English will be added as a compulsory subject to the Unified State Exam. Compulsory Unified State Examination in a foreign language will be made easier

Very soon the Unified State Exam foreign language will become mandatory. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation has already confirmed plans to test the new exam. First of all, we are, of course, talking about English, although graduates studying other languages will also be affected by the innovation. In this article we will analyze the most common questions that schoolchildren and their parents have regarding the mandatory foreign Unified State Exam.

From what year will the mandatory Unified State Examination in English be introduced?

The Unified State Exam in English and other foreign languages will become mandatory for all graduates in 2022. However, next year, 2020, it will probably be taken on a trial basis by 11th grade graduates in 19 regions of Russia. A specific list of regions has not yet been published in the open press.

What to expect from the compulsory Unified State Exam in English in 2020?

The exam, which will become mandatory in 2020, is unlikely to undergo changes compared to the current Unified State Exam. It consists of two parts: written (40 tasks to be completed in three hours) and oral (four tasks given 15 minutes). The graduate demonstrates the ability to read, speak and write in a foreign language. So far, the Ministry of Education has not announced any fundamental changes in the structure of the exam.

During the oral part, which is usually taken on a separate day, the teenager reads the text aloud, formulates questions, describes the picture and compares the events depicted in two photographs. The answers are recorded on a computer using a headset (a timer on the screen counts down the time), and then experts listen to the recordings. There is an organizer in the audience who makes sure that the Unified State Examination takes place without violations.

The written part is more extensive. It includes listening (you need to listen to the recording and complete tasks based on it), reading (you need to study the texts and title them), grammar and vocabulary (the ability to put a verb at the right time, form different parts of speech, and choose words that are appropriate in meaning is tested). In addition, the graduate is asked to write a response to a letter from an imaginary friend and an essay on a given topic.

How difficult will the compulsory Unified State Examination in English be?

Experts are still working out approaches to the level of complexity. Much depends on the results of the All-Russian verification work in a foreign language, which eleventh graders will take for the first time in March 2019. Testing will show how well students speak the language.

At first, experts assumed that the mandatory state exam would be divided into basic (for obtaining a certificate) and specialized (for admission to certain specialties at universities) and the basic one would be much easier: in particular, an essay and a letter to a friend would be excluded from it.

In the fall of 2018, Russian Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva announced that there would be no separation. At the same time, the majority of teachers believe that the mandatory exam should be designed to average level language proficiency.

Be that as it may, schoolchildren who have so far paid little attention to a foreign language will have to improve their knowledge.

Why is a mandatory Unified State Exam in English being introduced in 2020?

The advantages are obvious: children will have an incentive to study a foreign language more closely, and teachers will have an incentive to improve the quality of teaching. While in Russia a foreign language is Unified State Examination form Only about 11% of graduates pass (95% in English, less than 3% in German, less than 1% and 2%, respectively, in Spanish and French). These are those who decided to continue their studies in linguistics and related specialties. Others focus on other subjects in high school. Without constant quality practice, a foreign language is quickly forgotten. But knowledge of languages today is necessary in many fields - journalism, sociology, political science, economics.

But it is worth considering that the level of language teaching in different schools can differ radically. Children who have not received good training will be forced to catch up by studying with tutors or in group courses. Self-study is only suitable for schoolchildren with a good background.

How to prepare for the mandatory Unified State Exam in a foreign language?

The most effective method is immersion in the language environment. It is not necessary to take a teenager abroad: you can surround him with a foreign language as much as possible at home. Watch films and videos without translation (with subtitles possible) with your child, arrange “ English days”, when the family speaks only a foreign language. Invite the student to translate his favorite songs himself. Every day, teach him a few new words - let him not only remember them by ear, but also write them down in a notebook. Constant reading in a foreign language will help you quickly remember how words are written and sentences are composed.

If home schooling is not enough, you will have to resort to the help of specialists. It is important to choose a tutor who already has experience preparing children for the Unified State Exam. Moreover, you need to look for a teacher not two months before testing, but ideally a year or even two.

The most common mistakes of graduates on the Unified State Exam in a foreign language

The most difficult part for schoolchildren is the written part, especially the essay. Specialists Federal Institute pedagogical measurements note that the guys replace original thoughts with cliches, make logical errors, and poorly explain the topic. When completing assignments on grammar and vocabulary, graduates often use the verb in the wrong tense, confuse pronouns and numerals, and construct phrases illiterately. Experts advise students to practice composing not individual phrases, but coherent texts in various genres.

