Multi-faceted Character of “Method” Concept in the Context of Foreign Language Acquisition

This article presents new insights into the conceptual interpretation of the term “method” in its application to the process of foreign language acquisition. The gap in this concept’s field-specific content has been revealed based on the comprehensive analysis of the “method” term understanding and utilization in language-related research fields. The authors analyze the linguistic, pedagogical, methodological, and socio-cultural aspects of “method” in their general abstract understanding and describe their content and the specific contribution of each aspect of communication in a foreign language classroom. The article presents the principles for implementing the above aspects, with special attention paid to the principle of truth, as a necessary condition of foreign language acquisition process leading to real learning. Also, from the previously established connection in linguistics between language and thinking, the authors derived the concept of a subject’s attachment to their native language, resulting in the need to observe and preserve the connection between the mother tongue and the foreign language being studied through educational activities related to translation. Therefore, the article provides an account of the four conceptual aspects of the term “method” used in research, focusing on how language is acquired, learned, and taught, as well as their general characteristics and implications. Describing these aspects’ semantic content in the context of foreign language acquisition, as well as the proposed principles of their realization, allows a deeper understanding of the “method” term’s field-specific meaning.

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