NEGATIVE ATTITUDES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS THAT STUDENTS DEVELOP IN THE PROCESS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND WAYS TO OVERCOME THEM

Abstract

This article speculates on the issues which are caused by negative and pseudo-positive attitudes and psychological barriers students in non-linguistic universities suffer from while acquiring foreign languages. The reasons why students have barriers in communicating in a foreign language are of a different nature and are related both to the personality of the student himself, his environment, the experience of learning the language and the immediate learning group in which he is located. Negative attitudes are formed gradually but have a strong adverse effect on the attitude to the subject, the motivation of students and the attitude towards themselves and their abilities. They lead to the fact that students lose interest in the subject and stop studying. Pseudo-positive attitudes also have a negative effect on students’ academic performance and progress. They consist in excessive confidence in their abilities. As a result, students do not improve their knowledge, skills and abilities in a foreign language. The task of the teacher is to timely notice the negative attitudes of students and use various methods to change them, replacing them with positive ones. This will help to return students’ interest in studying the subject by creating a positive experience.