Formation Of A Multilingual Personality Via Texts Of Emotional Content (Primary School

Abstract

The reality of the XXI century influences the content of foreign-language education and creates numerous opportunities to establish effective contacts with native speakers. It requires to form a personality, able to communicate productively with representatives of various language and cultural communities. Such a personality is called multilingual. His/her development should continue at all stages of school foreign-language education: primary, middle, high, profile-oriented. This process must be based on specially selected didactic materials and techniques of working with them. The goal of the article is to describe the process of developing a multilingual personality of a primary school student in the course of working with foreign-language texts of emotional content. The leading approach to research is axiological. A set of complementary methods was used: of theoretical analysis; constructive (creative) experiment (experiential training); designing and tabular presentation of information. The term “a foreign-language text of emotional content” is presented; the indicators of its emotional relevance are described. The authors propose the structure of a student’s multilingual personality and show the process of its formation in primary school. The theoretical conclusions of the study are confirmed by the results of experiential training of pupils from schools in Kirov and Kirov Region. In the long run the characteristics of students of the following stages of school foreign-language education as developing multilingual personalities will be presented and didactic materials will be proposed to help language learners overcome challenges on the way to achieving the strategic aim of modern foreign-language education.

Keywords: A multilingual personalitya foreign-language text of emotional content

Introduction

The key characteristics of the XXI century which have a significant impact on the content of foreign-language education are globalization and rapprochement between peoples and their cultures. In the field of foreign-language education there are more opportunities to establish real contacts with native speakers. Therefore, the strategic goal of modern foreign-language education is to develop a student’s multilingual personality, able to function productively in today’s multicultural community (G. V. Elizarova, N. D. Galskova, L. P. Halyapina, Y. N. Karalov, A. A. Koryakina, P. V. Sysoev, E. G. Tareva, etc.).

Many researchers are interested in the development of a multilingual personality of schoolchildren. Their definitions of the term emphasise various aspects of a multilateral phenomenon and indicate that the characteristics of such a person are: a conscious self-determination in a multicultural society (Sysoev, 2018); the capacity for mutual understanding in an intercultural and multilingual communication, based on a unified linguistic view of the world (Halyapina, 2006) at different levels: global, inter-ethnic and interpersonal (Koryakina, 2016). The process of developing a multilingual personality of a student should be carried out in a consistent and orderly manner, at all levels of foreign-language school education, under conditions of specially chosen content (Tareva & Tarev, 2018). The design of such content should be based on:

• the dialogue of cultures as a special form of interaction between holders of diverse cultural values, in which traditions of one culture are transferred to others (Borg et al., 2017; Dmitrieva & Oberemko, 2018; Halyapina, 2006; Rampton, 2011; Sysoev, 2018; Tareva, 2017);

• emotional and personal-activity constituents (Kato et al., 2016; Maguire et al., 2017; Mullins & Sabherwal, 2018; Nikitenko, 2011; Tatarinova, 2018; Viguer, Cantero, & Bañuls, 2017; Wang et al., 2011).

Problem Statement

The study raises the problem of the formation of a multilingual personality of a primary school student. The object of our research is a multilingual personality of a primary school student. The subject matter is the process of developing the qualities of a multilingual personality in primary school in the process of working with foreign-language texts of emotional content.

Research Questions

The research questions are the following:

1) to consider the concept “a foreign-language text of emotional content” and the indicators of its emotional relevance;

2) to present the author’s structure of a multilingual personality of a student;

3) describe a forming multilingual personality of a primary school student;

4) demonstrate the results of the experiential training of students in Kirov and Kirov Region on materials of foreign-language texts of emotional content.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to describe the process of developing a multilingual personality of a primary school student in the course of working with foreign-language texts of emotional content.

In the first stage of the study the concept “a foreign-language text of emotional content” was considered and indicators of emotional value of speech material were analysed. In the second stage the author’s structure of a student’s multilingual personality was presented. In the third stage the characteristics of the forming multilingual personality of a primary school student (grades 1–4) are described. Finally, in the fourth (final) stage the results of the experiential training of primary school pupils in Kirov and Kirov Region are shown.

Research Methods

The leading approach to the research is axiological. A number of complementary methods were used: of theoretical analysis; of constructive (creative) experiment (experiental training); of designing and tabular presentation of information.

Findings

The results of the experiential training of students in Kirov and Kirov Region on materials of foreign-language texts of emotional content

Supplying emotionally-coloured speech samples with a set of adequate techniques of working with them contributes to the realisation of an axiological potential of text material. The dynamics of mastering speaking skills by primary school pupils in Kirov and Kirov Region (32 schoolchildren) indicates that the number of students with a high level of proficiency in this competence increased from 1 to 3; with an average one – from 3 to 7; with a low one decreased from 28 to 22. The dynamics of mastering the emotional component of the content of a foreign-language education content is as follows: the number of students with a high level increased from 8 to 17; with an average level – decreased from 23 to 15; with a low level – decreased from 1 to 0 (Figure 1 ).

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Conclusion

The theoretical significance of the study is determined by the fact that it presents:

• the concept “a foreign-language text of emotional content”;

• indicators of its emotional relevance;

• the author’s structure of a multilingual personality of a student;

• the description of a forming multilingual personality of a primary school student.

Its practical importance lies in the fact that the results of the experiential training of students in Kirov and Kirov Region on materials of foreign-language texts of emotional content are demonstrated.

In the future, within the framework of the leading research approach:

• the characteristics of students of the following stages of school foreign-language education (middle, high, profile-oriented) as developing multilingual personalities that are in demand in our society will be presented;

• at each stage didactic materials will be selected and experimentally tested to help students overcome difficulties on the way to achieving the global goal of modern foreign-language education.

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