In Russia it is planned to introduce a mandatory Unified State exam(Unified State Exam) in a foreign language. This statement was made by the head of Rosobrnadzor Sergei Kravtsov at the annual meeting to sum up the results of the Unified State Exam campaign.

“A foreign language will be introduced in 2022, we are already developing tasks. We take into account OGE results, so that there are objective results. We will probably conduct mass testing in 2021. If a foreign language is compulsory, it will be two-level. The fact that English will be divided into two levels goes beyond the 2010 standard,” Kravtsov explained.

Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva previously stated the same. During a direct line with Russian President Vladimir Putin, she said that it is planned to introduce a foreign language exam in 2022, and to test this project in 19 regions in 2020.

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Speaking about the situation with foreign languages in Russia in general, the minister said that there are no plans to introduce a second compulsory foreign language in the near future, since this is a very large burden on students and teachers.

“We cannot now afford two languages in all schools, we will not learn them! We need to know Russian well, which we don't know very well. We need to know a foreign language well, preferably English - this is the language of international communication today,” Vasilyeva said.

"The right way"

Representatives of educational institutions evaluate the ministry's initiative positively. According to the director of Moscow school No. 548, Efim Rachevsky, in light of the strengthening of Russia’s position in the international arena and the development of interaction with foreign countries Improving the quality of foreign language teaching is simply necessary.

“Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva outlined the right path; she did this a year ago, when she first spoke about it. Rosobrnadzor is doing the right thing by introducing this exam. Today, when we talk about the need to build digital economy, digital culture, new engineering, it is impossible to do without the language of international communication - and for now that is English. But we need to change methods and technologies, textbooks, and organize language practices,” he emphasized.

City News Agency "Moscow"

The director of school No. 606 shares the same opinion in-depth study English language of the Pushkin region, member of the Association of the Best Directors of Russia, candidate pedagogical sciences Marina Shmulevich. In a conversation with RT, she explained that a foreign language gives any specialist access to the international level and opens up broader horizons.

“What the Minister of Education proposed is reasonable. When a child comes out of the walls educational institution, he's ashamed not to know international language. This cuts off the opportunity to be in the center of events and receive information,” the teacher explained.

According to Shmulevich, implementing the ministry’s program is not so difficult “with a competent approach and moreover, that this will be done by professionals.” In her opinion, it is necessary to make several levels of the exam: the more difficult version will be taken by those who are specialized in a foreign language, the easier version will be taken by those for whom it will become only an auxiliary discipline.

"When they introduced basic mathematics and profile, no one switched to a special program, everyone should know the base. I believe that there should also be such a division with the English language,” concluded the director of school No. 606.

Preparatory work

Member of the central headquarters of the All-Russian popular front, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science Lyubov Dukhanina said that to implement the initiative it will be necessary to carry out a huge amount of work in all areas.

“Behind this there is not one, but several complex problems— level of teacher training, material and technical base, quality educational literature, opportunities to practice with native speakers. To ensure that 2022 does not result in low scores for the majority of graduates, their (problems. - RT) must be decided now,” she emphasized.

Dukhanina also noted that today not all teachers have sufficient skills to prepare schoolchildren for the Unified State Exam in a foreign language. Especially in rural educational institutions, some foreign language teachers “do not have a perfect command of phonetic and grammatical norms.” It is also necessary to change the content of textbooks, where the distribution of work in the classroom and at home is not well thought out.

“When we carried out a test purchase of a line of textbooks on English language, the sellers recommended along with the textbook and workbook also buy materials for the teacher and for the parent, since sales practice suggests that the child cannot do homework independently, and a parent, even with knowledge of the language, will not be able to help him without instructions from the author,” noted the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science.

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In 2018, it was possible to take the Unified State Exam in English, French, German and Spanish. This was announced by the head of Rosobrnadzor Anzora Muzaeva.

“About 88.5 thousand people submitted applications to take the oral part of the Unified State Exam in foreign languages, of which more than 85 thousand signed up for the English language exam,” the department’s press release notes.

