PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION BY ADOLESCENTS IN DISTANCE LEARNING

Abstract

Objective. The article is focused on the study of psychological determinants that influence the success of foreign language learning by adolescents in the conditions of distance learning. The main focus is on cognitive abilities, namely memory and thinking, as well as individual psychological characteristics, such as motivation, impulsivity, and language anxiety. Research methods. Theoretical: synthesis, comparison, modeling, generalization. Empirical: The English Language Learning Motivation Scale (ELLMS), Barratt Child Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11c), and the Public Speaking Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) were used to measure individual psychological factors. The Luria Word Memory Test and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) were used to assess cognitive abilities. Mathematical statistics methods were used to analyze and interpret the data: descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression. Results. The results of the study emphasize the multidimensionality of the process of mastering a foreign language in the conditions of distance learning. In particular, cognitive abilities (thinking) and individual psychological factors (language anxiety) turned out to be important predictors of language learning success in distance learning conditions. Language anxiety was found to have a negative correlation with language learning outcomes, while thinking showed a positive correlation in this context. Conclusions. Based on the results obtained, it was found that although cognitive abilities and individual psychological characteristics are key factors in the process of learning a foreign language, only thinking skills and language anxiety were significant predictors in the model of successful language learning in a distance learning environment. Interestingly, despite their proven role in the learning process, memory, motivation and impulsivity did not have a significant impact in the model. This emphasizes the importance of taking into account the psychological difficulties associated with teaching and learning foreign languages online.

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