"The perfection of the postgraduate education of the teacher of foreign languages on the basis of exchange of the practical and scientific-research work, setting up creative centre

The perfection of the postgraduate education of the teacher of foreign languages on the basis of exchange of the practical and scientific-research work, setting up creative centres of the specialists of the foreign language

Lyudmila Dumenko

Brovary Lyceum №5 named after V.Stus, Brovary, Kyiv region

Modeling a new educational and administrative system in Ukraine is impossible without mastering pedagogic science, acquisition, practice and development. 

The first European gymnasias emerged in the Renaissance and gained wide popularity in the central and eastern Europe in the 16^th century. In Ukraine the first classical schools appeared in 16^th century and were called `brotherhood schools`, but the content of education was similar to that of the gymnasia. One of the gymnasias, `The Gymnasia of Higher Science`, was opened in 1820 in Nizhyn, Chernihiv region. The founders of the gymnasia were the Bezborodko brothers. A special atmosphere of upbringing and learning predominated there and it was characterized by a peculiar model of management. The Gymnasia of Higher Sciences was aimed at bringing up a sound mind in a sound body, ethical habits of young people, ability to take prompt decisions in changing situations. Upbringing of such people requires the creation of a new theoretical and practical scheme of educational management. I can name one of them – specialized schools.

We use a learner centered approach in our Brovary Lyceum №5 named after V.Stus. The mission of the staff is to teach our pupils to fend for themselves, for their health, physical and intellectual development. We aim at creating conditions for the development and spiritual growth of our pupils for them to be open for changes and challenges our world faces them with.

To fulfill the set tasks we use everything we have: lessons, extra-curricular activities, relations established in the groups.

Our main goal is to meet the needs of the society and bringing up healthy, competent, socially adjusted and creative personalities. We should awake pupils` interest to the changing world, help to develop natural abilities and keep their life-long development.

We have a lot of tools in our gymnasia to sustain these principles. I`d like to mention the following ones: our teachers regularly undergo different professional, psychological, cultural and whatnot trainings. Our teachers are interested in new techniques and methods of teaching and learning foreign languages, they attend different workshops, seminars, master classes in the British Council, Kyiv. We have a special training course for young teachers to help them to be well-informed and be able to overcome possible difficulties. Our students have an excellent opportunity to be members of scientific groups and societies such as SMC (Scientific Methodological Complex) where our best teachers and a deputy head share their ideas and new technologies with them. They participate in different activities, the Festival of European languages being one of them.

We are more than happy that the British Council members conduct the seminars under the general title `Innovations in Foreign Language Teaching` for our teachers.

They help the school teachers of Brovary master innovative approaches and adjust to modern language teaching in accordance with the recommendation of the Council of Europe.

We are proud to have a foreign language methodological centre. Our school is the basic centre in Brovary an Kyiv region. We hold problem solving seminars concerning new approaches to education and upbringing.

In 2001-2002, we organized pupils` scientific society (primary centre SAS, a foreign philology section). It means that scientific supervisors of our students-researchers were the candidates of philological sciences, the lectures of the foreign languages faculty of Nizhyn State Pedagogical University, senior lectures S.I. Potapenko, L.S. Panova among them.

We have done a great deal of work to get our students interested in learning foreign languages. Among our achievements are collections of books in foreign languages and scientific- methodological materials, creation of the file-base on the PPE (progressive pedagogical experience), a video class.

Our students participate in different contests and Olympiads, competitions and festivals and always have good results. They take part in international programmers and conferences, for example, at present the students of our 10-B form, are active participants of an international UNESCO programmed and they are working out a joint project with their partner school from South African Republic. `Mondialogo School Contest 2003-2010` is the name of the project that pupils of the 9-A form are currently making in French together with the French embassy.

The students of the 9^th and 10^th forms of lyceum №5 regularly take part in the international contest FLEX; according to its result the winners live and study at schools in the USA. In 2015-2016 , the team of the pupils of our specialized school №5 took the first place in the third stage of the Ukrainian Olympiad in foreign languages showing excellent results.

Experience in the sphere of improvement of the system of the postgraduate courses for the teachers of foreign languages while exchanging practical and research ideas gives reasons to name the main factors for successful self-oriented administration of the work of the foreign languages department that are: ability to achieve results and wish to work hard; readiness to employ the open mode of administration that welcomes collaboration; capacity to predict the future and concentrate on the present; ability to notice the changes taking place within the school and beyond it; constant self-improvement; ability to make prompt decisions; professionalism; readiness for unexpected and swift alterations of the social surrounding.

We do aim at the further development of communicative skills using authentic sources.

We can`t work in a different way having a team of forty-two creative teachers who teach six foreign languages: English, German, Turkish, French, Spanish and Polish.

The SMB (scientific methodological society) plans, organizes, coordinates the work of the teachers of foreign languages.

Our aim is giving real help to teachers for them to be able to improve their mastery and advance their professional levels.

The foreign language department of our school successfully cooperates with the Ukrainian Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL Ukraine), the Ukrainian association of teachers of the French language, Peace Corps in Ukraine, the French Cultural Centre, the British Council, the German Cultural Centre – Greet Institute, the embassies and publishing houses, the faculty of foreign languages of Nizhyn State Gogol University (we signed a special document about educational-methodological cooperation with it), lyceums and gymnasiums from Kyiv and Kyiv region.

The pupils of our school continue improving their language skills attending societies, such as SAS (small academy of sciences), clubs such as `Across countries and continents`, `Find your friend` etc. and our theatrical studio `The Globe`.

The implementation of the above mentioned principles and activities in the work of our foreign languages department contributes to the positive image of our Brovary lyceum №5 named after V.Stus.

References

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