Ways Of Ethnic Tolerance Formation Among Students By Conducting Foreign Language Classes

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of education of interethnic tolerance in the educational environment by the example of Latin language classes. The solution to the problem of improving the quality of higher education as the main problem of the Russian government's educational policy cannot be independent of improving the professional competence and social status of teachers. Professional education and civic training should become a single organic process of purposeful formation of the citizen's personality. At the same time, the phenomenological organicity of the process of students' civic education is necessary. It is impossible to isolate civic education from the process of professional training and somehow separate it from the objective conditions and opportunities for a personality formation. At the same time, the spiritual space of the University environment today cannot but be saturated with national priorities: ideas of patriotism, statehood, high spirituality, the value of work and service for the good of the Fatherland, traditions of ethnic and religious tolerance and openness to other cultures. The results of sociological research in recent years indicate that the main motive of an educated person, which is the true spirituality of the individual, is not visible in the student environment today. This fact is evidenced by the study of indicators such as showing interest in other people, processes taking place in the country, the ability to empathize and engage in a dialogue.

Keywords:

Introduction

Tolerance is becoming increasingly important in the modern world in interpersonal relations between people of different nationalities. The education system of the Russian Federation should be aimed at forming a person who can accept other religions, cultures, customs, lifestyles, moral values and worldview beliefs with tolerance and respect.

Problem Statement

The article defines the issues of tolerance formation in the educational process through the study of material in foreign language classes in professional activities.

Research Questions

• The difficulties of tolerance’s forming among the students in the modern educational environment of the University.

• The issues of tolerance’s forming through learning a foreign language in the professional activity of a University specialist.

• The questions of the formation of professional competences in the field of a foreign language in the student professional activity of a higher educational institution.

Purpose of the Study

The article aims to determine the ways of forming and increasing the level of tolerance among students at the University by conducting foreign language classes in their professional activities.

Research Methods

The following methods were used in the study: comparison, deduction, induction and analysis.

Findings

Tolerance is becoming increasingly important in the modern world in interpersonal relations between people of different nationalities. “The education system of the Russian Federation should be aimed at creating a person who can tolerate and respect other religions, cultures, customs, lifestyles, moral values and worldview beliefs” (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980, p. 47).

The word «tolerance» is a loan from the Latin language and means «patience, patience» (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980, p. 47). «Dictionary of foreign words» offers the following definition of this term:

«Tolerance- [<lat. tolerantia patience] – 1) tolerance, condescension to someone or something» (Bernat, 2006).

That is, this term implies a tolerant and condescending perception of other people with their spirituality, religion and worldview. In the modern world, this theme is of great importance in interreligious, interethnic and interpersonal relations for rapprochement, mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence of peoples (Boghian, 2018, p. 26).

The UNESCO General Conference adopted the «Declaration of principles of tolerance» on November 16, 1995, according to which tolerance «means respect, acceptance and correct understanding of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of expressing human individuality» (Boghian, 2017; Petty & Cacioppo, 1981, p. 16).

The issue of tolerance is becoming crucial for a multi-ethnic, “ethnically and religiously diverse country like Russia “(Boghian, 2016, p. 14).

Tolerance is not a new phenomenon in the life of our society. Since ancient times, Russians have treated with understanding and deep respect other peoples who were distinguished by culture, religion and skin colour. Russia has always been and remains a multi- ethnic country which is currently home to more than 190 different peoples (Callo, 2014, p. 27). Although Russian is the official language on the territory of the Russian Federation, “all peoples have the right to preserve, develop and use their native language” (Butnari, 2017, p. 19).

Teaching foreign languages (including Latin) is aimed at educating a highly educated cultural person who is capable of understanding with other peoples and is ready “to implement interpersonal and intercultural communication” (Cannella & Reiff, 1994, p. 14). Foreign language classes acquaint students with the traditions of the peoples of the countries of the studied language with their “cultural values and thus make a considerable contribution to the education of tolerance” (Cara & Guţu, 2007, p. 352)

Following the Federal Educational Standart in the field of training 40.03.01 «Jurisprudence» (qualification «Bachelor»), the study of the discipline «Latin language» is aimed at the formation of the following competencies:

• the ability to “communicate orally and in writing in Russian and foreign languages to solve problems of interpersonal and intercultural interaction (OK-5)” (Chelcea, 2008);

• the ability to “work in a team, tolerant of social, ethnic, religious and cultural differences (OK-6)” (Chiriac & Guţu, 2013, p. 8);

• the ability to “possess the necessary skills of professional communication in a foreign language (OPK-7)” (Chiriac & Guţu, 2007, p. 8).

