Methods of Teaching English

At the end of the twentieth century, the methods of teaching the English language in Russia underwent revolutionary changes. Initially, all priorities in the study of language were given to grammar, literary translation and reading.

Such a system of mastering the language, of course, was bearing fruit, but at the same time required a long routine work, which consisted in reading the text, translating, memorizing new words, retelling and exercises on the text. Sometimes dictation or composition was given, and as a rest - a phonetic drill. Such priorities, in fact, implemented only one function of the language - informative. Therefore, it was possible to master the language at a high level only for the most purposeful and hardworking.

If earlier the teaching had a more theorized character, now it has become an applied nature. There was a change in the functions of the teacher in the educational process - the mentor teacher and the dictator teacher were replaced by the teacher-mediator and the teacher-observer.

At the present time, changes in the minds of people are more and more perceptible, especially in the need for self-actualization and self-realization. Therefore, in the first place now stands the psychological factor of language learning, for which it is important to respect the authenticity of communication, weighted claims and claims, mutual benefit and respect for the freedom of others.
The first place in the ranking of popularity is the communicative method of teaching English, aimed at the practice of communication. This technique pays special attention to speaking and listening to speech.

In the process of mastering the language, simple syntactic constructions are used, because oral speech is very different from writing, and it often contains short phrases than long sentences. However, the communicative method is applicable not only for easy conversation. If you want to become a professional in any field and regularly educate on this topic, reading foreign publications, you can increase the vocabulary sufficiently to be able to maintain a conversation with a foreign colleague. Communicative technique, first of all, is designed to remove the fear of communication. A person who can apply a standard set of grammatical constructions and has a vocabulary of 700-1000 words, it will be easier to build communication in an unfamiliar country.
Among the Russian courses on the study of the English communicative method, one of the leading places is occupied by the textbook Headway.

The system for studying English in the Headway textbook was specially developed by the London methodologists Liz and John Soares for youth and adults. In the system of 5 levels and for each of them there is a "methodical kit", which includes a textbook, a book for students and teachers, audio cassettes. During the course "Headway" the grammar is studied on two levels: in the context of the lesson and in the student's workbook. It is also summarized in a special appendix at the end of the textbook. This approach to the study of grammar is a distinctive feature of this course.