Irina M. Rumyantseva Psychology of Language and Language Teaching

Irina M. Rumyantseva

Psychology of Language and Language Teaching

This book shares the author’s long time experience in teaching foreign languages by a special psycholinguistic method, which unlocks the whole mental and creative potential of a personality and facilitates absorption of a large amount of language material most effectively, in a short period of time and in a light, interesting and easy manner.

This method is based on the author’s psycholinguistic and psychological research, revealing language and speech mechanisms, and combines the achievements of linguistics, psychology and pedagogy. It can be effectively adopted for the work with adults, adolescents and children.

The results of the method seem incredible: in less than 100 hours (12 hours per week, 8 weeks) students manage to learn 3–5 thousand words and the whole normative Grammar starting as beginners.

At the basis of this innovative method lies the author’s integrative theory of speech, according to which speech is described from different angles. Taking into consideration that speech means language in action and that is not only a linguistic code but also a psychic and brain process, a special human activity and behavior, the author offers for the purpose of language acquisition and teaching a special psycholinguistic training (Integrative Linguistic & Psychological Training – ILPT).

This training involves a system of exercises and games which help to unblock emotions and feelings; to stimulate cognitive processes (perception, attention, memory, thinking, imagination); to relieve mental tension and overcome communicative barriers; to develop a better understanding of oneself and other people; to muster all means of interpersonal communication (mime, gesture, pose, intonation); and, finally, to create possibilities for self-expression in a foreign language.

To tap all the reserves of a personality, hidden in unrealized mental activity, the author uses as the basis of this training different interdisciplinary approaches: psychogymnastics, music and art therapy, drama techniques, literature and even dance.

The author believes that the harmony of music and rhyme, of colors and forms, of feelings and emotions, can find a shorter way to a human heart and mind than the logic of facts, reasons and rules.

A variety of games and exercises, which stimulate and develop linguistic, brain and psychic processes are shared with the reader in this book. That is why the book might be of interest to all enthusiasts of language study: to teachers, linguists and psychologists.

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