«PRES formula» as a method of forming discussion skills of high school students

Жалғасқызы Аяулым
Алматы қаласы
Абылай хан атындағы Қазақ Халықаралық Қатынастар
және Әлем Тілдері Университеті / ҚазХҚжӘТУ

Annotation. This article is devoted to the study of the possibilities of using the PRES formula as a method of forming discussion and communication skills, the mastery of which is one of the most difficult tasks in the process of teaching foreign languages. The material presented in this article allows us to conclude about the advantages of this method of teaching and the effectiveness of its use in teaching a foreign language.

Keywords: discussion, teaching methods, formation of discussion skills, PRES-formula.

Аннотация. Бұл мақала шет тілдерін оқыту процесінде ең күрделі міндеттердің бірі болып табылатын пікірталас пен қарым-қатынас дағдыларын қалыптастыру әдісі ретінде PRES формуласын қолдану мүмкіндіктерін зерттеуге арналған. Осы мақалада келтірілген Материал оқытудың осы әдісінің артықшылығы және оны шет тілін оқытуда қолданудың тиімділігі туралы қорытынды жасауға мүмкіндік береді.

Түйінді сөздер: пікірталас, оқыту әдістері, пікірталас дағдыларын қалыптастыру, PRES-формула.

Аннотация. Данная статья посвящена изучению возможностей использования PRES-формулы как метода формирования дискуссионных и коммуникативных навыков, овладение которыми представляет собой одну из наиболее сложных задач в процессе обучения иностранным языкам. Материал, представленный в данной статье, позволяет сделать вывод о преимуществе данного метода обучения и эффективности его использования при обучении иностранному языку.

Ключевые слова: дискуссия, методы обучения, формирование дискуссионных навыков, PRES-формула.

The processes of globalization and informatization as the most significant characteristics of the XXI century cannot but affect the education system. Today there is a multidimensional rapprochement of countries and peoples, the formation of a single interdependent, multicultural world. Increasing mobility, both real and virtual, reinforces the need for successful cultural adaptation and effective communication, which, in turn, introduces a change in the requirements for secondary education, including the study of foreign languages, the purpose of which should be to ensure the ability and readiness of schoolchildren to participate in intercultural communication.

Modern secondary schools set themselves one of the most difficult tasks – to teach a student to speak English fluently, competently and clearly, i.e. in the same way as in their native language. This task is possible only if a number of conditions are met: high-quality teaching, competently written teaching literature, a student who wants to listen to every word of the teacher and do absolutely everything that is required of him.

The relevance of this topic is due to the fact that Kazakhstan has entered the world arena for a long time and at the moment strong relations have been formed between Kazakhstan and a number of foreign countries. In order to meet international standards, it is necessary to be able to communicate qualitatively. Communication means not only communication at the highest state level, but also communication to do basic things: buy something abroad, go on vacation to Europe and much more. Without basic speaking skills, it will be difficult for a person to express what he wants from the world around him. Secondary school in this case pursues the goal in the formation of communication skills to teach the child to express his opinion and his thoughts, to express his position, to defend his own point of view.

According to modern educational standards of teaching a foreign language, it is necessary for students to develop the ability to speak prepared and spontaneously in the language being studied, as well as to enter into communication with each other. In recent decades, special attention has been paid to the issues of effective teaching of untrained speech in modern methodological literature.

There are many methods of organizing group interaction of students in order to develop communication skills. One of the most effective and at the same time the most time-consuming methods that require a lot of preparatory work is discussion. Discussion by S. I. Ozhegov is defined as «a way of organizing joint activities in order to intensify the decision-making process in a group by discussing an issue or problem» [1, p. 52].

From the position of didactics, discussion can be considered both as a method of interactive learning and as a special technology. As a method, discussion is actively used in the learning process to organize the mental and value-oriented activities of students, and as a technology is used in organizing and conducting socio-psychological trainings, business games, solving various situations and tasks, since it is the discussion that allows the largest number of students to actively participate in order to find an answer to the questions posed. Well-prepared discussions create favorable conditions for the open expression of their own opinions and positions in relation to the issue under discussion. In order to activate learning, it is necessary to create didactic and psychological conditions of mindfulness of teaching, where the student shows not only intellectual, but also social and personal activity, can express himself as a subject of educational activity [2, p. 118].

