Untitled

saxelmwifo enis swavlebis sakiTxebi:
problemebi da gamowvevebi
Issues of State Language Teaching;
Problems and Challenges
lary with context: though the lexical units are visualized, but they often need to be connected with the central
text.
Grammatical Material, Given in the Textbooks
It is appreciated that in the textbooks to be examined, the grammar rules are not given verbally and the
textbooks are not overcharged with grammatical terminology (different levels are slightly different from this
point of view). In the textbook grammar material is given systematically in grammatical framework, mostly as
paradigms of conjugation of verb forms, though in this moment maybe it is not necessary in reality (e.g..
„TavTavi“ 1, 2005, p. 17, „TavTavi“ 2, 2006, p. 37, „TavTavi“ 3, 2007, p. 49). As for the structure of grammatical
frameworks, the frames are not built proportionally. In some cases the grammar box is overloaded
with different information, but in some boxes there is given paradigm of only one verb.
In the textbook grammar rules are not introduced so that the student could easily determine/discover a
grammar rule (that is one of the main principles of communicative approach 1 ). We can meet the example of
use of this principle only in several cases. Though the rules are proposed in non-verbal, schematic shape, with
their function they are more deductive-theoretical than inductive-empirical. We often meet paradigms of verb
conjugation, that pushes student and teacher to teach and learn by rote.
Though the learned grammatical material is repeated in the following parts of the textbook, this seems to
have more a function of recalling and fixing of the past material, than that of cyclic repetition, where on the
basis of easy past material more complicated superstructures are introduced.
Types and Kinds of Exercises
In the textbooks of different levels of the “Tavtavi” set the exercises are distributed according to different
principles. This contradicts with the principle of coherence and makes difficulties to the students from the
point of view of use of obtained skills. In particular, together with increase of the level of the textbook, decreases
the amount of the exercises in the students’ books. If in the first level student’s book there are may
exercises, there are few in the second level student’s book. In the third “Tavtavi” absolutely all the exercises
are only in the workbook.
The indications of the exercises, given in the textbook in the most cases are to be specified and
concretized. E.g., in the Student’s book of the first level of “Tavtavi” in one of the indication („Tavtavi“2,
2006, p. 51) “Make similar congratulation card” – it is to be concretized: to whom, from where, etc. … Moreover,
in the indication are used grammatical terms and vocabulary, which are not given in the student’s book
at all, so the student will not understand what to do and will not make the exercise independently. E.g., the
term “pronoun” is not introduced in the student’s book, so, we have to make the student understand which
word he/she has to put in in this given exercise using the example. („Tavtavi” 1, Workbook, p.9, № 21). Quite
a big amount of the exercises have not such examples, and because of this the tasks and conditions of the
workbook exercises are not clear for students and it is desirable to facilitate them. The exercises for developing
four skills of the speech (listening, reading, speaking and writing) are distributed without proportion.
There are not any listening exercises in reality: listening is identified with reading, as the exercises of “listening”
are introduced in printed form and it is the teacher, who has to read them, or they are recorded on the
discs (Let’s Learn Georgian Language), that is in contradiction with the format of the listening exercises.
The text of a listening exercise is to be introduced in audio form indeed. If we have the same text in printed
version in the same exercise, it cannot be considered as an audio text/exercise, as it does not develop listening
skill if read in parallel regime, or even as a text, read by a teacher, and moreover, if the teacher is not a Georgian
language speaker. And also, authentic recordings are accompanied with many extra elements (in particular,
intonation, mood of the speakers, noises of the situation, etc.) that facilitates understanding of the contents
during listening, and that cannot be completed by the text and dialogue, reproduced by the teacher.
The reading exercises, given in the textbook do not contribute much to development of reading skill, as the
questions at the end of the text, connected with the contents serve for checking of understanding of the contents
of the read material, and not developing of the reading skills. For this purpose it is necessary to make
exercises for developing global, selective and detailed reading skills and teaching of reading strategies). It is
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