THE COGNITIVE-COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH AS A THE BASIS FOR CONSCIOUS MASTERY OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE BY SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The article substantiates the expediency of implementing the cognitive-communicative approach in English language teaching as an effective means of integrated mastery of language and culture. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the principles of cognitive psychology and modern linguistic didactics, according to which the study of linguistic and cultural phenomena relies on conscious mental processes of perception, thinking, memory, and attention. The paper clarifies the essence of the cognitive methodology as a system of interconnected ways of mastering language units and forming a conceptual and linguistic worldview necessary for effective intercultural communication. Current English language textbooks for Grade 10 by Ukrainian and foreign authors recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine were analyzed in terms of the representation of linguistic and cultural content, cognitive strategies, and communicative technologies. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed the fragmentary nature of the cultural component and an insufficient number of cognitively and communicatively oriented tasks. The results of a survey of senior school students confirmed the limited potential of traditional methodology in developing learners’ cognitive activity and in using a foreign language as a means of understanding culture. The article presents the authors’ experience in implementing searching cognitive-communicative tasks based on authentic materials in various forms of classroom interaction and supported by different types of visual aids, such as verbal, verbal-visual, and visual. In addition, examples of practical tasks employing cognitive strategies and communicative technologies are provided. It is demonstrated that such tasks contribute to the development of cognitive skills, speech-and-thinking activity, learner autonomy, and motivation, as well as to the formation of the ability to analyze, interpret, and compare cultural phenomena. Prospects for further research are outlined, particularly those related to the use of the concept as a unit for selecting and organizing culturally marked teaching materials for senior school.