TEACHING EFL LEARNERS TO ANALYZE CONCEPTS: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES

This article is devoted to conceptual analysis as a means of interpreting concepts in the lessons of cognitive linguistics and analytical reading. The research is based on the authors’ own experience of teaching at the department of foreign languages at the pedagogical university. Concepts seem to have been thoroughly analyzed because of a great variety of methods. But still the problem of concepts is yet unsolved. As it has content, structure and image, a concept should be analyzed, considering all these three aspects and not only one of them. Therefore, the analysis requires methodology that would incorporate the ability to reveal versatility of concepts. According to linguistic research, there are plenty of methods for the analysis of concepts. But many of popular methods entail information from only one of the aspects. To avoid this problem, concepts should be regarded as a unity of content, structure and image. Conceptual analysis gives an opportunity to describe all three aspects of concepts. The goal of the article is to prove that elements of conceptual analysis should be taught in class to enhance non-native speaking students’ reading skills and make EFL learners aware of hidden cognitive mechanisms behind the processes of understanding the full semantic spectrum of authentic texts in English.