Philology, pedagogy, and psychology

The article has conducted a comprehensive analysis of Joseph Brodsky’s poem “I always kept saying that the fate is a game...” based on functional-semantic and communicative-pragmatic approaches. In the process of analysis, the main emphasis is placed on the author’s modality as a means of transmitting his individual worldview. The author’s modality is con­sidered as a text-forming semantic category, explicit at various textual levels: lexical, syntac­tic, phonetic, and compositional. The role of the following language resources in structuring the authorial modality of the analyzed text has been identified: syntactic parallelism, poetic meter and rhythm, tropes of various structures, stylistic diversity of vocabulary, phonetic instrumentation, and compositional organization of speech. It is established that the combina­tion of means expressing the author’s modality in the poem is a way of representing signifi­cant philosophical categories for the poet, such as time, space, loneliness, and fate.

Based on the functional-semantic analysis of the use of idioms with the component сердце (heart), their ability to form a modal context and to explicate various modal and evaluative meanings is revealed. The study also demonstrated that shades of modal meanings in figurative expressions can overlap and be in motivated interrelated relationships with each other.

The article evaluates the linguistic units of the lexical-phraseological level related to the lexical-semantic group “plants.” Metaphors, comparisons, and phraseological expressions possessing imagery, semantic dualism, and an associative nature of expression are character­ized. The aim of the research is to identify the axiological meanings of an extensive group of linguistic units representing the plant code in Russian culture. Attention is given not only to the core but also to peripheral “plant” semas, allowing the inclusion of extensive layers of vocabulary and phraseology in the study. A methodology for axiological analysis of figurative units is developed, consisting of the following stages: identification and typology of evaluative meanings, determination of the basis for evaluation, and modeling a fragment of the value system. In general, figurative language units with the semantics of plants describe people and various aspects of their activities. In studying the general evaluative meanings, it was found that the majority of units with the semantics of plants have a negative evaluation, with the basis for transfer being the properties of plants dangerous to humans. The analysis of specific evaluative meanings allowed for the identification of aesthetic, ethical, intellectual, valeologi­cal, utilitarian, sensory-taste, and other evaluations.

Using a comprehensive approach to the analysis of linguistic facts, a fragment of the lexi­cal structure of hagiographic text formed by verbal units is characterized. The material for the study consists of hagiographic lives of saints and martyrs from the Synodal edition, which are part of the May cycle of the Menaion Reader. The authors focus on the syntagmatic aspect of the lexical structure of the hagiographic text, manifested in the distribution of lexical units and their collocations. As a result, a quantitative dynamics of verbal units is identified, re­flected in the increase in the proportion of verbs in the part of the hagiography describing the saint’s journey to righteousness. The distribution of verbs throughout the text of different lexical-semantic groups is determined by the type of monastic or martyric asceticism of the saint and the content of the compositional part embodying various hagiographic topoi. The role of lexical repetition in expressing the content of the text is demonstrated. The specificity of hagiographic lives is established, characterized by the use of verbal units whose meaning has evolved through semantic derivation, reflecting the metaphorical reinterpretation of a specific action in a spiritual plane.

The paper focuses on unofficial names for the city of Kaliningrad and its residents inves­tigated on user comments in regional social networks and a survey conducted by regional media (approximately 5000 participants). The study identifies the main patterns of forming unofficial demonyms and toponyms, including those derived from the pre-war name of the city, Königsberg. The pragmatic functions performed by these names are determined. There is noted an asymmetry in the composition of unofficial names for the residents of Kaliningrad compared to the demonyms that can potentially serve as motivating bases. It is established that the presence of a significant number of pejorative nominations within the framework of the regional onomasticon is driven by the residents’ desire to improve the city’s condition and preserve their own identity.

The issue of reflecting the ethno-cultural interaction between the Old Believers and Mus­lims in regions with a traditional prevalence of Islamic culture in the 18th—19th centuries is considered in the works of A. S. Pushkin and L. N. Tolstoy. The conclusion is substantiated that both writers leaned towards the necessity of uniting Christianity and Islam based on common moral principles inherent in these religions. The continuity of the artistic tradition of the 19th century is emphasized, and similar trends in the perception of confessional issues are identified, characteristic of both the early development of Russian classical literature and the turn of the 19th—20th centuries. Along with this, fundamental differences in the views of the two writers are clarified. In particular, A. S. Pushkin assigned a leading role in interreligious integration to official Orthodoxy, seeing in Old Believers purely destructive traits. L. N. Tol­stoy, on the other hand, considered Old Believers as the best example of religious tolerance (des­pite the negative traits inherent in his followers), capable of productive and lasting in­ter­faith collaboration.

