THE MEANING OF REFLECTION (REFLECTION ON ACTION) WHILE DEVELOPING PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE ON THE BASIS OF THE TEXT BEING READ

The concept of lifelong learning in order a person remained competitive has been nowadays propagated in Lithuania. Thus a person should have developed the competence of ability to learn, what helps to realize the level of existing skills and to know the aspects that need to be improved. A person can adequately assess and establish the level of existing skills only when he has mastered the process of reflection (reflection on action). Reflection leads to a better learning and helps people to cope with the problems of lifelong learning in the knowledge-based society. During the process of education meaningful activity takes place only when a pupil adequately understands its benefit, demand and the springs of action. Reflection in the structure of action means the feedback about the singleness of the content and the actions. The step of the correction of actions goes only after the reflection on key activities. Thus, reflection is inevitable in order to achieve qualitative education.
Reflection on pupils’ activity is very important in Lithuanian education practice, because the very first investigations that prove the importance of this process are being accomplished now. Unfortunately, reflection is not being really applied during the process of education due to the lack of teachers’ skills or is being applied very superficially, without paying sufficient time, so positive changes do not occur. The article discusses the empirically verified and education process-based reflection patterns and its meaning, when primary school children develop their communicative competence on the basis of the text being read. During the process of reflection pupils control their learning by thinking and assessing their works according to the agreed attributes of succeeding in accomplishing certain activities; they also assess the current situation and spot the tendency of what, why and how should be improved. Several patterns of reflection, which draw attention to pupils’ cognitive abilities, promotion of motivation and positive attitude that made positive impact on the development of pupils’ communicative competence on the basis of the text being read, are presented in this publication. Reflection is being organized with the help of active expedient actions. During such kind of activity pupils receive lots of information; their language is being developed very actively. Learning of language is a purposeful activity. For such an activity it is important that this certain information were not only received, but also perceived and reflected on. For this reason linguistic activity comprises action and communication as a continuous process. For the participants of the activity it is important not only to exchange information, but also to implement the joint plan of the activity. During the process of linguistic activity the participants must understand each other. The quality of perception depends both on the understanding of goals and motives and emotional behavior. It is essential to raise specific targets and tasks in order qualitative mutual understanding appeared. When targets and tasks are being announced pupils are to envisage what they must learn during the lesson and what results they must achieve, also to compare and assess the gained result at the end of the lesson according to the start-up arrangements.