DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATIVE AND PERSONAL COMPETENCES OF STUDENTS OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY ON THE BASIS OF ALEXANDER NEEL'S PEDAGOGICAL CONCEPT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47390/ydif-y2026v2i16/n09Keywords:
Alexander Neal, Summerhill, liberal education, communicative competence, personal competence, English philology, student autonomy, self-management, reflection, democratic education, intrinsic motivation.Abstract
This thesis analyzes the possibilities of theoretically and methodologically integrating Alexander Sutherland Neel's pedagogical concept based on freedom, responsibility, self-management, democratic cooperation and support for the natural development of the individual into the process of developing communicative and personal competencies of students of English Philology. The conceptual basis of the study is formed by Neal's Summerhill experience, Canale–Swain and Celce-Murcia's interpretations of communicative competence, Holec, Little and Benson's views on language learning autonomy, and the needs for autonomy, competence and social connectedness in the theory of self-determination. The thesis argues that it is necessary not to mechanically transfer Neal's ideas to higher education, but to harmonize their axiological and pedagogical core with the goals of philological education. Free-choice communicative tasks, student-voice-based seminars, collaborative decision-making, reflexive portfolios, self- and peer assessment, dialogic environments and psychologically safe communication are interpreted as pedagogical mechanisms that develop independence, responsibility, initiative, self-management and reflexivity in English philology students, along with linguistic, discursive, sociocultural, strategic and interactional competencies. As a result, the intersection of Neal's concept with the modern competency-based approach is identified, and an integrative approach is proposed to strengthen the active subjectivity of the student in the education of English philology.
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