own kind. In others, it is a person's ability to
take adequate actions in everyday life situations, and thirdly, it is competent interaction, prosocial
relationships with other individuals or groups. However, in all cases, without exception, it means the
ability to act, the ability to critically assess the phenomena of the socio-cultural sphere, to differentiate
them in the objective, social and value senses, to form one's own judgment, on the basis of which certain
actions are performed in a life, professional or socio-political situation.
REFERENCES:
1.
Ландшеер
В.
Концепция
«минимальной
компетентности»
/
В.
Ландшеер // Перспективы: Вопросы образования. - 1988. - № 1. - С. 37
2.
Мардахаев Л.В. Словарь по социальной педагогике: Учебное пособие для студентов высш.
учеб, заведений / Л.В. Мардахаев - М.: Издательский центр «Академия», 2010.-367 с.
3.
Молчанов С.Г. Социокультурная компетентность как объект воздействия в системе
повышения квалификации педагогических и управленческих работников / С.Г. Молчанов //
Актуальные проблемы управления качеством образования: Сборник научных статей. - Вып.6. -
Челябинск: ЧГПУ,2012. - С . 10-14.
4.
Осмоловская
И.М.
Ключевые
компетенции
в
образовании:
их
смысл, значение и способы формирования / И.М. Осмоловская // Директор
школы. 2006. № 8.
С.63-68.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DEBATING ACTIVITIES IN EFL CLASSROOMS
Zairova N.Yu.
EFL assistant teacher, English Language and Literature Department
KarSU named after Berdakh, Nukus, Uzbekistan
+998913725466
Mambetullaeva M.
1
st
year student, KarSU named after Berdakh,
Nukus, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
The article is dedicated to the study of various researchers‘ viewpoints on the importance of
using debating activities within both ESL and EFL classrooms and focuses on students‘ performing skills
to be developed within its implementation by the teacher.
Key words:
debates, English as a foreign language, English as a second language, speaking skills, critical
thinking, argumentation.
Аннотация:
Статья посвящена изучению точек зрения различных исследователей на важность
использования дискуссионной деятельности как в классах ESL, так и EFL, и фокусируется на
исполнительских навыках студентов, которые должны быть развиты в рамках ее реализации
преподавателем.
Ключевые слова:
дебаты, английский язык как иностранный, английский как второй язык,
разговорные навыки, критическое мышление, аргументация.
It is commonly known that the learning process is not effective when students «acquire» the
knowledge only by sitting in a classroom listening to the teacher and dealing with assignments. The
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lesson itself is not just an observing type of activity but it is a highly effective learning process where the
students are actively involved, in our case, in a language teaching context – in language learning and
acquisition process. One of the activities which, indeed, push the students to be proactive learners is
debating activity.
Debating is a formal method of interactive and realistic argument aimed at persuading judges and
audience. From our own perspective it is like an oratory practice in which different strategies of logic
building as well as delivery are used to pull in the audience to a conclusion on a controversial issue.
Debating can be used in EFL classes as a tool to make students practice skills of English language in real-
life situations.
Daniel Krieger comments: «Debate is an excellent activity for language learning because it
engages students in a variety of cognitive and linguistic ways. In addition to providing meaningful
listening, speaking and writing practice, debate is also highly effective for developing argumentation
skills for persuasive speech and writing» [Krieger:2005:25].
Timothy Stewart found that 75% percent of his unmotivated and reserved students ranked debate
as their most favorite classroom activity. [Stewart: 2003].
A survey conducted on non-native English speakers in U.S. universities about the language needs
found that formal speaking and listening comprehension skills were their two biggest problem areas
[Ferris:1998].
Debate offers English language teachers a way to combine practices of these important skills.
Quoting Bruce Davidson, Daniel Krieger said that with practice, many students had obvious progress in
their ability to express and defend ideas in debate and they often quickly recognized the flaws in each
other's arguments [Davidson:1995]; [Krieger:2005].
The development of critical thinking –CT skills has become a key goal for educators in first and
second language contexts. However, the linguistic skills and abilities of their students often inhibit the
teachers in EFL contexts. In addition, according to the author at a university in Japan, which used a
taxonomy of skills drawn up by Facione to create a course based around debates of social issues, it took
students through a six-stage process, showing them how to clarify the nature of a problem, gather and
organize appropriate data, evaluate the worth of that data, analyze the data to draw conclusions, express
those conclusions clearly in the form of a debate, and finally appraise their performance for future
improvement [Facione:1990].
Young people today not only need to have the skills needed to understand the information being
presented, they need to have the skills to research through different sources, critically analyze the
information presented and form their own conclusions and arguments as a result.