The article analyzes the publications, containing attempts to develop approaches, models, and systems for the formation and development of competencies in the field of game-based educational technologies and practices for future university teachers of social disciplines and humanities. Based on the analyzed works, conditions are identified under which game technologies can be applied in education. A criteria-level description of the competence “Ability and readiness to master game-based educational technologies and apply them in teaching social and humanitarian disciplines” is provided. Two key aspects of forming and developing the target competence are highlighted: scientific-methodological and practice-oriented, which should complement each other systematically in the course of professional training for future university teachers of social and humanitarian disciplines. The author also considers such aspects as the inclusion of the “Modern Game-based Educational Technologies” course in the elective part of the curriculum for the preparation of bachelor’s degrees in various fields and profiles and updating the content of pedagogical internships.

The article provides a brief historical and pedagogical overview of the orientation of graduates of educational institutions toward the teaching profession in the 19th and 20th cen­tu­ries. The aim of the research is to demonstrate the significance of curricula and prog­rams with the emergence of pedagogical training in women’s educational organizations. The ex­pe­rience of educational institutions, particularly the Alexandrov School and the Smolny Insti­tu­te of Noble Maidens, in preparing future female graduates for professional activities as ho­me teachers and governesses is detailed. The research methodology is based on an aspectual app­roach: considering only one aspect, the importance of curricula in implementing pedago­gical training. Additionally, a conceptual approach, historical method, and retros­pec­tive exa­mination of practical experience are applied in a certain part of the research.

The development of Orthodox comprehensive education schools in Russia at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, as part of the religious education system, makes them a new and relevant subject for scientific research. The necessity of restoring the full educational function of modern schools and the search for effective educational means in contemporary socio-cultural conditions require a reference to the history and theory of Orthodox education. The accumulated experience in Orthodox general education schools over the past decades needs to be explored, revealing its content and characteristics of the cor­res­pon­ding educational systems. This justifies the choice of the subject of the study — education in Orthodox comprehensive education schools—as well as the theme of the article, which aims to substantiate the methodological principles in researching the mentioned phenomenon. The pos­sibility of applying various methodological principles known in modern pedagogical science to the chosen research subject is analyzed. As a result, a list of methodological princip­les for studying education in Orthodox comprehensive education schools is justified, inclu­ding the principles of objectivity, essential analysis, genetic analysis, unity of historical and lo­gical approaches, systematicity, combining the existing with the required, and activity-orien­ted principles. Since the research on the topic of education in modern Orthodox com­pre­hensive education schools is not yet complete, some principles are characterized as guidelines for further study, and for some, the application in obtaining preliminary research results is indicated.

The article considers the issue of developing students’ critical thinking as an important competence in the 21st century educational context. Having analyzed the international re­search, the authors attempt to present approaches to interpreting the concept of “critical thin­king,” its component composition, and methods of its development through the implemen­ta­tion of Project-Based Learning (PBL). The project serves as the core of the educational pro­cess, directing it towards creating conditions for the development of critical thinking and crea­tive abilities of students in interdisciplinary environments when solving real-life prob­lems. The stages of implementing an educational project in the context of interdisciplinary in­tegration are also discussed. International experience in applying the project-based learning me­thod in various subject areas demonstrates its significant impact on the development of stu­dents’ critical thinking skills and overall academic performance.

The description and results of an empirical study conducted within two inclusive student groups at the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University are presented. The instrument used for this research was the “Psychological Atmosphere in the Group Scale” (F. Fiedler’s scale adapted by Yu. L. Khanin) with the inclusion of open-ended questions to assess participants’ attitudes toward inclusion in the university. The study aimed to understand how students evaluate the positive and negative effects of joint learning with students with psychophysical development peculiarities. Based on the results, the conclusion is drawn that the nosological ca­tegory of students with limited abilities is not a determining factor in the psychological at­mo­sphere within a student group. Students’ perspectives on the positive and negative effects of collaborative learning with students with health limitations are discussed. The idea of the necessity for a comprehensive socio-psychological study to enhance inclusive practices in university education is expressed.

Taking into account the dual nature of the concept of “discourse,” which forms the basis for defining discursive competence, the expediency of using a cognitive-pragmatic approach in developing the discursive competence of students in language-oriented programs is justified, with a description of its main principles. Didactic principles are identified: the principle of contextuality, the principle of speech-thinking activity, the principle of cooperation and interactivity, the principle of professional reflection, and the principle of interdisciplinarity, as fundamental for the effective implementation of this approach. A description is provided for each of the above principles as a productive measure to contribute to the resolution of specific pedagogical contradictions in foreign language teaching.