THE CONDITIONS FOR EDUCATING A TEACHER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR MODERN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of teaching the English language in primary school and the role of the teacher at the primary stage of education. The author makes an attempt at describing the qualities required of the teacher as regards their level of mastering the foreign language which is necessary at the primary stage, as well as the conditions of developing the necessary level of the future educator’s competence. The author of the article relies on the contents of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, whose six reference English levels are widely accepted as the global standard for grading an individual’s language proficiency, and on the traditions of the Ukrainian specialized school which are no less than sixty years old. The author insists on the necessity of developing a special understanding in the future teacher that would enable them to keep in mind the desirable final result of their effort in teaching the language at every stage of a pupil’s/student’s education. The writer of the article calculates the number of academic hours which are devoted to teaching the English language at every level in a traditional specialized school in Ukraine, names the titles of the modern authentic books which are used at specialized schools as recommended by the Ministry of Education in Ukraine (the data given are taken from the author’s own teaching experience). The conclusions are drawn as regards the pragmatic objectives and means of educating a future teacher of the English language for primary school, i. e. being thoroughly instructed about how to use authentic text-books in class. The article bears a surveying character and may be useful for teacher trainers and educators engaged in developing programmes for studying English at higher educational establishments in Ukraine, as well as ELTs and managers within all the educational establishments in this country.