During the discussion, the participant is given the opportunity to receive new information from his opponent and ally, demonstrate his own knowledge, skills and abilities, check his ideas and the possibility of finding a compromise in solving the task. In addition, «discussion and debate have a powerful potential to attract knowledge and skills from different fields of sciences, which activates the process of assimilation of knowledge, increases the breadth and range of their application» [3, p. 215].

The use of knowledge from various fields gives the student the opportunity to study the essence of the problem from different sides, to study the cause-and-effect relationships more deeply. In this case, interdisciplinarity manifests itself in full, the already familiar material is updated and a holistic perception of information is formed. In the process of learning a foreign language, the discussion is always creative. It is creativity in teaching that develops the abilities of students, gives them a basis for reflection and analysis of information and arguments. During the discussion, the participant needs to build his statement logically correctly, to state his position in a reasoned manner, which contributes to the inner education of the individual. Also, the student’s personal formation during the discussion is due to the focus on values. This is due to the fact that the organization of the discussion will not be effective without creating certain conditions that help students to show their individuality and express their own point of view on the problem posed.

It is important to emphasize that the role of the teacher in the discussion process is extremely important and extremely complex, since he must not only monitor the literacy of his student’s speech, but also help him listen to the opinion of his opponent during the discussion and teach him to defend his point of view. In other words, not every teacher can cope with such a task. It is necessary to have a sufficient level of qualification, to have experience in teaching discussion and speaking, to know the characteristics of their students: their strengths and weaknesses, and, of course, the availability of high-quality educational literature is of great importance, which helps the teacher to achieve success in this field.

In the methodology of teaching English as a foreign language for the formation of discussion skills, sufficient attention is paid to the preparation of dialogues and monologues (reproductive, productive and productive-reproductive oral statements), retelling of texts. A high school student must be able to carry out verbal communication on certain topics (biography, family, study and work, etc.) Such communication involves the pronunciation of a prepared monologue by students and a number of questions from the teachers. However, as practice shows, such conversations are not interesting both to the students themselves and to their teachers because of the irrelevance of the topics touched upon. The speech activity of students during such conversations does not have proper motivation. In addition, communication in this case is not two-way, since students do not ask appropriate questions to teachers. Communication in such cases has the character of «inquiry», where all information is requested and received by teachers. Monologues prepared and delivered by students do not show their true level of language proficiency. However, students even with excellent results in English find themselves in a quandary. It reveals the need to correct the requirements for the level of knowledge and skills that senior students must possess.

The complexity of the situation forces us to look for ways out of the current situation, to solve methodological problems with new, more effective methods, to practice forms of work that are relevant today and allow you to achieve goals in the best way.

An important aspect of communication is the ability to listen and correctly understand the interlocutor, express your judgment logically, build a definite conclusion in evidence, find the right solution to a problem or a way out of a conflict situation. Such skills are necessary in almost all spheres of communication: in everyday, socio-cultural, socio-political, scientific, etc. In this regard, the formation of students’ skills in discussion communication becomes an important task in teaching a foreign language.

1. A. Baeva asserts that «discussion from a communicative point of view is always polylogical. Which means taking into account all the opinions that will be given. Each participant in the discussion has the right to his own opinion and the opportunity to express it. But the nature of this polylogue can be different: Polylogue — disagreement — disagreement, dispute. Since each participant defends his position without taking into account the opinions of the other. Polylogue — polyphony — agreement, complement each other. Often finding a compromise, dialogue» [4, p. 125].

