Media discourse linguo-methodological potential for the communicative competence development in foreign language classes

Abstract

The current article examines the media discourse linguo-methodological potential for the communicative competence development in foreign language classes (including Russian as a foreign language). Special attention is paid to the analysis of typical exercises; the article identifies lack of efficient exercises aimed at developing students’ communicative competence using modern media discourse. We analyze the possibilities that diverse media texts offer in teaching foreign languages and give recommendations on the selection of illustrative materials, suggesting a set of exercises aimed at forming and improving students’ speaking skills. We used a descriptive method as a leading method in this study, partially relying on a conceptual type of language material analysis. It was found that the utilization of news and song texts in the process of foreign language teaching increased students’ motivation to learn a new language, activated all types of learners’ speech activities, and gave them an opportunity to explore standard communicative situations enriching their vocabulary. The use of IT technologies in foreign language classes contributes to effective lesson planning and allows creating authentic language environment for learners, which, in its turn, increases the efficiency of students’ communicative skills development in standard speech situations. The undertaken study resulted in the following findings: the linguo-didactic potential of media discourse in teaching foreign languages, to be more precise in the process of developing students’ communicative competence, is very high; the use of ICT in the educational process highlights the need to develop new methods for working with media texts.