MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITUATIONAL METHOD FOR TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

The condition of education in Ukraine is characterised by rapid growth of tempo of updating of knowledge, changes of main approaches and the principles of teaching, search of innovative technologies which would correspond to the current level of development of science. The situational method is considered to be one of the most effective methods of teaching a foreign language. This method demands not only the academic knowledge of language and linguistic material, but transforms the process of knowledge into the process of opening of new experience of communications and the relations between events, the phenomena, objects, their critical thinking. The purpose of article is the review and provide the general characteristics of situational method of teaching of a foreign language. Methods of research used: analysis and generalisation. As a result of the research, we found that this method is based on situational modelling, which is part of interactive learning technologies. Situational Language Teaching is characterised by two major features: focus on vocabulary and reading are the most salient traits of Situational Language Teaching. In fact, mastery of a set of high-frequency vocabulary items is believed to lead to good reading skills; an analysis of English and a classification of its prominent grammatical structures into sentence patterns, also called situational tables, is believed to help learners internalise grammatical rules. Situational teaching assumes immersion of listeners in a certain situation where they can find practical application of their knowledge.