The purpose of this study is to describe the current foreign language (FL) assessment and feedback practices as reported by 213 experienced primary teachers in Slovenia and Spain. An ad hoc questionnaire was designed, validated and administered to 113 Slovenian and 100 Spanish teachers. The data were collected and analysed with the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Among the most relevant findings, it is noteworthy that Spanish teachers focus on providing feedback on receptive skills while their Slovenian colleagues pay more attention to productive skills. Also, results from both groups reveal a lack of FL pronunciation feedback and scarce attention to interactive aspects of communication.

This study examines the issue of student essay writing in higher education. The main focus of this research is on the lecturers and writing tutors who wish to help undergraduates in learning foreign languages as well as to enable them to bring improvement in their essay writing skills. Essay writing is critical to academic success; usually, an essay is a piece of writing that systematically analyzes and evaluates a topic or issue. Mind mapping is one of the versatile tools that help to break down the topics into manageable chunks, fire up the brain, and boost creativity. This study focuses on how mind mapping was effectively used as a strategy to support and develop students’ writing skills. The data required for this study was collected through a questionnaire and analyzed with the primary purpose to evaluate the use of mind maps as a pre-writing brainstorming strategy. The statistical techniques used to determine the role of mind mapping in the enhancement of writing skills include one-way ANOVA, Chi-Square test, and Correlation Analysis. The findings of the statistical analysis confirmed that planning an essay before writing with the use of the mind mapping technique helped in writing essays more effectively in their coursework, thereby making essay writing more enjoyable and fun.

The article focuses on one of the trends in modern language education, i.e. the plurilingual approach towards language teaching, since one of the important components of IBA managers’ professional competence is their ability to function and communicate in a foreign language environment successfully. Modern high-grade professional training for IBA managers and principles of plurilingual education require research into the problem of the formation of IBA managers’ professional plurilingual competence, which presupposes extension of the linguistic repertoire of students. On the basis of a questionnaire survey it was identified that the plurilingual repertoire of the students qualifying in International Business Activities includes the Russian, Ukrainian, English, and German (or French) languages. Besides, specific features of professional plurilingual competence of IBA managers are also identified, which can be used in further research to elaborate effective methods for professional plurilingual competence formation.

Edukację wyższą w zakresie prawa w Finlandii i Szwecji poddano analizie na przykładzie wiodących uniwersytetów. Wybór uczelni do badań oparty został na światowych rankingach oraz dostępności nauczania języków obcych na studiach magisterskich na kierunku prawo. Zidentyfikowano główne cechy charakterystyczne nauczania przyszłych prawników w zakresie języków obcych w Europie Północnej.

The article describes features in the developing of foreign language communicative competence by using interactive teaching methods. The directions of developing the students’ foreign language communicative competence are determined. Experimentation on skills in the development of this competence was carried out on the basis of interaction between participants. A comparative analysis of the results in experimental and control groups is proposed. The scientific novelty of the article is that it describes the effectiveness of the experience of using cooperation technology and the online platform Technology Entertainment Design in the developing of foreign language communicative competence of students.

Autobiographical narrative written by the students of the Faculty of Philology of the University of Wroclaw

The aim of the article is to show the possibility of using the idea of autobiographical narrative in the process of learning a foreign language. The article is composed of two parts, the former presenting the theoretical background of autobiographical narratives in the light of latest glottodidactic literature, the latter presenting the results of the author’s autobiographical narrative research conducted in the year 2012 amongst the students of Classical and Mediterranean Philologies of Wroclaw University (Institute of Classical Studies). The writing of this article was inspired by the published work of Dorota Werbinska22 and her study conducted amongst the students of English Philology as well as the students of non-philological fields of study like managerial studies and elementary education with English. The main objective of the article is to show the possibility of using the autobiographical study in the more effective process of teaching foreign languages.

Global research studies on distance education in foreign language learning focus primarily on secondary schools or higher education. The paper examines primary school foreign language teachers’ (n=119) perceptions of distance teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to face-to-face education. The purpose of the study was to investigate the quality, achieved learning outcomes, advantages and obstacles faced by FL teachers in remote teaching. Based on the e-questionnaire, our study indicated that distance FL teaching was more challenging and stressful than classroom teaching because primary school students were not responsive to technology and needed parental guidance. Primary school students rely on cognitive and socio-emotional support from the FL teacher.

The article contains the overview of research on the beliefs of pre-school and primary school teachers (n = 100) about developing the plurilingual competence in children. Research shows that the teachers highly appreciate the scientific, practical and motivational values of developing the plurilingual competence, but they lack knowledge about the teaching methods and tools and organizational forms that can be used for the development of plurilingual competence in the early stages of education. When discussing the results I analyze i.a. (a) the reasons for not taking actions aimed at the development of individual plurilingualism indicated by the respondents and (b) the actions taken declaratory by the respondents in the context of the objectives of plurilingual education.

