Association Experiment as One of the Tools of Forming Secondary School Students’ Socio-Cultural Competence

By : Kravchenko Natalya Vladimirovna , Asoke Kumar Saha

Page No: 159-166

Abstract
The article is devoted to association experiment as one of the methods of forming secondary school students’ socio-cultural competence. An association experiment is thoroughly described as a method study in the present study. Its usage in psychology, psycholinguistics, ethno-psychology and methodology of teaching a foreign language is given. The author of the article widens its implementation in methodology of teaching a foreign language. The stages and the results of an association experiment “Russia as it’s viewed by Russian ninth graders” conducted by the writer are presented. These results are compared with the similar experiment, which has been conducted in Britain about Russia. During the experiment, the British name their associations with the word Russia and comment on them. At the end, it is offered to Russian students to compare and to analyze the results. The fact, that the students do the analyzing and explain the results themselves, helps them to understand better themselves and the other culture. As a result, it may help to build tolerance and understanding between those cultures. Thus, the present experiment may serve as a method of forming students’ socio-cultural competence.

Authors :
Kravchenko Natalya Vladimirovna : A teacher of English in Private Entrepreneur, Chusovoy Perm, Russia. 
Asoke Kumar Saha : Professor Chairman — Department of Psychology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh