Abstract:

The article deals with the issue of a foreign language teaching and learning. It discusses current issues regarding the optimization of a foreign language teaching process as well as the development of teaching materials based on cognitive structures such as frames and scripts.

Research methodology includes the analysis of academic literature, the comparison of Russian and English teaching materials, observation and generalization of pedagogical experience in teaching and learning English and Russian as foreign languages.
The paper analyzes both the process of foreign language learning and the content of a foreign language teaching materials from the frame theory angle with the aim to optimize representation forms of lexical and grammatical information.

The materials of the proposed research are Russian and English textbooks for foreigners.

The author proposes to consider foreign language learning as a process of modification of the learner’s cognitive data base. Notably, cognitive structures, which contain both knowledge about the world and verbal data, are modified. The modification depends on the leaner’s life and verbal experience.

The results of the research present a list of some optimal frame-based representation forms of lexical-grammatical materials. The author analyzes the different types of training texts and exercises in English and Russian textbooks for foreigners and sets out specific recommendations on how to represent necessary information to make the process of foreign language learning easier and more effective.

Keywords:

Foreign language teaching, cognitive structure, frame.