Modern methodological literature describes many similar and different characteristics in the presentation of discussion and dispute. The dispute is most often considered as an integral element of the discussion, at the same time there are also distinctive features, which makes it possible to separate these two concepts. Naturally, the discussion is characterized by the presence of opponents representing different points of view, and this increases its productivity, since it is a constructive and organized conflict that generates a compromise and a solution to the problems discussed, and not a desire to defend one’s point of view or win at all costs. Important conditions for the effective organization of the discussion are the manifestation of respect for another point of view and the ability of students to listen to another. A slightly different situation develops in the dispute: although the dispute has an organized character, it will not be possible to organize it without the presence of opposition. The purpose of this type of discussion is to direct students to think about the problem and teach them to defend their position in a reasoned manner, weighing all the pros and cons [5, p. 23].

Discussion-dispute is introduced to fully consider the most important problems that do not have an unambiguous solution. According to R. S. Alpatova, «discussion-dialogue is organized for joint discussion of educational problems, the solution of which can be achieved by supplementing monologues and listening to other participants» [5, p. 23]. Arguments play a major role in the discussion. It is they who distinguish an organized discussion from an ordinary dispute. Discussing the problem, each side, opposing the opinion of the interlocutor, argues its position. Pedagogical practice shows us a variety of ways to organize a discussion. This is due to the fact that the discussion can be introduced both into the educational process directly in the classroom and into extracurricular activities in the form of a collective creative event. It is the objectives of the discussion, the content of the topic, the number and level of readiness of students that determine such a diverse choice of forms of its organization. The following types of discussions are distinguished: «Round table», «Debate», «Relay race», «Aquarium», «Turntable», «PRES-formula, etc.

Let’s look at each of them in more detail. The «round table» assumes a comprehensive and general consideration of the problem, is the main one in this type of discussion. Usually, participants do not need to find a solution to a specific problem, but try to consider it extensively, discuss disagreements in this industry and express personal reasoned opinions. With this form of discussion organization, students have to come into contact with each other in order to find a compromise and form a unified picture of the consideration of the problem. In this case, tables need to be placed around so that students can communicate collectively.

The «Relay race» is a certain sequence of discussion of the proposed issues and aspects of one topic in small groups, followed by an analysis and coordination with the conclusions of all groups.

«Debates» are one of the types of discussions-disputes. This type is carried out for the general analysis of a difficult and urgent problem, which has different aspects in its composition. The main skills that students acquire in the course of the lesson are argumentation and defending their own position, convincing their opponent. A large number of teams can take part, gathered according to the expression of a single opinion, with which one speaker from the team speaks. The number of teams determines the time of the event and the duration of the performance of the participants.

«Aquarium» is a type of discussion aimed primarily at allowing participants to analyze their behavior in a controversial and sometimes morally difficult situation (whether they are able to hear another, to control themselves). The «turntable» is characterized by a changeable composition of the group. Each participant can become the moderator of the discussion, make changes in its course, if he argues his action. By ensuring maximum activity and involvement of everyone in the discussion of all aspects of the problem, this type of discussion forms communication and organizational skills. The groups participating in the discussion can change their composition, and a team member can move to another if the opposing team put forward such arguments that convinced him to reconsider his point of view on the topic under discussion. This form of discussion is used only to a limited extent, since often the initiative of participants in offering options for the course of work is extremely small.

The PRES formula is a method used when discussing debatable problems, when performing exercises in which you need to take a certain position. This is a simple form of work in the classroom, when you need to develop arguments, allowing you to formulate and present your opinion in a clear and concise form. This method is most effectively used in the lessons of studying new material. The scheme of work is as follows.

P — position (what is the point of view) – I believe that…

R — reason (arguments in support of the position) — … because…

E — explanation (facts illustrating the argument) — …for example…

S — summary (conclusion, call to take a position) — …therefore…

This method contributes to the formation of skills such as the ability to structure material; formulation of conclusions; explanation, proof and defense of one’s own ideas; manifestation of creativity in a problematic situation.

The first of the sentences (position) should begin with the words:

«I think that …».

The second sentence (explanation, justification of his position) begins with the words:

«Because …».

The third sentence (focused on the ability to prove the correctness of one’s position in practice) begins with the words:

«For example …».