The English language exam is one of the most difficult within the Unified State Exam, which is taken by graduates of 9th and 11th grades. Indeed, foreign languages cannot be called strong point schoolchildren, maybe that’s why English courses are so popular now. And perhaps this situation would have remained unchanged if not for the news that testing English knowledge would become mandatory when passing the Unified State Exam. The information alarmed both schoolchildren and their parents. Only representatives of the Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science are calm and confident in their decision. And they have enough reasons for this.

English on the Unified State Exam – how was it?

Until 2016 inclusive, the Unified State Exam included only two compulsory subjects: mathematics and Russian language. Examinations in physics, chemistry, geography, biology, literature, social studies and literature were at the discretion of each graduate. And the rest of the languages were completely combined into one concept “foreign” with modest notes: English, French, German, Spanish. How many schoolchildren do you think voluntarily took the English exam? In Moscow and St. Petersburg - up to 40%, in other regions - barely 6%.

In September 2016, Rosobrnadzor conducted a study of the quality of education of fifth- to eighth-grade students in history and foreign languages. The results showed that knowledge is weak, and it is impossible to continue learning English at the same level. There is also no need to count on the independent initiative of schoolchildren who are busy preparing for mandatory exams. This means that the Unified State Exam program needs to be changed. Since 2017, there have been three mandatory exams: history has been added to these academic disciplines. In addition, since 2017, grades for all Unified State Examinations(both mandatory and individual) affect the certificate. One question remained open: when will the English exam be mandatory?

How will it be?

According to the latest information, the decision to make the state exam in foreign languages mandatory has been made and is gradually being implemented. From 2020, English will become compulsory in final certification after 9th grade, and from 2022 it will be included in the Unified State Exam. Schoolchildren have sufficient quantity time to learn the program properly or to acquire knowledge on . In theory, this should be enough to complete the tasks correctly. But in practice, each upcoming mandatory exam encourages the search for “guaranteed” solutions.

Until now, from year to year, materials for preparing for the Unified State Exam have been passed on to the next “generation” of graduates. The preparation took place using last year's tickets, the answers to which are already known. Therefore, those who will graduate from 9th grade in 2020 will have the hardest time – they will have to be the first to prepare for the mandatory English exam. And in two years, the Unified State Exam awaits them, where a foreign exam will also be required by that time.

How will it end?

The main question that arises in connection with the upcoming changes in certification is how to speak English. The second question is whether training will change throughout the year due to these innovations. And finally, there are speculations about whether English will be abolished in the Unified State Exam as compulsory subject. Let's look for answers.

The English exam for the OGE and the Unified State Exam consists of two parts: written (2 hours to complete) and oral (15 minutes). To prepare for the written part, you can and should practice grammar. It doesn’t matter how exactly this is done: according to the textbook, additional methodological manuals and/or tickets from previous years. To do this, on the website of the Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science there is a section “Open Unified State Exam task bank” with exercises on writing, listening, and language material. Tasks for practicing reading and pronunciation are also published here. These examples are used when compiling versions of the CMM (control and measuring material) of the Unified State Examination, and there is a possibility that they will appear in the exam. And if not, then exactly the same.
Teachers complain that not all children have the ability to learn foreign languages. Parents echo them. And the children simply refuse additional exams. Since it is impossible to refuse, all that remains is to start preparing as early as possible, so that before the certification the student is as familiar as possible with the school curriculum. Now it is built in such a way that secondary schools 3 hours are allocated for English, and in gymnasiums and lyceums - 10-11 hours per week. This is an objective reality for students in grades 5-8. You need to understand it and prepare taking into account the need to pass a foreign language without fail.
The exam will take place, it will not be cancelled, and none of the graduates will escape it. Already known, from which year, for which classes, for which program the certification will take place.

The differentiation of the exam into basic and advanced (profile) levels is still in question. In this situation, both students and teachers need to realize the prospects and start preparing now. The earlier the better. Discipline and good study material will help you prepare well even in two years. Learning a foreign language at school is not easy, especially when children's motivation is low. But teachers and parents are well aware that learning English is necessary not only for those who associate with it. The language of international communication allows you to feel confident in any situation and develop intellectually and professionally. Therefore, the introduction of a mandatory English exam can be considered good news.

According to the project organizing committee, thanks to the teleconference, residents of 10 regions of Russia were able to directly participate in the event. Live broadcast of the All-Russian parent meeting was conducted on the websites of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and “ Russian newspaper", as well as on the official channel of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science on YouTube.

