Tatyana G. Bykina

Teaching the Russian Sign Language (RSL) to officers of the Internal Affairs bodies is a very time-consuming and emotionally costly process. Therefore, the issue of developing an effective methodology for teaching the RSL in educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is relevant. The aim of this article is to describe a methodology of teaching the RSL relying on the problem-based technology both within the framework of teaching the discipline "The Fundamentals of Professional Service Activities" and at retraining and advanced training courses for employees of Internal Affairs bodies. To achieve the described aim a variety of methods were used including analysis of scientific and methodological sources on the topic, methods of description and comparison, classification, as well as methods of field work with deaf and citizens with impaired hearing (recording spontaneous speech, linguistic questioning, interviewing), a corpus method focused on studying the real functioning of the RSL allowing for a quick search and the selection of similar phenomena. Within the course of study, the authors consider classifications of problem situations and provide examples of practical tasks organized using the principles of problem-based learning. The designed tasks contribute to the formation and development of police officers’ professional competences allowing them to perform law enforcement activities and interact with various categories of citizens effectively. The main result of the study is the conclusion that the use of elements of problem-based learning technology makes it possible to bring the educational process closer to situations of real communication as well as optimize the entire process of professional training of cadets and students to interact with citizens with various hearing impairments. The theoretical significance of the research lies in the analytical and logical work on the study of theoretical material on dactylic, tracing and sign speech, in the description of the methodology of problem-based training of students and cadets of educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of successfully applying the acquired knowledge and skills in direct communication with deaf and people with impaired hearing. The results of the study can be used in the educational process and in retraining and advanced training courses in educational organizations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.