Abstract:

The article is devoted to the system of additional foreign-language education (AFLE) of linguistically gifted school students. Here pupils are familiarized with humanitarian culture.

Today as the analysis of pedagogical literature and general education practice shows a sufficient experience of teaching gifted school students was accumulated. At the same time there are unresolved questions of how teaching linguistically gifted school students a foreign language (FL) has to be organized so that it satisfied their requirements. There is also a question what role AFLE of school students should play in this process.

The objective of the research: what scientific principles and technologies are necessary for the formation of linguistically gifted school students’ humanitarian culture in the conditions of AFLE.

The questions of the research:
1. To specify the theoretical bases of the formation of pupils’ humanitarian culture in the context of AFLE.
2. To determine the basic principles, the pedagogical conditions and the main characteristics of the methodological control of linguistically gifted pupils in the course of their studying a FL in the system of AFLE.
3. To test experimentally the program for linguistically gifted school students "Travelling around English-Speaking Countries" and two elective courses "The Russian and the English speech etiquette: the similarities and distinctions", "The humanistic tendencies in the English and American literature", which promoted the formation of their humanitarian culture in the educational environment of AFLE.

For the confirmation of the hypotheses we used the following methods and tools of the research: analytical methods of a research (the theoretical analysis of philosophical, pedagogical, methodological literature on the problem of the research, the analysis of statistical data), sociometric methods of a research (questionnaires, tests, a poll, an interview, an expert assessment). The methods of the observation (direct and indirect observations), the methods of mathematical statistics were of great importance too.

In our opinion, AFLE of school students is of great value as a teacher of a FL can practice the use of the main psychologically focused models of training a FL at school. In this case the contents and the forms of school language education, and AFLE in particular, will correspond to the child’s psychology, his rights and interests.

On the basis of the analysis of theoretical and methodological literature we developed the concept of the formation of linguistically gifted school students’ humanitarian culture in the course of teaching them in the system of AFLE.

The analysis of the results of the skilled and experimental work allowed us to establish that the suggested pedagogical terms, forms, methods, means and technologies of the implementation of the experimental program and the elective courses considerably increased school students’ interest in culture, history, literature of the countries of the target language. The pupils’ horizon was broadened considerably thanks to reading the works of the English and American literature. The school students’ communicative skills were created.

Many humanitarian and strong-willed qualities were developed that was shown in their personally significant products. In general the level of the formation of all the components of school students’ humanitarian culture increased.

Keywords:

Additional foreign-language education, linguistically gifted school students, a foreign language.