In the dissertation, a theoretical analysis of the problem is carried out and a new solution to scientific task is proposed, which consists in the theoretical justification of didactic conditions of development of creative thinking of primary schoolchildren and examination of the corresponding techniques that contribute to the effectiveness of this process.
It is defined that “creative thinking” is a complex process of intellectual and creative activity, formation of creative abilities of an individual based on positive motivation, the availability of knowledge in a certain area, the ability of their creative application in practice.
The most favorable age for the development of creative thinking is primary school age because motivation to studying is being developed, the development of steady cognitive needs and interests, productive techniques and skills of educational work, “ability to learn”, self-control, self-organization and self-regulation, formation of adequate self-appraisal, development of criticality in relation to oneself and others, and suchlike are being developed. Accordingly, the development of creative thinking of primary schoolchildren is deemed as a complex and dynamic process of intellectual-creative activities, the formation of creative abilities of pupils based on positive motivation, the availability of knowledge in a certain sphere, ability to find original solutions to problems and to form new relationships as a result of their creative practice particularly during the studying of foreign languages.
The knowledge of a foreign language for children is a kind of “bridge” to open the world, Europe on different levels: social, cultural, cross-cultural etc. At an early stage of learning a foreign language, the child forms the basic language and communication skills are formed through the comparison of the facts of the two languages, you create the language picture of the world separately for each language, forming a multi-dimensional and multi-level thinking as an abstraction from specific language, the possibility of seeing the world through the prism of each language. Therefore, learning of foreign language in primary school these days is not a process of transfer and updating of knowledge, but the process of the pupil’s all-round development, development of abilities to think creatively, the formation of a critical outlook, which enables even young pupil to communicate a foreign language with their peers without the fear.
To determine the actual condition of creative thinking development of primary school pupils, as well as the effectiveness of the pedagogical process, which ensures its effective changes, the components were defined (aim-motivational, cognitive, practical-activity), criteria (emotional-motivational, informational-educational, procedural-behavioral), indicators of their manifestations and levels (high, average, elementary) of formation of this phenomenon in the process of learning foreign languages.
Didactic conditions of primary schoolchildren creative thinking development in the process of foreign languages learning are: the formation of primary children motivation to learning and urge for successful educational activities by raising interest and creating situations of success; broadening and deepening the theoretical knowledge background of primary schoolchildren in the process of learning a foreign language by means of gaming exercises of creative direction; organization of educational-developing environment of manifestation of creative abilities of primary schoolchildren in creative learning and play activities during learning a foreign language.
Gaming exercises are presented in the dissertation, which ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of the didactic conditions of primary schoolchildren creative thinking development in the process of learning foreign languages and experimentally test the method of their implementation.
The effectiveness of the developed didactic conditions according to the data of the control stage of the research, where the effectiveness of the proposed gaming exercises is proved. Conducted quantitative, qualitative, and statistical analyses discovered a changing tendency of all components of the effectiveness of introducing methods of creative thinking of elementary school experimental groups in the process of learning foreign languages. The obtained results can be used for developing courses, writing study guides and methodological recommendations for creative development of a schoolchild, as well as a basis for updating the content of the State standard of primary education.
Key words: didactic conditions, gaming exercises, the learning process of foreign languages, development of creative thinking, primary schoolchildren.