And finally, the fourth sentence (consequence, judgment, conclusions) begins with the words:

«So …».

We offer students a kind of framework for an oral answer. Moreover, we immediately aim the student not at a memorized answer, but at expressing his own position: “As for me …”, “My opinion is …”, “As the result, …”, “I can prove it…”.

As a result of such an express survey, we will receive sound diagnostic material to assess the quality of the knowledge gained.

The objective of school education is to develop the abilities of students, to educate a person who is ready to enter into communication. Classical teaching methods cannot always provide this development. As a subject of educational activity in the classroom, the student needs to enter into the educational process on his own and apply the knowledge gained in practice, and for this purpose a motive is needed. Motivation is one of the important factors in the learning process, so the teacher is always in search of optimal methods and techniques in order to increase the interest of students in studying the discipline. Interactive methods play an important role in this process, which include discussions. Thus, this motivation and activity prepares the child for socialization in the outside world. Thanks to the communicative exercises, a situation is created that is close to real communication. In this case, communication during the discussion will be not only a goal, but also a means of learning.

In order for a foreign language as a school subject to become more focused on practical application, it is necessary to use non-classical and interesting forms of classes based on an activity approach, in which students are included in every action in the classroom. The main purpose of learning a foreign language is to teach communication in the language being studied. Such communication skills as the ability to find a compromise, negotiate and simply communicate, which students acquire in the learning process, suggest their use not only in school, but also in real life, because through this, students develop thought processes.

Educational discussion is one of the effective methods for the formation of communication skills. Important aspects of the educational discussion with the use of the PRES formula are a clear thought-out course of work and relevant content.

In the process of using the PRES formula, students find out and discuss the problem, revise their points of view and gain new knowledge. The general conclusion at the end of the lesson is deduced collectively and in the course of the discussion, the pre-set rules for its conduct are observed. The discussion itself is not aimed at solving a specific problem, the acquired skills are more important. The situation in which the student finds himself leads to the need for communication, which provides the basis for the use of the discussion method for the formation of communication skills on a larger scale. One way or another, during the lesson in the form of a discussion, the student will feel the need to enter into communication with other participants and use the rules that were studied in the lesson and well learned by them. Defending one’s own position and persuading the opponent is carried out with the help of a logically constructed statement. In addition, during their speech, participants use both verbal and non-verbal means of communication in order to make a good impression on others and emotionally color their speech. Using discussion as a method of forming communicative skills, the teacher also develops the ability of students to competently build their speech, which will be presented at the lesson, use both active and passive vocabulary and be able to use gestures and facial expressions when speaking. According to the content and structure of the discussion sessions, it is important to note that the discussion, like any other form of training, has the following stages: introductory part, main part and conclusion. In the introductory part, the organization of a favorable emotional mood of the class is mandatory, and a group discussion of what will happen in the lesson is also necessary. It is in the introductory part that the teacher updates students with knowledge and ideas, motivates them for upcoming activities and introduces the necessary information. Also, the teacher motivates to work together, sets up the class to solve problems and tasks together and introduces them to the rules of discussion. When organizing a discussion, it is necessary to remember the rules, without which it is impossible to achieve the planned results.

1. Each participant in the discussion has the right to his own statement, up to contradictions with the interlocutors.
2. All additions and amendments should be taken into account in the formulation of the final result.
3. Personal attacks and insults are prohibited. Each participant needs to argue his opinion without insulting the opponent.
4. Respect for others is the key to successful work.
5. The discussion of the problem should not go beyond what is allowed, the participants speak clearly and on the topic.
6. If criticism arises, then a different position should be proposed for it, opposed to the criticized one. The introductory part of the discussion should not be neutral and colorless and leave all participants indifferent to the problem under discussion. A comfortable environment is also important. In order for each participant to be able to contribute to the overall work, it is important for him to know that his opinion will not be missed.

