Стаття на тему: Гра як засіб формування іншомовної комунікативної компетенції.Game as a means of developing foreign language communicative competence.

Game as a means of developing foreign language communicative competence.

The problem of forming a communicative-oriented approach to the development of English communicative competence through games remains in the centre of attention.

     The development of children's foreign language communication skills involves their achievement of a level of communicative competence that is sufficient for communication in the process of listening and speaking. The only way to develop children's cognitive motives and interest in learning English is to make these motives and interests playful, as play is the most important activity at this age. Research has shown that every English lesson can be made interesting, exciting and desirable for a child if it is conducted in the form of a didactic role-playing game.

   Many scholars have highlighted the importance of games for the development of pupils' communicative competence, but the problem of taking into account the methodology of using games in English lessons has not been thoroughly considered.

      Coverage of the topic: formation of students‘ communicative competence through games; education and training of students in the process of game activities and revealing the importance of using game methods in English lessons for the harmonious and full development of students’ personality; enrichment of intellectual, moral, volitional and social spheres in the process of mastering the basics of foreign language communication.

     One of the most important achievements of modern communicative linguistics is the notion that the success of speech communication is fully determined by the ability of communicators to organise their behaviour (speech and non-speech) adequately to the communication task. This ability is defined by methodologists and linguists as communicative competence. Its formation is a priority task of communicative approaches in foreign language teaching.

     Communicative competence is integrated in its content and consists of three main types of competences:

- language competence;

- linguistic competence;

- sociocultural competence.

In turn, these competences also include a number of competences. The development of preschool children's communicative competence is carried out through playful activities. A game is a type of activity that consists in the emotional development of a person's social experience and emotional satisfaction. Games have the character of entertainment and allow to relax.

     The process of teaching English should be a means of socialising the child, helping to unlock his or her personal potential, taking into account individual characteristics. The language is learnt through children's personal activities. Each lesson is structured as a playful communication between the teacher and students. This contributes to the development and education of children, the formation and realisation of experience and mental qualities in the process of learning English. The communicative approach to teaching e involves both learning the rules and their practical use, both consciously and subconsciously in speech. The communicative approach to teaching English is implemented naturally through children's speech activities in games.

                   Classification of English language games

     Didactic games based on the elementary vocabulary of children's communication are the leading method and means of teaching and exercising in English lessons in educational institutions. In particular, the following types of games are used: linguistic (phonetic - to develop skills of correct foreign language pronunciation; lexical and grammatical - to master vocabulary and grammatical structures);language - to form and develop elementary listening and speaking skills; communicative - to develop communication skills. The use of games in the organisation of communication contributes to the fulfilment of important methodological tasks:

- creating students' psychological readiness for foreign language communication;

- ensuring the natural need for repeated repetition of speech material;

- training in choosing the right speech pattern, which is preparation for situational spontaneity of communication.

  When organising games in English lessons, teachers face the challenge of how to organise the work in such a way as to develop activity and organisational skills in each student, to make the lesson interesting and dynamic.

       A series of creative exercises aimed at developing lexical and grammatical skills, expanding students' active and passive vocabularies will help them to quickly learn the necessary learning material.

Thus, a game is an essential part of an English lesson:

a) helps to quickly learn the material;

b) it helps to avoid children's fatigue and contributes to the solid acquisition of language material in an atmosphere as close to real life as possible;

 c) creates learning and speaking situations in which speech skills and abilities are taken into account.

     The game is always specific and corresponds to the developmental level of the students. The interest it arouses creates an inhibition zone for everything outside of it, meaning that the learner concentrates on the subject of the game - learning English - to the maximum, without effort. The methodology of teaching English at the elementary level involves a ‘direct’ method based on imitation, and the main tool is the game. In English lessons, the linguistic content of the game is of particular importance, but gestures and facial expressions are also important. Thus, the game as a situational exercise allows for repeated repetition of a speech pattern in conditions as close as possible to real communication with its inherent features - purposefulness of speech and spontaneity.

At the initial stage of learning, Practice Comands are commonly used - the teacher gives commands that the students have to follow. Listen and Match is also often used, when students have to look at an illustration and find the corresponding phrases and words. Another effective form of work is Practice Vocabulary - the teacher uses cards as a visual aid. The task of the children is to fulfil the teacher's request. All these types of work are effective in teaching listening. Accordingly, all exercises and tasks should be communicatively justified.

 An important characteristic of the communicative approach is the use of authentic materials, i.e. those that are actually used in speech. From the very beginning, language interaction is carried out in a variety of forms: in pairs, triads, small groups, with the whole group.

       Game activities in English lessons undoubtedly contribute to the effectiveness of communicative competence development. It is worth noting that games allow you to organise purposeful speech activities of students, providing training and activation of skills and abilities of monologue and dialogue speech, various types of interaction between communication partners. During the game, the child unconsciously, without stress, learns and retains a lot of information. The game creates conditions where foreign words are learned involuntarily through frequent repetition. It should be interesting, simple, lively, and rich in lexical, grammatical and phonetic elements.

      Thus, based on the above, we can conclude that the game is an important component of the formation of students' communicative competence, while at the same time it educates and develops the personality, activates positive character traits and manifestations of universal moral qualities in the learning process.