The host of the event was Valeria, mother of three children, singer, people's artist Russian Federation, member of the National Parents Association (NPA). The Association is the main partner of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science in organizing the event and developing the entire All-Russian Parents' Meeting project.

In his opening remarks Dmitry Livanov noted full readiness education system for the new school year. In 2015, 1.6 million students will go to first grade, which is 145 thousand more than a year ago. The total increase in the number of schoolchildren, compared to last year, will be 560 thousand people.

The head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science especially emphasized that there are no serious changes either in the coming or in the next academic year in system school education not planned.

“Naturally, life changes, life moves forward, but no conceptual and fundamental changes will occur in the way our school lives, how teachers work, how children study,” noted Dmitry Livanov.

In an hour and a half of communication I was covered wide range topics and questions that concern parents all over the country: the Unified State Examination, additional education, voluntary donations to the school, purchase of school uniforms, introduction of uniform textbooks in basic subjects, provision of electronic textbooks, preventive examinations, etc.

Read below about the main theses of the Second All-Russian Parents' Meeting.

About the new testing methodology for grade 4

Tests after 4th grade have always been and will be. Now we are talking about conducting them in different regions, different schools using the same methodology, so that comparison is possible. For this purpose, new content of these verification works is introduced.

But this has nothing to do with the final certification and Unified State Examination and will not lead to an increase in the load on children and teachers.

On the introduction of the Unified State Exam in English

Federal educational standards suggest that from 2022 the English language exam will become the third mandatory exam along with exams in Russian language and mathematics. This will really happen, and we are preparing for it.

On the introduction of unified textbooks by subject

It is extremely important that the teacher has the opportunity to choose. We really must provide all our children who are educated in school with a single core of fundamental school knowledge.

We are not talking about switching to standard patterns, according to which all students will study and all schools will operate.

We are talking about the freedom of teachers to choose educational materials that are most useful for children and most fully contribute to solving the problem of upbringing and education.

About purchasing a school uniform

No one can force a parent to purchase from a certain store. Or from a specific manufacturer. School uniform specifies a specific model of clothing, but it can be purchased from any manufacturer.

On the provision of electronic textbooks

Each child receives a free set of textbooks before the start of the new school year. Starting this year, each textbook is accompanied by an electronic version. Naturally this electronic version delivered along with new textbooks at the moment when the textbook is purchased from the publisher.

Therefore, gradually, not immediately 100%, but everything electronic textbooks will enter the life of every school and will become available to every student.

About voluntary donations to the school

Everything related to ensuring the federal educational standard - educational program, additional classes, issues of safety and comfort of children must be resolved at the expense of budget funds. Each school should receive the funding necessary to fully carry out its essential functions.

This does not exclude the possibility that parents can voluntarily provide assistance to the school to solve specific problems.

If, for example, parents believe that the level of security at the school is insufficient, they can, on a voluntary basis, by agreement, “chip in” and find additional money to strengthen security. The same applies to other aspects of school life. The voluntary nature of these donations is essential. There is nothing wrong with parents helping the school. This has always been the case. But everything must have a reasonable limit and be justified.

parents and school reorganization

It can only be justified if it benefits the students themselves. The main beneficiaries of this process are the students. If the merger is beneficial and increases the educational achievements of students, this can be done. If not, then there is no point in even discussing it.

How can parents influence issues related to the reorganization of schools?
In the most direct way.

Such decisions can only be made on the basis of the voluntary expression of will, firstly, by the teaching staff themselves, and secondly, by the governing councils that exist at schools. Parental advice and teaching teams must necessarily speak out on issues related to associations. Only if they have a desire to unite, only if the benefits that unification brings are obvious, can this be done.

About admission to school

The school is obliged to accept all children who find themselves - either living or temporarily staying - on the territory of the relevant municipality.

No child should be left without a place at school.

The only reason for refusal is lack of vacancies. Then the municipality is obliged to provide a place for this child in another school. This is how our legislation resolves this issue.

About the inclusive education model

Currently, more than 50% of children with special educational needs are studying in regular schools. The position of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science is that parents should have a choice: receiving education in an inclusion mode or in specialized school or a specialized class.

The network of correctional schools should under no circumstances be reduced.