The article deals with issues related to the methodological problems of organising training in translation from a foreign language into a native language by the 1st-2nd year students. At the same time, teaching methods improvement is an everyday task of the Foreign Languages Department of natural history faculties and the teaching staff for developing science in modern society. Modern understanding of language opens new perspectives for studying the relationship between languages and the possibility of translation. Teaching foreign languages for non-language specialities in domestic pedagogical institutions of higher education shows that despite the general recognition of the need to develop communicative orientation in foreign language teaching, teachers’ focus is to develop students’ skills for reading and professional literature translation. This orientation of education does not contribute enough to students’ mastery of professionally- oriented communication. At present, the problem of improving the quality of higher education, which guarantees professional training quality and translator competitiveness in the domestic and foreign labour markets, is becoming increasingly important and is one of the main tasks of our time. Modern socio-economic conditions in the world community require educational institutions to develop a clear account of the social order mechanism for a graduate. The implementation level of this social order determines the quality and specialist training competitiveness. Nowadays, there is a powerful communicative shift in the planet’s geolinguistic situation, as a result of which English has acquired the status of the international communication language. Proficiency in English at the present stage of social development is a necessary condition for any individual’s entry into the global communicative space. This statement also applies to the competitive, creative, modern technical translator.

To the Problem of Formation of Grammar Compence of Future Foreign Language Teachers

The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the formation of grammar competence of future foreign language teachers. The article describes the methodical integrity of the future foreign language teacher through the prism of forming vocationally oriented grammatical skills. On the basis of the analysis of the peculiarities of vocationally oriented grammatical competence of future foreign language teachers and the goals that the teacher realizes in the process of its formation, methodical grammatical skills and competences that the future foreign language teachers must master for effective professional and methodical competence of students’ competence are determined. The authors of the article interpret grammatical skills as the ability to understand and express meaning (meaning), to generate and recognize phrases that are built on certain principles, not to memorize and reproduce them as ready-made formulas. The article also emphasized that the acquisition of grammar material by future foreign language teachers should be fully conscious, as it is a high final level of command of a foreign language. After all, the high level of formation of vocationally oriented foreign language grammatical competence in future foreign language teachers is a necessary prerequisite for the implementation of foreign language communication activities, professional and professional-methodical in particular, and scientists, in turn, substantiate and propose teaching methods. The article determines that successful grammar development is ensured by the creation of a poly sensor environment: the use of graphic, sound, verbal and non-verbal means. Learning grammar is impossible without taking into account the principle of system. Mastering grammar as a system contributes to the mental development of future educators and achieves high results in the performance of grammar tests and complex tasks. The perception of information through different channels allows you to successfully master grammatical knowledge, skills and abilities.

The article deals with different attitudes parents have toward learning foreign languages in primary school. The main goal of the research was to determine the attitudes of parents towards learning foreign languages and whether there is a difference in their opinions depending on their level of education. The research was conducted on a group of parents of ninth-grade pupils attending Slovene primary schools (N = 200). Based on the results of our study, we found that the attitudes of parents towards learning foreign languages are fairly positive. A detailed analysis of the results, however, shows that there are differences in the attitudes of parents depending on the level of their education. Higher educated parents are more inclined to support learning foreign languages than parents with a lower level of education.

he purpose of the article is to analyze the content of professional and practical training of future specialists on the example of teacher training in specialty 014 “Secondary education. English language and foreign literature” of Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University. A review of the scientific literature was carried out, which shows that many scientists were engaged in the study of the problem of training a philology teacher in Ukraine. The interpretation of the concepts “training”, “teacher training”, “professional training of a philology teacher”, “professional training of a foreign language teacher” by various scientists was analyzed. The concept of “teacher of philological specialties” is analyzed. The definition of the concept of “professional training of a philology teacher” is given. The concept of training a philology teacher in dual majors, training future teachers of humanities majors is analyzed. The article states that the training of future English language teachers consists of three cycles: general education, professional training and three types of pedagogical practice. In turn, the first two cycles are divided into two parts: educational disciplines of the normative and variable part. The article analyzes in detail the curriculum of specialty 014 “Secondary education. English language and foreign literature” for 2023/2024 academic year. In particular, the disciplines of general and professional training are indicated, the percentage of study time allocated to the study of educational disciplines of the normative and variable part of the cycle of professional training is calculated. A large list of elective subjects that students have the right to choose for their major is presented. A conclusion was made about the balanced professional and practical language training of philology teachers in Ukraine due to the successful distribution of study time for the study of the main philological and methodical disciplines. Optional educational disciplines in the variable part significantly enrich the curriculum and, accordingly, contribute to positive dynamics in the knowledge of students of higher education in specialty 014 “Secondary education. English language and foreign literature”. The analysis of the curriculum for the training of teachers of English language and foreign literature confirmed thorough training in general and special philological disciplines.

Research and educational project “Ukrainian Teaching Materials 2022” for Wrocław’s pre- and early school education – a presentation of survey results

Alongside the tragic consequences of the armed conflict, the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022 resulted in an upheaval within the educational system in Poland. This situation posed challenges for Ukrainian children arriving in Poland as well as for teachers and students in educational institutions where refugee children were being admitted without restrictions. The author’s research and educational project “Ukrainian Teaching Materials 2022” for Wrocław’s pre – and early school education in 2022 aimed to support the development of language skills among refugee children in their native language and in Polish, and to support preschool and early school teachers in this endeavour by providing them with appropriately prepared methodological packages. A diagnostic survey identified teachers’ needs regarding methodological materials. At the same time, a follow-up focus group interview conducted 30–40 days later presented teachers’ reflections and experiences in teaching in linguistically and culturally diverse groups during the initial period of the war migration. The project was also aimed to raise awareness among teachers and to cultivate an open attitude towards using bilingual and Ukrainian-language materials in working with children with war migration experience. Due to the collected extensive research material, the research findings were divided into two parts: the first part presents the theoretical and methodological context of the project as well as the results of the survey. In contrast, the second part presents the results of the focus group research and discussion based on the literature review.