The use of innovative technologies in the classroom is to teach students to conjugate Latin verbs in the present tense, active voice based on comparative linguistic analysis with verb conjugation in German (English, German), Turkic (Tuvan, Khakass, Yakut, Tatar), Mongolian (Buryat, Mongolian) and Slavic (Russian) languages. Along with general professional competencies, the purpose of the lesson is to develop the ability to «work in a team, tolerant of social, ethnic, religious and cultural differences» (Fyfe & Figueroa, 1993; Nedelcu, 2008, p. 19).

The fragment of the lesson.

Discipline: “Latin language”. Law faculty. First course.

Lesson topic: “Conjugation of Latin verbs in the present tense of the active voice (Praesens indicativi activi)” (Hall, 1997, p. 8).

The goals of the lesson:

Educational goal: to teach students conjugation of Latin verbs in the present tense of the active voice, based on comparative linguistic analysis, to acquaint students with the conjugation of verbs in German (English, German), Turkic (Tuvan, Khakass, Yakut, Tatar), Mongolian (Buryat, Mongolian), Slavic (Russian) languages.

Disciplinary goals are to form an interest in the future profession, to cultivate a sense of pride in the chosen profession, to form the ability to work in a team, tolerant of social, ethnic, religious and cultural differences (Boghian, 2016, p. 17).

Developing goal: the ability to analyze and compare facts, make generalizations, develop memory. Interdisciplinary connections: history, foreign language, Russian language.

Student 1:

Russian verb «делать» (to make). SingularPlural

• 1.Я делаюМы делаем 2.Ты делаешьВы делаете 3.Он делаетОни делают Teacher:

Latin verb «labōro – работать» (to work).

SingularisPluralis

• 1.labōroЯ работаюlabōramusМы работаем

• 2.labōrasТы работаешьlabōratisВы работаете

• 3.labōratОн работаетlabōrantОни работают

Student 2:

German verb «machen – делать» (to make).

SingularPlural

• 1.Ich macheЯ делаюWir machenМы делаем

• 2.Du machstТы делаешьIhr machtВы делаете

• 3.Er machtОн делаетSie MachenОни делают

Student 3:

English verb «to make – делать».

SingularPlural

• 1.I makeЯ делаюWe makeМы делаем 2.You makeТы делаешьYou makeВы делаете 3.He makesОн делаетThey makeОни делают Teacher:

German and English belong to the Germanic group of languages, Latin is the basis of Romance languages. Germanic, Romance and Slavic languages belong to the Indo-European language family, so some endings in verb conjugation in Germanic and Romance languages correspond to endings in verb conjugation in Russian.

Student 4:

Tuvan verb «кылыр – делать» (to make).

SingularPlural

• 1.Мен кылыр мен Я делаюБис кылыр бисМы делаем

• 2.Сен кылыр инТы делаешьСилер кылыр силерВы делаете

Tuvan is the language of the tuvans and belongs to the branch of the Turkic languages, that is, it is genealogically related to Khakass, Yakut, Tatar and many other languages. Tuvan has the status of an official language in the Republic of Tuva.

Student 5:

Khakass verb «идерге – делать» (to make).

SingularPlural

• 1.Мин итчемЯ делаюНис итчебисМы делаем

• 3.Ол итчеОн делаетОлар итчелерОни делают

The Khakass language belongs to the Khakass-Altay group of the Eastern branch of the Turkic languages. It is distributed mainly on the territory of the Republic of Khakassia. When conjugating verbs in the Tuvan and Khakass languages, some endings coincide. Pronouns are almost identical.

Student 6:

Yakut verb «оҥорор – делать» (to make).

SingularPlural

• 1.Мин оҥоробун (Я делаю)Биьиги оҥоробут (Мы делаем)

• 2.Эн оҥоробун (Ты делаешь)Эhиги оҥоробут (Вы делаете)

• 3.Кини оҥорор (Он делает)Кинилэр оҥороллор (Они делают)

Yakut language is the national language of the Yakuts, one of the official languages of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), along with Russian. The Yakut language belongs to the Turkic language family in which it forms a separate branch. There is minimal overlap between endings and pronouns in Tuvan, Khakass and Yakut when conjugating.

