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81REFORMS IN THE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN UZBEKISTAN Akramova N.M.1, Sharipov M.S.2
1Akamova Nozima Muzaffarovna - Senior Teacher of English, DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING LANGUAGES, MANAGEMENT IN PRODUCTION FACULTY; 2Sharipov Muslimjon Salimjon ogli - Student,
POWER ENGINEERING FACULTY, FERGHANA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, FERGHANA, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: the article under discussion discusses the reforms in the system of higher education in Uzbekistan. Reforms included the implementation of the project aiming at the reforms of PRESETT and INSETT system of Uzbekistan. The project aimed at achieving lasting improvement in the standard of English language teaching in Uzbekistan. Keywords: higher education, reforms, CEFR, concept, universities, traditional, innovative, curricula, foreign languages teaching, modules, national standards, specialized, efficient.
The end of 1990's and beginning of 2000's marked a new era in foreign languages teaching in Uzbekistan when all stakeholders including teachers, students, schools, colleges, and universities started to feel that they were ready for change in the way foreign languages were taught and learned. The reforms in foreign language teaching in Uzbekistan mainly touched upon teaching English language in all levels and stages of education [1, p.p. 3-9].
Analysis of the system of teaching and learning foreign languages carried out by the group of experts from Uzbekistan State University of World Languages, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education, and Ministry of Public Education revealed that the former curricula on foreign language teaching, standards for different levels of education were not efficient in terms of finance and effort [3, p. 2]. Therefore, it was decided to develop and implement totally new concept of national standards which could provide continuity and consistency of teaching foreign languages in all levels of education system. At this point the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) played as the main framework to be adopted in developing the national standard. The implementation of a new project on the development of the national curricula and standard on the teaching and learning of foreign languages was started along with the project aiming at the reform of PRESETT and INSETT system of Uzbekistan [2, p.p. 138-143].
The project under discussion had been launched by the initiative of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of Uzbekistan and the British Council. The project aimed at achieving lasting improvement in the standard of English language teaching in Uzbekistan by enhancing the learning experience of ELT PRESETT students and by setting clear exit standards in language referred to international standards for ELT PRESETT. The English language departments of different higher institutions joined the project in 2007 year and founded experimental groups consisting of 20-22 students. The classes included in the project modules helped students to apply necessary language skills in social life. Earlier the classes included a mixture of four skills reading, listening , writing and speaking were used at one lesson, i.e. they were not separated from each other, they were all integrated. In the project the process of education was conducted in different ways: such classes as vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing , listening, speaking, independent study skills and integrated language skills were conducted apart from each other. The main aim of the project was to teach oral and written forms of English efficiently through communicative ways.
Using new interactive ways during the lessons such as portfolios, project works, different slides and video-films were suitable not only for the demands of new pedagogical technologies, but also for arising students' interests. According to the new project, the
classes in grammar were based on a communicative approach, i.e. the students were expected to use grammar in context (in dialogues, newspaper articles, interviews concerning the lesson) which led to better results in applying these skills in their daily life. Using the method described above helped students think and work independently and autonomously.
Assessment of students' knowledge also conducted with the help of different methods, such as tests, exercises based on passages, portfolios, daily projects, interviews and role-plays. When the results of the initial assessments were compared to those taken in the end, a great difference was noticed as the students' knowledge has been improved.
Besides the language strand, the project included the methodology strand where the students became aware of different approaches in teaching. As a result the students demonstrated
• practical understanding of how learners learn languages;
• ability to critically evaluate, adapt and write materials;
• ability to plan and deliver lessons and sequences of lessons;
• understanding of a range of teaching approaches and ability to apply them according to the teaching and learning context;
• ability to evaluate and reflect upon their own teaching;
• understanding of approaches to testing and assessment.
According to the educational standards established by the Commonwealth of European countries the student's proficiency in English, whose major is English, must be at C1 level and more. So the project was wholly directed to the realization of these goals. Each year special trainers of this actual project came and conducted monitoring based on their plan in order to control educational process. During this supervision the students' knowledge of the experimental groups was compared with that of the students' of ordinary groups. This process included conducting tests and oral interviews with the students of both groups. According to the results of earlier supervisions, the students studying in the experimental group gained more profound knowledge which suits the demands of the project.
The project improved teacher's competency and developed their proficiency. Besides working with the experimental group students they successfully applied different new approaches with traditional group students. As a result traditional group students presented their portfolios, project works and other works which motivated them more to study in comparison with early years experience.
References
1. Hasanova Diloromhon, 2007. Teaching and learning English in Uzbekistan. English
Today, 23 (1). Р.p. 3-9.
2. Hasanova Diloromhon and Shadieva, Tatyana, 2008. Implementing Communicative
Language Teaching in Uzbekistan. TESOL Quarterly, 42 (1). Р.p.138-143.
3. IrisqulovMirabbos et al., 2014. Kids' English 1. Students' Book. Tashkent. Uzbekistan.
