The research activity of the Department of Practice of Oral and Written English

The research activity of the department is carried out within the topic "The Problems of Functioning, Development and Interaction of the English and Slavic Languages in Comparative, Cognitive and Methodological Aspects" (registration number 0122U201699, 14/12/2022). The research findings are published in scholarly articles in Ukrainian and foreign academic journals as well as presented by our professors and lecturers at international and all-Ukrainian scientific conferences, forums and seminars. The practical value of the research lies in the fact that its results can be used in teaching Comparative Typology of Ukrainian and English, Literary Theory, British and American Literature, Country Studies, Linguistic and Cultural Studies, Translation Studies, Cognitive Linguistics, Lexicology, Onomastics, and Foreign Language Teaching Methods at higher education institutions as well as in teaching English at school.

Main Areas of Research

Cognitive Linguistics

The conceptual features and the structure of the concept GRADATION were defined; for the first time the cognitive correlation between gradation and gradability was substantiated; cognitive metaphors that underlie metaphorical verbalization of INTENSITY as an element of the concept DESIRE in modern English and American fiction were revealed; ways of representing the author’s individual segment of the concept MAN in F. Scott Fitzgerlad’s works were identified; the symbolic and metaphorical correlations between the concepts WEATHER and MAN in Emily Bronte’s novel “Wuthering Heights” were established. The conceptual features and structure of the concepts FACIAL EXPRESSION and NATURAL DISASTER were also defined (based on lexicographic and media sources).

Comparative Linguistics and Translation Studies

The research in the field of comparative linguistics made it possible to outline some ways and mechanisms of the interaction of the English and Slavic languages, particularly in the sphere of lexical borrowings (e. g. in youth slang, gaming slang and film terminology). A comparative analysis of some English and Ukrainian idioms showed the difference in the productivity level of some phraseological components that is determined by various historical, social and cultural factors. The effective ways of conveying the meanings of culturally marked vocabulary in translation were also identified and described.

Onomastics

Motivation types of the names of the UK TV shows, nicknames for the US cities, towns and states as well as university sports teams and specifics of derivation and motivation of some brand names were identified. Special features of the use of onyms (proper names) in the works of some British authors were identified and described.

Literary Studies

The comparative literary studies gave an opportunity to identify common and distinctive features of English and Ukrainian literature on a genre and style level, as well as motifs and imagery of literary works. Vivid analogies were first drawn between the interpretations of the popular baroque motif of the illusiveness and vanity of human life in 17th-century English and Ukrainian poetry. The common and distinctive features of the themes and imagery of 20th-century British and Slavic dystopian prose were also identified and described.

Foreign Language Teaching Methods

The studies in the field of foreign language teaching methods helped to find effective ways of using the Internet for independent learning activities of the students who major in linguistics; to identify the main strategies for overcoming difficulties in the process of developing the students’ dialogic communication skills; to devise methods of using documentaries as an audiovisual aid when teaching English as a foreign language. The ways of forming students’ sociocultural competence and soft skills, as well as the ways of using language coaching were also outlined.

The coursebooks and guidelines, written and compiled by the lecturers of the department, are now widely used in teaching such courses as Practice of Oral and Written English, English as a Second Foreign Language, Theoretical English Grammar, Country Studies etc.

The results of the research can be used at higher and secondary education institutions; they can also be applied to further studies in the field of foreign language teaching methods and can provide a basis for writing textbooks, workbooks and guidelines for students’ independent study.