Student 7:

Tatar verb «ясарга – делать» (to make). SingularPlural

Tatar is the national language of the Tatars and the state language of the Republic of Tatarstan, along with Russian. The Tatar language belongs to the Turkic languages, so there are some coincidences when conjugating verbs in the Tatar language with other Turkic languages. There are no coincidences in conjugation with Germanic, Romance or Slavic languages.

Student 8:

Buryat verb «хэхэ – делать» (to make). SingularPlural

Buryat is a Mongolian language group and is the official language of the Republic of Buryatia, along with Russian. The basis of the modern literary Buryat language is the Khorin dialect. Some linguists believe that there are no significant differences in the Buryat language that would prevent mutual understanding and language communication between speakers of different dialects.

Student 9:

Mongolian verb «хайх – делать» (to make).

SingularPlural

• 1.Би хийж байнабЯ делаюБид хийж байнаМы делаем

Mongolian is the language of the Mongols and is the official language of Mongolia. This language belongs to the group of languages of the Mongolian people’s. The question of whether this group of languages belongs to the Altai languages remains controversial to this day. Mongolian languages developed as dialects from the once unified Mongolian language. Since the Buryat and Mongolian languages belong to the Mongolian group of languages, they have a lot in common. There are no coincidences in conjugation with Germanic, Romance, Turkic and Slavic languages.

Teacher:

The German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe said: «Wie viele Sprachen du sprichst, sooftmal bist du Mensch» («How many foreign languages a person knows, so many times he is a person»). You know two languages: native (Tuvan, Khakass, Yakut, Tatar, Buryat, Mongolian) and Russian, so, according to Goethe, you are a person twice.

Then Latin verbs related to legal terminology are conjugated:

accuso, āre 1 (to accuse), audio, īre, 4 (to listen), defende, ĕre 3 (to protect), delinquo, ĕre 3 (to commit a crime), doceo, ēre 2 (to learn), excuse, āre 1 (to justify), impĕro, āre 1 (to order), judico, āre 1 (to judge), oblǐgo, āre 1 (to oblige), punio, īre 4 (to punish), veto, āre 1 (to prohibit) etc. in active and passive voice.

Education is directly carried out in the learning process in this lesson. Students get acquainted with the lexical and grammatical structure of other languages, get knowledge about language families and language groups. It is impossible to find speakers of all languages in one group whose verb conjugation we have analyzed, of course. However, usually, there are several representatives of these nationalities. Some Buryat speakers may speak Mongolian, since, according to some linguists, there are many similarities in the Agin dialect of the Khorin dialect of the Buryat language and the Mongolian language. Russian-speaking students have a deep respect for bilingual students of other nationalities. Representatives of other nationalities feel a sense of pride in their fluency in their native and Russian languages. At the same time, the class develops competence (OK-6): the ability to «work in a team, tolerant of social, ethnic, confessional and cultural differences» (Boghian, 2016, p. 17).

At the end of the lesson, the teacher summarizes the results, gives homework and says goodbye to the students.

How to say in English «Goodbye!»? – «Goodbye!»

How to say in German «Goodbye!»? – «Auf Wiedersehen!» How to say in Buryat «Goodbye!»? – «Баяртай!»

How to say in Mongolian «Goodbye!»? – «Баяртай!» How to say in Tuvan «Goodbye!»? – «Байырлыг!»

How to say in Khakass «Goodbye!»? – «Анымҷох!», «Анымҷохтар!» How to say in Yakut «Goodbye!»? – «КорсYоххэ дылы!»

How to say in Tatar «Goodbye!»? – «Хушыгыз!» How to say in Latin «Goodbye!»? – «Vale!», «Valete!»

Conclusion

As a result of the study, it was found that the lesson is directly carried out an education in the learning process. The students are acquainted with the lexical and grammatical structure of other languages, get knowledge about language families and language groups. Of course, it is impossible to find speakers of all languages in one group whose verb conjugation we have analyzed. However, usually, there are several representatives of these nationalities. Some Buryat speakers may speak Mongolian, since, according to some linguists, there are many similarities in the Agin dialect of the Khorin dialect of the Buryat language and the Mongolian language. Russian-speaking students have a deep respect for bilingual students of other nationalities. Representatives of other nationalities feel a sense of pride in their fluency in their native and Russian languages. At the same time, the class develops competence (OK-6): the ability to «work in a team, tolerant of social, ethnic, confessional and cultural differences».

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