Moreover, the evidence has shown that debating activities in schools can contribute not only to
educational achievement, but also to a range of wider outcomes that work towards developing more
confident and well-rounded individuals.
So how can teachers bring debating activities into the classroom?
Generally speaking, a debate can be described as a formal discussion where two opposing sides
follow a set or pre-agreed rules to engage in an oral exchange of different points of view on an issue. In
education people will probably be most familiar with using debate in competitive activities like the
debating teams seen in American High Schools, but there are also less formal debate activities which
teachers can bring into the classroom on a regular basis.
Concerning the web site survey about various opinions about the brief notion of a debate it is said
that debate should not just be a discreet activity designed purely to develop communication and
argumentation skills. Instead it is a valuable tool that can be used in almost any subject class to provide a
more meaningful and engaging encounter with subject knowledge than can be found in textbooks.
Students need to perform various academic tasks in different disciplines. Academic language has
been defined as «the language that is used by teachers and students for the purpose of acquiring new
knowledge and skills» [Chamot; O'Malley:1994:40].
A.U. Chamot and J.M. O'Malley listed a number of language functions that are needed in all
content areas: explaining, informing, justifying, debating, describing, classifying, proving, persuading,
and evaluating. In addition, students are often expected to state, discuss, question, and defend opinions.
Students, preparing for a debate practice many of these language functions.
When debating is used in EFL classes, all four skills of English language, for example, listening,
speaking, reading, and writing, are practiced. Moreover, debaters need to master pronunciation of words,
stress, vocabulary, brainstorming, script writing, logic building, argumentation and refutation. So
practicing debate in English requires many skills which ultimately lead them to learn English.
In an EFL classroom, where learners have inadequate opportunities for practicing English in real-
life situations, debating opens up opportunities for them to use the language in the form of expressing
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their opinions with logic. This is a single practice where students need to use all English skills along with
skills in delivery, presentation and vocabulary building.
Makiko Ebata puts it: «When learning a new language for global communication, students are
required to confidently express their thoughts. In order for students to be vocal, critical thinking skills are
essential. The use of debate has been an effective technique for strengthening my students' speaking and
critical thinking abilities»
[
Ebata: 2009: 35].
English language teachers and practitioners have already proved debating as an effective tool in
teaching English which is a strong source of motivation for EFL teachers who are yet to use debate in
their classes.
Debating in English is a practice that requires all English language skills along with the skills of
presentation and delivery. Debaters need updated information about current issues and concepts of
different fields. Furthermore, they need to conduct research on various issues. While presenting their
logic and argument, debaters require standard delivery skills to convince judges and audiences. When
practiced in an EFL class, debating makes students use language and presentation skills. The discussion
that follows proves the utility of debating in learning the skills of English language.
Ice Breaking
: Debating helps in several ways to ice-break in EFL classes. Sometimes, especially
in the first classes where students are very often found anxious about using English language, ice
breaking turns to be very difficult for teachers. In such classes, students are found reluctant to speak in
English. Sometimes, in the very first class, teachers ask students to come in front of the classroom and
speak which rather increases students' fear and they grow hatred towards English. But if teachers
introduce simple but controversial topics to the class and ask them to comment on those topics while
sitting in their respective seats, students will feel encouraged to take part in discussion. Eventually, they
will be encouraged to speak in English. Teacher's role should be encouraging as well as motivating.
Listening
: Through practicing debate, students can improve their listening skills. By using
listening aids like radio, tape recorder, CD player and PC, learners will listen to audio clips e.g.
conversation, speech, debate, talk shows and reports. They will watch video clips of debate sessions,
speeches of famous speakers, talk shows, round table discussions, reports, and news. Recorded video
clips of debate sessions, news, reports as well as talk shows on television channels like BBC and CNN
can be very good resources for practicing listening in English. Learners will listen to CDs of different
dictionaries to repair pronunciation of sounds and words.
They will also watch selected English movies in the classroom which will be followed by group
discussion. Teachers will give feedback on the discussion. In the feedback, teachers should focus on
sounds, pronunciation, accent as well as use of words, technical words and jargons. In this case, teachers
can use their notes on students' difficulty in pronouncing particular sounds and words.
Speaking
: Debating can be used brilliantly to boost up students' speaking in English. Practices
can be organized in various ways. A few of them have been discussed in this work.
In many EFL settings, students are found scared of speaking in English when they take admission
into universities.
In most of the cases, their poor background knowledge and practice in English are responsible for
this.
Use of debate, speech and conversation in EFL classes will first of all drive out students' fear
about English language.
Moreover, regular practice of debate, speech and conversation will improve their fluency,
pronunciation and vocabulary.
They will also be familiar with jargons and technical terms as debating covers a variety of areas
and issues.
