Learner autonomy of medical students in the process of development of communicative strategies in receptive speech skills

Abstract

Learner autonomy is not a new topic in teaching foreign languages, but it has received an abundance of attention for the last two years, when the study process has been held online which made it to be heavily dependent on the students’ self-study skills and strategies. In the article, the focus of research has been focused on a few key issues. First, it is the problem of definition: a cluster of content views have been analyzed, which made it possible to come to a conclusion that in relation to the topic discussed in the paper, learner autonomy can be understood as a multicomponent structural didactic phenomenon that involves independent application of a set of learning strategies to manage learning activities in the formation of listening and reading skills strategies in reading and listening with further reflection on the whole learning process and evaluation of its results. Second, the algorithm of learner autonomy functioning has been defined, at the same time revealing the structural components of the process (learner competence, constructive and creative activity positioning, active learner positioning, reflective self-evaluation positioning). On the basis of psychological understanding of autonomous activity, it has been proved that the key element of learner autonomy is the situation of real choice (choice of purpose, motive, methods, techniques and forms of work, strategies for each task, methods and forms of task evaluation, etc.) which provides a certain psychological justification for the creation of such situations in the educational process, which would allow to positively adjust the student to effective educational and cognitive activities. Finally, the methodical suggestions on how to develop future doctors’ communicative competence in foreign (German) language receptive speech skills have been provided in relation to decision-making algorithms and learner autonomy integration. Key words: learner autonomy, foreign language communicative skills, receptive speech skills, communicative strategies, the situation of choice