TECHNIQUES FOR FORMING READING LITERACY AND TEXT-FORMING POTENTIAL OF CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

The article discusses issues related to teaching high school and university students critical reading in classes of “Foreign Language (English)”. The authors substantiate the need to develop skills of critical comprehension of what students read with the aim of further exchanging information with interlocutors and using the acquired skills in preparation for future professional activities. It seems that working with the text, which is an integral part of a modern foreign language lesson, should not be limited to monitoring the understanding of factual information and working on vocabulary and syntax. Each text should be considered as a source of knowledge about the real or imaginary world. The acquired knowledge, in turn, must be built into the system of views and values of students, forming their individual picture of the world as part of the individual’s idea of objective reality. This process would not be possible without understanding the nature of cause-and-effect relationships and mastering the linguistic means that actualize them. Developed skills of critical comprehension of the text and consistent presentation of readers’ own thoughts on the topic of the text will allow students to be successful in professional and everyday communication.