MULTILINGUAL READING AS A TOOL OF LANGUAGE LEARNING INTEGRATION

Abstract

The paper explores the effects of multilingual reading with students studying several foreign languages. The importance of this study is determined by the search for better practices leading to the incorporation of all language experience of the students when proceeding with a new language. Multilingual reading is defined as a skill aiming at simultaneous perception and comprehension of several written texts in different languages translated from one authentic text. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the potential of multilingual reading in the formation of metacognitive strategies of comparison, transfer and code switching in the process of studying French and English after Russian (the students‟ native tongue). The paper examines the causes of referring to reading as a universal language skill for the enrichment of the students‟ repertoire of multilingual activities; the goals of multilingual reading; existing approaches to reading in a foreign language which have led to the idea of multilingual reading. The conclusion is drawn that to implement multilingual reading a certain level of mastery of a language under study is expected. Multilingual reading is best for incorporating into the language teaching after second foreign language is introduced. This is the time when a student is considered to be a sophisticated reader in his / her native tongue and first foreign language. The main goal of multilingual reading is to form the students‟ metacognitive strategies of comparison, transfer and code switching. The most appropriate literary genre for starting multilingual reading is popular science. Relative simplicity of its structural organization allows the readers to comprehend its meaning avoiding difficulties of reading a work of fiction full of specific stylistic devices. Besides, popular science incorporates features of science, colloquial, journalistic and feature literature styles. All things considered, popular science becomes a universal tool of multilingual reading.