Peculiarities of forming the communicative competence of 1st grade NUS pupils

Abstract

European integration processes require the ability of children to be active subjects of the socialization process in the modern multicultural space. It is here that a foreign language can play a crucial role as an important means of influencing their social and communication mobility, which will certainly contribute to the development of cognitive self-regulation and self-development skills. The ability to communicate in a native and foreig language isincluded in the list of core competencies. The current curricula for general education institutions emphasize the role of several competencies necessary for the formation of foreign language communication competence. One of the key competencies of the New Ukrainian School Concept is communication in foreign languages. Primary school age is favorable for mastering the basics of the foreign language curriculum, laying the foundations for communication in a foreign language and developing skills and abilities to speak a foreign language. Therefore, one of the characteristic features of a modern secondary school is the gradual introduction of early foreign language learning into the general secondary education system. In the process of forming foreign language pronunciation skills, it should be borne in mind that children have already mostly mastered the phonetic means of their native language and, quite often, their second language. In order for English language learning to be successful, it is important to arouse children’s interest in understanding a language other than the one they use every day from the very first lessons. The NUS concept stipulates that learning should be organized using fun games and cognitive tasks, which will contribute to the comprehensive development of children; help to form a positive attitude towards a foreign language and create an environment for understanding the meaning of unknown words and phrases. In practice, it is often difficult to get first-graders to stay focused for an entire lesson. However, the teacher can use their energy and curiosity to your advantage by playing interesting games and exercises. So, children who learn a second language often outperform their monolingual peers in problem solving, learning tasks, memory, and concentration. That’s why it’s so important to create favorable conditions for learning English as early as the first grade of secondary school.