RU
The Ozhegov Explanatory Dictionary defines the concept of LITERATE as:
1. Able to read and write, as well as be able to write grammatically correctly, without errors.
2. Having the necessary knowledge of information in some form.
Literacy development is a laborious and endless process. It requires a person’s willpower and a huge amount of effort. So, what is the power of literacy and why is it important to improve it?
Literacy develops thinking and improves your information processing skills, allowing people to understand materials and collaborate more effectively with others. It is the ability to express your thoughts clearly and accurately, both on paper and verbally.
Of course, this is exactly what you need to start learning at school. How can we, as teachers, make it easier for students to help them master new, often difficult, Russian language material and become more literate step by step?
It is important to keep in mind that all children are “kinaesthetic” from birth – they learn from touching and feeling, being at one with the material. However, textbooks are designed only for a visual aspect and the oral explanation of the material occurs when the teacher is talking about what is within the text. Therefore, the teacher must take into account the peculiarities of the child’s development and involve all three channels of information to reach and encourage all learners.
There are several amazing techniques aimed at developing literacy. One of them belongs to Peter Totsky (“Spelling Without Rules”). It is based on the theory of D.I. Tikhomirov: “If you want your child to write correctly, make him read as it is written, and do not be afraid that he will speak the same way, because children understand that we do not speak the way we write.”
For example, take the phrase “стоит в накрахмаленном платье“. The first word should be pronounced according to the spelling, pronouncing each letter clearly. Next comes the preposition “в“. All prepositions, conjunctions and articles are pronounced as separate words. The word “накрахмаленном” has a special pronunciation feature: it is necessary to pronounce the two “н”’s clearly and not as one long “н”, as it should be according to orthoepical rules. In the word “платье”, the “е” at the end should be pronounced distinctly. Then, repeat the phrase three times after the teacher.
Another technique belongs to Viktor Shatalov. It is about teaching the Russian language using reference signals and circuits. The means of visualisation are: a diagram, a drawing, a cryptogram containing educational information necessary for long-term memorisation, designed according to the rules of mnemonics.
What does this do for the student?
1. Teaches students to be logical in their presentation, forms an oral response from the student.
2. Different types of memory are involved.
3. A variety of forms of work during the lesson.
4. The use of the methodology as an ongoing basis, creates conditions for the psychological comfort of the student.
What about the methodology of the immersive approach? A “laptop” is an “accumulated book” or thematic interactive folder, a collection of small books with pockets and windows that make it possible to place information in the form of drawings, small texts, diagrams and graphs in any form and on any topic. The process of creating a “laptop” is infinitely fascinating, as the project turns out to be bright, voluminous and tangible. Visibility and the opportunity to be kinesthaetic with the material fascinates the student and helps him to memorise the material better. They want to plunge into this project again, return to the topic and complete new tasks, because the laptop can be filled with new cards endlessly.
The 5th grade students especially like the “Associative Story” technique, when they are faced with the task of combining all the exception words from the root spelling rule with the alternation of РАСТ/РАЩ/РОС into one story (rostovshchik, rostok, Rostislav, Rostov, otrasl, na vyrost). This allowed us to laugh heartily and remember the exceptions in just 5 minutes.
The methods presented above are used by our team of Russian language teachers at ISSPb. In this way, we try to engage our children in the learning process to better assimilate information, acquire skills and improve their literacy.
It is important for teachers to consider that students remember both the amazing and the funny.
Miss Nadezhda
Head of Russian
