Creating a foreign language environment by organizing extracurricular activities in a non-linguistic university as one of the ways of implementing Stephen Krashen’s natural approach to foreign language acquisition

Abstract

The relevance of the study is predetermined by the insufficiency of the number of foreign language classes in a non-language university for the effective acquiring of communicative competences by students and the fulfillment of educational and profession orientation goals in the classroom. Our hypothesis is that the creation of a language environment by organizing extracurricular activities of cultural, educational and professional value is an effective way of organizing the learning process, corresponding to the theory of natural language acquisition by «exposure to comprehensibleand compelling input». The aim of the study is to describe a model of organizing such a language environment and its advantages in the framework of Stephen Krashen's hypotheses. In our research we use the methods of monitoring, literature analysis, synthesis and deduction. As a result of our work, we have come to the conclusion that a diverse language environment created by organizing various additional activities is an excellent means of forming communicative competences of students throughout the period of study at the university, it contributes to the formation of professional motivation and background knowledge, as well as to the upbringing of a citizen who is not only proud of his country but is also able to present it decently at the international level.

Keywords

• stephen krashen's natural method
• comprehensible input
• language environment
• non-language university
• foreign language acquisition
• professionally-oriented learning
• extracurricular activities
• cooperative educational methods
• professional foreign language competence