ROLE OF LEARNING SPACES IN LEARNING LANGUAGES

This article presents a literature review of selected studies devoted to the research of the features of learning spaces and their impact on the development of language competencies of teachers and students. The presented review is a part of a comprehensive project to develop a conceptual framework and conduct empirical research based on “English Only Space” (EOS) - an innovative learning space implemented at Atyrau State University. When designing EOS, the author used an approach that defines, under the learning space, or, according to the OECD Concept (2013), the physical environment of learning, “physical spaces (including formal and non-formal) in which teachers and students interact, content (content), equipment and technology.” Practical decisions in designing this learning space were based on a detailed analysis of the latest publications from different disciplines, comparing various authors’ views and determining new trends in a number of fields such as philology,applied linguistics, pedagogy, psychology, and ecology. Such approach allowed achieving conditions when language teaching and learning turns into an instrument of interdisciplinary cognition, and the physical environment provides affordances formanaging resources efficiently in order to achieve maximum learning outcome. At the same time, the present literature review served as a driver for an active start for further practice-oriented research in EOS based on two assumptions: the need to search and develop unique ways of learning English, exploring a wide range of influencing (environmental) factors; the fulfillment of the main purpose of the space if it promotes and supports experiences that promote learning and the achievement of learning outcomes.

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