Uliya Baklagova

The relevance of this study stems from the growing interest among specialists in the introduction of games into today’s student community as an optimal way to engage students in foreign language learning. Throughout the language learning process, teachers develop various methods to simplify learning. Our article presents results that can be used to develop new types of language games, facilitating the development of solutions for enhancing the assimilation of lexical and terminological apparatus in a short period of time. The aim of the study is to conduct a complex experiment to obtain the results of mastering vocabulary in various subject areas by the 1st-year full-time students of the Institute of Geography, Geology, Tourism and Service at the Kuban State University. The following methods were used: 1) classification, 2) statistics, 3) description, 4) illustration (in the form of presentation of different crossword puzzle constructions). During the experiment, activity-based and systemic approaches proposed by both domestic and international scientists were used, ensuring the development of students’ independence and individuality. The following results were obtained: 1) the crossword puzzles were tried as final control tests on terms in academic groups; 2) students’ knowledge indicators had average scores on the studied material (given in tables). The theoretical significance of the study: the article proposes an improvement to the existing principle of presenting new material in the form of crossword puzzles, which helps to solve the problem of memorizing foreign words. Future plans include further development of educational games aimed at activating students’ work not only in their practical lessons but also during independent work, thus contributing to solving emerging issues and overcoming different problems. The practical significance of the study: the authors identified factors that enhance students’ motivation to learn English, particularly through the use of “language games”, which can satisfy their growing intellectual and aesthetic needs. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method for learning foreign languages and describes the course of the experimental study. The integration of the experiment into independent learning activities had a positive effect on the process; this experience in English classes was new, interesting and informative for students.