Abstract

Improvement of foreign language teaching in schools is a major political and social challenge in today’s globalized world. Transition to competence-based paradigm requires proficiency in new methodology, curriculum design and assessment techniques. The present article examines the specifics of the implementation of new Federal State Educational Standards (FSES) in the context of foreign language teaching in Russia. The purpose of the article is to describe the authors’ conception on achieving the Standards requirements in foreign language schooling. In the beginning, this paper highlights the reasons for prioritizing foreign language proficiency at school level and evaluates the situation with foreign language teaching in the Russian Federation. Further, the paper looks at the traditional roles of teachers in a teacher-centred classroom that is detrimental to the development of learners’ personality. The paper then goes on to present key innovative multi-facet roles of the foreign language teacher. The conceptual approach focuses on the prerequisites for the development of a new socio-educational environment and gives educators practical advice concerning the ways of successful transmuting the FSES requirements into foreign language teaching.

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