Theory and practice of teaching English in universities of Tajikistan in the context of the formation of students` national identity

Introduction

The theoretical foundations of English language teaching are directly determined by teaching methods. Method, in its didactic context, is viewed through the lens of organizing the interconnected activities between teacher and students and is linked to the achievement of educational and developmental goals that presuppose the development of learning subjects.

Methodologists, scholars, and practitioners agree on the impossibility of developing a single method that would be optimal and universal, effective in all learning conditions. They also emphasize the need to combine various approaches and elements of various methods, as the application of a specific method is always determined by the context in which it is used. This is particularly important for us, as in teaching English (as a second language) to students of different national groups, we have specifically considered only those language teaching methods (or a combination of them) that contribute to the development of students' national identity.

To this end, we have built the entire learning process on the basis of educational texts in English, but substantively built on materials from Tajik and English cultures. In this case, we considered the key tenets of our hypothesis related to the development of national self-awareness in students of ethnic groups when teaching them English (as a second language). This hypothesis will be effective if the following pedagogical aspects of the problem under study are taken into account:

• the content of the discipline being studied – English (as a second language), which will be implemented in the context of developing an emotional and value-based attitude toward the English language based on educational and cognitive motivation and cognitive interest, and, on this basis, developing a need for a deep understanding of the nation's cultural values;
• an intercultural approach based on comparing the values of national culture in the context of a dialogue of cultures when organizing the teaching process in English (as a second language);
• the introduction into the teaching process of English (as a second language) of English-language texts, substantively oriented toward highlighting the cultural traditions of one's own and English cultures, viewed as means of preserving, transmitting, and creatively reproducing the national cultural heritage.

Based on direct, conscious, and communicative-activity approaches to the learning process, A.N. Shchukin and E.G. Azimov [1] proposed a differentiation in teaching methods, presented as direct, conscious, combined, and intensive.

The modern methodology is represented by the distinction between textual-imitative and structural-imitative approaches within the direct method. The first approach assumes text-based learning: the teacher reads (or narrates) the text using gestures, facial expressions, interpretation, and demonstration of various visual aids. Translation of the text is not provided. Students are offered tasks of a reproductive nature to assimilate vocabulary and grammar material.

In the structural-imitative approach, the unit of instruction is the sentence structure, mastered through language exercises and repeated repetition to develop stereotypes for the use of these structures in oral speech.

European linguistic schools still use the direct method of language teaching, based on the Berlitz system. The emphasis on the phonetic aspects of speech, grammatical correctness, and error-free speech are considered positive aspects of this method.

The direct method has not become widespread in English language teaching due to the fact that the native language is completely excluded from the learning process, which creates difficulties in semantizing many linguistic phenomena. Furthermore, this method, which requires a large number of hours, is not cost-effective and must be taught by a native speaker, making it difficult to use in a bachelor's degree setting. However, the requirement for developing communicative competence, relying on a humanistic approach, and taking into account the individual characteristics of students are positive aspects of this method. The audiolingual method of teaching foreign languages is represented by the behavioral approach to language teaching and the structural approach in linguistics. It has several key drawbacks, including: learner passivity; a lack of teacher initiative; the practice of linguistic forms without regard for the significance of the linguistic phenomena being studied; and an underestimation of cognitive processes during learning and the importance of written language. This method has several positive characteristics: the use of rigorous systematization and classification in the organization of teaching materials; and the use of various exercises and visual aids, which allows for the inclusion of specialized texts adapted to the development of students' national identity.

The audiovisual method of teaching foreign languages is based on the principles of structural linguistics and the behavioral approach. It is a variation of the direct method developed in France at the École Pedagogique Supérieure de Saint-Cloud (1950s). The name of the method reflects its characteristic features, which include: 1) the widespread introduction of audiovisual teaching aids, such as filmstrips, slides, and motion pictures; technical means (tape recorders, radio, television); 2) global materials in the form of tape recordings of texts and film fragments, not differentiated into episodes, and grammatical structures, which are also included and mastered in their entirety.

This method includes four stages:

1. global perception of all material (in this case, specially developed texts, substantively oriented toward highlighting issues of Tajik and English cultures);
2. development of the visual-auditory series with a focus on the complete assimilation of all substantive material through visual-auditory synthesis;
3. consolidation of material through the formation of speech automatisms;
4. development of speech skills based on the acquisition of knowledge and skills, free speaking in the context of the lesson topic and practiced situations for organizing communication [3]. Authentic materials that simulate the reality of native speakers' language environments, increasing learners' motivation and interest in language learning, explain the popularity of this method.

The conscious-practical method is presented as the leading method for studying English in school and university settings. The method was developed by B.V. Belyaev, a renowned psychologist and methodologist, who demonstrated, within the context of psychological knowledge, learners' awareness of the meanings in lexical units and linguistic forms used in organizing communication and, at the same time, its practical feasibility as a decisive factor in language teaching, where foreign language speech practice is paramount. Based on this, B.V. Belyaev proposed a breakdown of study time, which assumed that the communication of information on the studied language should be allocated a minimum amount of study time in the amount of no more than 15%, and foreign language speech activity without translation should be represented by no less than 85% [2, 209-210].

The linguistic concept of the method considers the ideas of L.V. Shcherba [4] and the foundations of communicative linguistics, which provide for the identification of three objects in the learning process, represented by: language, speech, speech activity; three main goals in learning, represented by: practical, general educational, educational, with the support of the focus of classes on the process of mastering the means associated with the organization of communication, the priority of the principles of consciousness and communicativeness, taking into account the importance of the native language in mastering a foreign language. In the process of development, the concept of this method began to be considered in the context of a socio-cultural focus, in which the process of learning a language assumed its combination with the study of the rules and norms of communication in the formation of a secondary linguistic personality by organizing the process of intercultural communication.

In the development of the linguistic concept of the method, a major role was played by the provisions on grammar put forward by L.V. Shcherba, represented by: active and passive grammar; the importance of a comparative approach in language learning, which provides a deeper understanding of both the target language and the native language; and the general educational significance of a non-native language.

Conclusion

Thus, the period associated with the acquisition of state independence in the republic was conditioned by the intensive development of political, economic and cultural ties between the Republic of Tajikistan and foreign countries, which highlighted the urgency of the problem of identifying the language required for organizing the process of international and intercultural communication, which was the English language.