Shaping Tolerance and Civic Engagement through Foreign Language and Geography

Background. The paper focuses on the interdisciplinary interrelations between geographical science and English as a foreign language in their role and possibilities in shaping a socio-cultural position, mainly its constituents such as ethno-tolerance and civic engagement. Materials and methods include a large-scale international survey of adolescents aged 13 - 17 from several countries regarding their level of proficiency in English as a foreign language, their goals in learning the language, their interests in the classroom, the socio-cultural environment in their school, and their current socio-cultural position (in 6 aspects). As a result of the research, a sample of technological map of a series of lessons in the 6, 7, 9, 10 grades aimed at shaping the socio-cultural position by using geography and a foreign language was represented. The designed sample of a series of lessons shows the effectiveness of geography and foreign language in shaping the two main parts of socio-cultural position: tolerance and civic engagement. The data received were analyzed according to the “Index of Tolerance” and explained by the present situation in the classes under the experiment. The research novelty lies in the metasubject combination of two disciplines in working together on the course of socio-cultural position development. In the present day situation, where, on the one hand, globalization is gaining its popularity, and, on the other hand, there are a lot of multinational classes in Russian schools, the questions of tolerance and civic engagement arise. The authors of the article suggest a sample of a technological map of a series of multidisciplinary lessons of Geography in English for 6, 7, 9 and 10 graders in combination with a set of out of classroom activities, whose aim is to shape tolerance and civic engagement. Purpose – is to design a sociocultural environment at a secondary school with the help of the means of Geography and English as well as out of classroom activities in English that would help to grow tolerant and active citizens. The tasks are: to analyze and systemize the theoretical knowledge; to develop and conduct among 13 - 17 year-old students a questionnaire that will show the level of their current sociocultural position; to design a sample of a map of a series of multidisciplinary lessons of Geography in English for 6, 7, 9 and 10 graders, whose aim will be to shape tolerance and civic engagement in the students of these age groups; to conduct a series of lessons in each of these grades with the use of the sample of the map and to analyze its effectiveness in shaping the students’ tolerance and civic engagement. Materials and methods. The main method of the studies is conducting and analyzing online questionnaire among teenagers from different countries. Quantitative indicators were used as an element of describing the dynamics of the changes in the educational and experimental environment. The article is based on a complex of theoretical literature and regulatory legal acts, statistical and reference materials, periodicals. Results. During the implementation of the assessment modules, a sample of a series of interdisciplinary lessons in the 6, 7, 9, 10 grades was developed. The topics of the lessons were “The History of Populating the Mainland. Commonwealth of Australia” and “Ethnic and Linguistic Composition of the Population of Russia”. One of the lessons is represented in the technological map, which shows the place and the role of the activity components at the lesson, particularly geographic and linguistic. Three groups of the aims of the lesson were formulated: learning and the skill of working with a map and formulate the conclusions based on the knowledge acquired; developing based on interdisciplinary connections of Geography with the English language; individual and team discussions, searching for solutions and summarizing the results of a new task. Personal learning outcomes prepare the students for participation in socially significant activities, a conscious and benevolent attitude towards another person and their opinion, expand communicative competence in communication and cooperation with peers in educational, socially useful, pedagogical, research and creative activities. The lesson was developed using elements of productive technologies, problem-based learning, and the development of research skills.