Development of the ability to form analogies as a cognitive component of foreign language communicative competence among general education school students

Abstract

The development of the ability to form analogies as a cognitive component of foreign language communicative competence in general education school students represents a mechanism for the universal transfer of structural relations from mastered contexts to new linguistic and cultural phenomena. This ensures the comprehension of morphological, syntactic, lexico-semantic, interlingual, and discursive models while simultaneously reducing the risks of interference and increasing the productivity of speech interaction. This cognitive process, which integrates with linguistic knowledge, speech skills, sociocultural awareness, and compensatory strategies, unfolds through the differentiation of spontaneous analogy, which leads to mechanical transfer, and guided analogy, which is formed by means of pedagogically organized operations. This is particularly significant in adolescence during the formation of formal operational thinking among 7th-9th grade school students with heterogeneous levels of preparation. An analysis of commonly used English language teaching materials reveals a systemic disproportion in which morphological analogies predominate (on average 47.3 tasks per set, or 4,82% of the total), while syntactic (1,90%), lexico-semantic (1,16%), interlingual (0,59%), and discursive (0,21%) analogies appear in volumes 2 to 22.5 times smaller. This limits the potential for complex structural mapping and cognitive flexibility in mass education. A comparative study involving 214 students divided into groups that used a complex of tasks with stepwise complication – from the identification of analogical relations, through their independent construction according to specified parameters, to their generation in role-playing games, discussions, and the creation of texts based on authentic models – recorded an increase in the experimental group of a high level of ability to form analogies by 15.2-19.6 percentage points on non-verbal, verbal, and linguistic tasks, accompanied by an almost twofold decrease in the low level, in contrast to the minimal dynamics in the control group. Correlations between linguistic analogies and indicators of the four types of speech activity reach 0.52-0.61, peaking for reading and speaking. This reflects the role of structural comparison and contextual inference in receptive and productive processes, as confirmed by an increase in average scores for listening, reading, speaking, and writing by 6.2-10.8 points with a threefold advantage in the rate of skill formation. The obtained patterns emphasize the functional importance of analogical thinking not only for enhancing the fluency, accuracy, and flexibility of foreign language speech but also for the development of metacognitive characteristics, including awareness of learning strategies, readiness for linguistic experimentation, and tolerance for uncertainty in a heterogeneous school environment. The article’s materials enable one to grasp its main content, evaluate its relevance for cognitive linguodidactics and foreign language teaching methodology, and decide whether to consult the full text.