The topic of the discussion should correspond not only to the interests, but also to the age and abilities of the class. It should also be relevant and controversial, arouse a keen interest in interaction and communication. Techniques for entering a topic are also diverse. The teacher can use a riddle, a rebus, a fragment of a cartoon or a movie, and the students, in turn, must guess what will be discussed in the lesson. It is important to use the material that will be understandable, but which is worth thinking about. For example, a teacher plans to organize a discussion lesson on the topic «Violence should not be shown on the screen» (Cruelty should not be shown on the screen).

At the initial stage of the lesson, an image is presented, when viewing which students will have conflicting emotions. The image displays the topic in full, but does not reveal it. At the next stage, the main activity of the participants takes place. The main part depends on the chosen form of the event and on compliance with the rules (listed above) by the participants. Every student has the right to speak out, whether it is a speech prepared in advance or a reaction to a classmate’s speech. The teacher makes it clear that silence in the classroom can reach a maximum of 2 minutes. If, after all, there was a hitch and the class stopped speaking out, then the teacher can introduce new information.

The tasks of the moderator (teacher) will be: to support a favorable emotional background throughout; to motivate participants to be active; to ensure that all participants are involved in the general discussion; to manage the discussion. The final stage involves the search for a compromise and a common conclusion. All participants of the discussion jointly develop an approximate plan of future actions (to solve the problem or to further study it). At this stage, the analysis of the behavior and involvement in the work of all participants, the relevance of statements and the effectiveness of classes in this form is carried out. The moderator should take into account the opinions of all participants, combine information and draw conclusions.

During the discussion, it is important to form a question-and-answer form of interaction so that students can build a statement, ask a question to an opponent. You can give the initial task – to make a dialogue on the designated topic according to the scheme.

Table 1 — Example of a dialog scheme

You can also use different types of rewards to support and motivate students: points earned in the process, verbal rewards, etc.

In an organized discussion, the time for each participant to speak is limited, which means that students must be able to clearly formulate their thoughts and express them succinctly.

In terms of preparing students for discussion, the following types of work may be offered:

1) answers to discussion questions;

2) reasoned answers to questions;

3) a statement about a series of discussion questions;

4) the choice of one of the contrasting approaches to the problem.

In pedagogical practice, it is sometimes possible to receive a provocation, when the teacher, in the course of the student’s performance, «adds fuel to the fire.» But this technique is used only with those learners who can adequately respond and adapt to new information, while not losing their own logic of expression.

So, to achieve the set goals, one of the most productive methods, I find the method of the «PRES — formula». The value of this technique lies in the fact that it allows students to briefly and comprehensively express their own position on the topic studied. According to the modern understanding of the teacher and his role in society, the primary function is no longer information transmission, but rather to become a model of appropriate communicative behavior in various fields. The importance of the ability to lead a discussion in the process of communication, including its intercultural level, cannot be underestimated. That is why the formation of a culture of discussion communication, as it was revealed, is the main feature of professional development. Obviously, the process of developing the necessary skills must be properly organized and guided, as suggested, by the utterance organization model. Such a structure and the distinction between communicative actions in vocational training, of course, would be beneficial for both personal and professional growth.

REFERENCES

1. Толковый словарь Ожегова [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://gufo.me/ search?term
2. Коростелева С. Г. Дискуссия как активный метод обучения в профессиональной подготовке будущего учителя [Электронный ресурс] // Вестник Костромского государственного университета. Серия: Педагогика. Психология. Социокинетика. 2019.
3. Баркова Н. Н., Карпенко А. В. Дискуссии и дебаты как методы профессионального обучения студентов педагогического университета [Электронный ресурс] // Про- блемы современного образования. 2019. № 6. С. 211–219. URL: http://www.pmedu.ru/ images/2019-6/20.pdf
4. Баева Г. А. О роли компетентностного подхода в современном образовании // Формирование билингвальной личности на основе компетентностного подхода: сборник статей / отв. ред. Г. А. Баева. СПб.: Изд-во СПбГУ, 2012. С. 57–85.
5. Алпатова Р. С. Проблема обучения полилогу на уроке иностранного языка // Иностранные языки в школе. 1989. № 5. С. 23–25.