University students' cognitive initiative in the process of foreign language learning

Abstract

© 2020 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Geoconference. All rights reserved. The aim of the study is to give the evidence that the formation of students' cognitive initiative as a part of integrative personality development by means of a foreign language becomes a defining factor in training a competitive specialist. A sufficiently high level of mental development, a strong memory, having the logic for reasoning, broadening one's horizons, working capacity, perseverance, etc. - all these contribute to student's success. However, even with all of these qualities, it is necessary to constantly stimulate students' interest in learning, for the knowledge they acquire to be meaningful and value-oriented. In this regard, not only the development of students' cognitive activity, but the formation of cognitive initiative as a readiness for independent actions and student's determination and enterprise is of particular relevance. As such, it becomes a prerequisite in the development of students' cognitive activity and leads to independent and active performing of actions to solve tasks assigned. Based on teaching experience, the authors outlined vectors for the development of cognitive initiative and presented the structure of students' initiative as an interconnection of educability, creativity and intelligence. To teach initiative successfully one should firstly determine its initial level of formation. Through investigation and analysis of psychological and pedagogical research literature, generalization of teaching experience and method of expert assessment, the researchers determined and distributed criteria for the formation of students' initiative in the process of learning a foreign language at low, medium, and high levels; structural components of students' cognitive initiative were distinguished as the basis for that. Furthermore, to practically test the goal stated, the forming experiment was undertaken. The authors highlighted the areas for teaching and mastering university students' initiative within EFL and accentuated methodological search and improvement of certain pedagogical methods, tools and approaches viewing them through the prism of cognitive perspective. These areas are students' academic work, built on advanced technologies; students' research work; both organized and independent extracurricular activities; and undertaking additional professionally oriented foreign language educational programs.