ANALYTICAL READING AS A WAY TO IMPROVE PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF EFL LEARNERS: LINGUISTIC ASPECTS & TEACHING METHODOLOGY

The article is devoted to the problem of linguostylistic analysis of English fiction and how it may help improve non-native learners’ reading skills and enhance professional competence of future linguists, translators, interpreters and specialists in cross-cultural communication. The authors highlight the fact that literary analysis in its broadest sense is any attempt to understand a literary text. Every time EFL students close a book in English and think about what they have read, they are performing some sort of literary analysis. An analytical approach to literature, both in the classroom and as a part of extracurriculum activities, presupposes the necessity to make careful observations and draw correct conclusions. It entails discovering patterns of meaning and becoming aware of the writer's intentions.

Literary analysis at the lessons of English is a way of learning more about how literary texts in a foreign language are structured. The more we learn about the art of writing, the more receptive and responsive we become as readers. The analytical approach also provides the vocabulary that students need to define and communicate their responses to literary texts. Certain important terminology should be introduced at the pre-reading stage in order for students to express and exchange opinions, e.g. setting, character, plot and point of view.

The empirical material of the article is J. Galsworthy's short story “The Apple Tree”, used by the authors in their own teaching practice to show undergraduate students how to reveal the style of the author, his writing manner and the attention he pays to even the tiniest details in the text.

Thanks to linguostylistic analysis, EFL learners develop analytical and interpreting skills, also their vocabulary is enriched, and they get acquainted with British and American literature and culture. Moreover, analyzing all parts of the text helps students understand the whole pragma-semantic spectrum of the text, thus developing a required communicative competence.