There should be no unjustified cuts to schools that are specifically designed to serve children with special educational needs.

schools work in one shift

Modern high-quality education is only possible in the But today, on average in Russia, about 20% of children study in the second shift. Many school buildings have reached the end of their useful life. This is a serious challenge facing the education system. Over the course of 10 years—until the 2025/26 academic year—more than 6 million new places in schools will be created.

This year, more than 100 new buildings were built throughout the country.

But this is clearly not enough to solve such a large-scale task.

Therefore, starting next year, the government is launching a special program with significant funding from the federal budget to build new school buildings and expand educational infrastructure.

About support technical creativity schoolchildren

In the past school year, the coverage of children club work reached the level that was at the end of the Soviet period. The failure that arose in the 90s has been overcome, but we need to move on. Appeared modern technologies And modern spheres activities such as robotics. In the federal state educational standard for basic schools - from grades 5 to 9 - special time is devoted to the issue of early vocational guidance for schoolchildren. These could be special lessons at an enterprise, an engineering center, or a technical university. It can be extracurricular activities, any form of group or sectional work designed to awaken a child’s interest in technical creativity.

There are opportunities today.

New educational standards provide these opportunities with resources. And it is very important that in each region a program for the development of technical creativity in children is adopted and implemented.

About information security in the school curriculum

Every year in September, a special lesson on Internet safety is held throughout Russia. The upcoming school year is no exception. But it is important that attention to this topic is not limited to one day and one lesson in September. Information security issues should be reflected in the school curriculum: both in the subject called “Fundamentals of Life Safety” and in the course information technologies. And in general, the entire environment of school life should prepare children for the time when they become adults and will have to be able to independently withstand the harmful influences and risks that modern life brings.

About medical examinations and admission to school without a certificate

A medical certificate is not a required document for a child to be admitted to school on September 1. But the issues of caring for the health of children are indeed extremely relevant. It is very good that for two years now all children, without exception, have been undergoing annual medical examinations.

A mandatory Unified State Exam in a foreign language is planned to be introduced for all graduates in 2022. It will be much lighter than what we have now. In the 2018-2019 academic year, graduates will be introduced to an innovation - a mandatory all-Russian test in English, which will be excellent training before the mandatory Unified State Exam in 2022. The assignments will be made in such a way that every student can cope with them.

Director of the Institute of Pedagogical Measurements Oksana Reshetnikova said that the mandatory Unified State Examination in a foreign language will be introduced in 2022 and is aimed at the final school grade graduates who study it at a basic level.

The exam will be much easier than the one on this moment taken as an option, which is chosen by graduates for admission to higher education educational establishments for some specialties.

The basis for the compulsory Unified State Examination in a foreign language will be the tasks of the All-Russian Test Works (VPR). In the 2018-2019 academic year, graduates who studied English, French and German will take such an exam for the first time.

This year, assignments for developing written texts were not included in the VPR, because they are least required for those who do not intend to connect their profession with a foreign language.

In the current Unified State Examination for graduates popular science texts are offered, and in the VPR and, accordingly, in the future lightweight Unified State Exam, texts about Russia and the life of Russian schoolchildren will be offered. The developers of the Unified State Exam believe that every graduate should be able to talk about themselves and their country.

Rosobrnadzor has established testing of the Unified State Exam in a foreign language until 2022

Rosobrnadzor approved the introduction of testing the compulsory Unified State Exam in a foreign language for 2018-2022. The exam will be divided into 2 levels - basic and advanced.

Chairman of Rosobrnadzor Sergei Kravtsov said that by 2022 the Unified State Examination in a foreign language will be introduced and this decision will not be revised. He also noted that the complexity of the tasks should correspond to the average level of the school.

Associate Professor of the Department of Phonetics and Lexis of English at Moscow State Pedagogical University Evgenia Baida explained that if a student has mastered school curriculum, then he shouldn’t have any problems in the exam.

In addition to introducing simpler exam tasks, another solution to this problem is to reduce minimum score. It can be installed after research is carried out on the level of knowledge of Russian schoolchildren. All-Russian verification work will also contribute to this.

Until now, every year only 8-9% of graduates choose to passing the Unified State Exam in a foreign language. These are mainly those who are going to enroll in philological and parallel specialties. No one tested the rest of the graduates for language proficiency at the federal level.