Teachers will work as moderators and will facilitate students' learning. They will provide
feedback on speeches with focus on delivery more particularly on gesture, posture, pronunciation, accent,
intonation, stress, vocabulary, choice of words; data and information; relevancy of the information and
logic building.
Thus while practicing debate, speech and conversation in the class, students will practice many
skills, learn many new words and collect information about many areas which all together will enrich
their spoken English and ultimately make them confident speakers.
A meta-analysis by Allen makes a strong argument and concludes that training in communication skills,
including debate, measurably improves participants' critical thinking, by as much as 44%
[
Allen: 2015].
As to conclusion, a debate is an effective component of educational experience, which consists of
different behaviors that serve as indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the
learning environment.
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Summarizing the findings regarding the literature review it can be clear that the vast majority of
scientists, specifically, such scientists as Daniel Krieger, Timothy Stewart, Shinji Fucuda support the idea
that conducting debates during the class leads to the pure development of speaking and argumenting
skills; furthermore, A.U. Chamot and J.M. O'Malley, as well as Makiko Ebata consider debates to be one
of the effective methods to develop the overall academic success of a learner, whereas by some other
specialists as Richard Nesbett, and E. Allen it is mainly emphasized that, basically, debates enhance the
student‘s critical thinking skills followed by strong argumentation and persuasive speaking.
REFERENCES:
1. Allén E., Domínguez T., de Carlos P. University students perceptions of the use of academic debates as
a teaching methodology. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education. 16(Complete).
2015. pp. 15-21.
2. Chamot A.U., J.M. O‘Malley. The CALLA handbook. New York: Addison-Wesley. 1994.
3. Davidson B. Critical thinking education faces the challenge of Japan. Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across
the Disciplines.
17(3). 1995. pp. 33-42.
Ebada M. Effectiveness of debate in EFL classes. Japan: JALT Publications. 2009.
4. Ferris D. Students' views of academic aural/oral skills: A comparative needs analysis. TESOL
Quarterly. 32. 1998. pp. 289-318.
5. Fukuda Sh. Attitudes toward argumentation in college EFL classes in Japan. Proceedings of the First
Asia TEFL International Conference
Pusan, Korea. 2003. pp. 417-418.
6. Krieger D. Teaching debate to ESL students: A six-class unit. The Internet TESL Journal. 11(2). 2005.
7. Nesbett R.E. The geography of thought. New York: The Free Press. 2003.
8. Stewart T. Debate for ESOL students. TESOL Journal. 12(1). 2003.
HOW CAN BE PUT “LEARNER- ORIENTED ASSESSMENT” IN PRACTICE?
Bayimbetova M.B.
Trainee-teacher, English Language and Literature Department,
KarSU named after Berdakh, Nukus, Uzbekistan
Traditionally, assessment plays a large role in the world of studying and directs learners towards
what is important and what they should be doing in order to further progress [Boud, 2006: 22].
There is more to assessment than test scores. By assessing students' passions, learning styles,
success skills, and levels of rigor, teachers can create a student-centered classroom.
One key way to create a more student-centered classroom is by assessing students for their
passions and interests. All of our students come with powerful experiences that have driven their lives,
such as family stories, favorite books, hobbies, and trips. We can use a variety of assessment tools like
one-on-one conversations, journals, and graphic organizers to learn more about our students and what
drives them to learn [Carless, 2007: 57-66].
In Learning Oriented Assessment (LOA), the learner is actively involved in their own assessment,
whether in class activities, formative assessment tasks, written progress tests or external summative
exams. The teacher and student use the evidence of such assessments to refer back to the learning
objectives for the stage of the course – be it a section of a lesson or a larger chunk of teaching – to decide
whether effective learning has taken place and to plan further.
This enables learners to develop into more autonomous learners with good reflective awareness
and strategies for lifelong learning. It encourages learners to be active agents in the learning and
assessment processes by making choices and monitoring and evaluating their activity and progress. As
Assessment and Education consultant Margaret Cooze describes, LOA draws on the valuable information
all forms of assessment can provide, whether considered summative or formative, whether formal or
informal and whether classroom based or external.
As Norris [Norris, 2014: 83] discussed, although all assessments implemented in the classroom
have the potential to be learning-oriented and provide valuable information for distinct purposes, LOA
seeks to maximize learning through careful planning and implementation of assessment tasks in
alignment with learning objectives, cognitive processes, the agents involved, and the characteristics of a
given educational context.
Test data lets us know how students are progressing toward learning content and skills from the
standards. However, these standardized tests may only assess the bare minimum (if that) of the level of
rigor that we want and expect from our students. Also, these assessments do not provide us with just-in-
