Language reflection as means of developing critical thinking when studying German after English

Dubko Iryna

The article is devoted to the idea of using the language reflection as a mean of the development of critical thinking when studying German after English at secondary general educational school. The article is devoted to the idea of using the language reflection as a mean of the development of critical thinking when studying German after English at secondary general educational school. Analyzing L. S. Vygotsky's concept of thinking and speech, the basics of creating cognitive foundations when learning a second foreign language are considered, according to which, the conscious language acquisition is fundamental. The cognitive principles of learning a second foreign language – German after English are studied, namely: the principle of cognitive - intellectual orientation when studying a second foreign language, the principle of rational combination of conscious and unconscious, the principle of taking into account artificial subordinative trilingualism. The latter makes it possible to use similar linguistic phenomena in the first and second foreign languages, methods of comparison, analysis effectively. When learning a second foreign language, reflexive activity contributes to the conscious acquisition of the foreign language skills and abilities. It is demonstrated that the use of language reflection is especially advisable when teaching and learning a second foreign language, in particular German after English. Language reflection conduces to the formation of skills and the development of the ability to compare linguistic phenomena in the first, second and native languages, respectively, thereby develops critical thinking.

Keywords:Critical thinking; language reflection; second foreign language.