Shastova I. Formation of English Language Competence in Reading Skills of Primary Schoolchildren

The thesis focuses on the problem of forming competence in reading skills while teaching six-year-old schoolchildren. The research provides theoretical substantiation and practical elaboration of the methodology of forming competence in reading skills in English by means of Phonics. The theoretical, psychological, methodological, and didactic premises of forming competence in reading skills have been taken into account. The structure and content of the competence in teaching reading skills in English have been determined and developed. As a result of the research, some methods of teaching reading skills have been investigated and there was proved the relevance of teaching Phonics to six-year-old Ukrainian schoolchildren. Additionally, certain type of images has been selected for illustrating letters and words as two interviews confirmed that young learners prefer realistic images. A subsystem of exercises to form competence in reading skills has been substantiated and developed. The model of teaching primary schoolchildren within the subject “English as a Second Foreign Language” has been worked out. The effectiveness of the suggested methodology was verified and confirmed during the experimental teaching. Methodological recommendations concerning the formation of competence in reading skills have been developed.