STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO THE NATIVE LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL. COMPARISON OF RUSSIAN AND BRITISH CURRICULA
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Primary school requiremens in the native language. Comparison of Russian and British curriculums.

There are similarities and differences between the English and Russian educational systems. This research presents an attempt to analyze the characteristics of primary school education in England and Russia and to conclude that the education systems of Russia and England have much in common in form, but differ in content.

1. Primary school in Russia and England.

Russia. Primary general education.

According to current rules, pupils are accepted in the first Grade, if they are 6 years old by March, 1 in the admission year.

Primary school takes 4 years — from the 1st to the 4th grade. It provides the minimum basic set of knowledge and skills, which are necessary for life and any work: reading, writing, elementary math, handicraft.

Each form in primary school has its own one secured teacher who is responsible for the class, and teaches almost all subjects (except for physical education and music). Each form has their own room, where all the classes are taught, except those, which require a special place or equipment. Students have four-five 45-minute class periods a day.

England. Primary education in England

Primary schools admit children from the ages of 5 through 11. Some primary schools are split up into infant and junior levels. These are usually separate schools on the same site. The Infant Age Range (Key Stage 1) is from age 5 to 7. The Junior Age Range (Key Stage 2) is from age 7 to 11.

The curriculum provides for the following mandatory subjects for study, namely English and mathematics. In addition, parents need to choose additional subjects for study; in particular, they can choose history, geography, technology, art or music.

The daily teaching time of primary schools is 40-minute periods. There are also three breaks during the day, 40 minutes total duration. At infants school reading, writing and arithmetic are taught for about 20 minutes a day during the first year, gradually increasing to about 2 hours in their last year.

Curriculum subjects at primary schools

What is studied in the native language and what are the requirements?

The Russian Language

Types of speech activity:

Listening. Awareness of the purpose and situation of oral communication. Adequate perception of sounding speech. Comprehenssion of  information. Definition of the basic idea of the text.

Speaking. Practical mastering of monologue/dialogue form of speech. Mastering the skills of the begging, maintaining, and ending a conversation. Mastering the norms of speech etiquette.

Reading. Understanding the text. Finding the necessary material (scanning). Formulation of simple conclusions based on the  text. Analysis and evaluation of the content, language features and text structure.
Writing. Writing of letters, letter combinations, syllables, words, sentences in the system of teaching literacy. Mastering of a legible, neat handwriting. Copying off andwriting under dictation. A written statement of the contents of the text heard and read. Creation of small compositions.

Literacy training:

Phonetics. The sounds of speech. Awareness of the unity of the sound composition of the word and its meaning. Matching words. Distinction of vowels and consonants, and stressed and unstressed vowels, hard and soft, voiced and voiceless consonants. The division of words into syllables. Determining the place of stress.

Graphics. The distinction between sound and letter: the letter as a graphic symbol of a sound. Vowels as indicators of hardness - softness of consonants. The function of the letters «Е, Ё, Ю, Я, Ь» as indicators of softness of a pre-consonant sound. Acquaintance with the Russian alphabet.

Reading. Formation of syllable reading skill. Conscious reading of words, phrases, sentences and short texts. Reading with intonations and pauses in accordance with punctuation marks. The development of awareness and expressiveness of reading.

Writing. The learning of hygienic requirements in writing. The development of motor skills and range of movement of hands. The development of the ability to focus on the space of the sheet in the notebook and the space of the blackboard.

Word and sentence. The perception of the word as an object of study, material for analysis. Observation of the meaning of the word. The distinction between words and sentences. Work with the sentence: the selection of words, change its order.

Spelling. Acquaintance with spelling rules and its application: separate spelling of words; capital letter at the beginning of the sentence, in proper names; hyphenation of words; punctuation at the end of a sentence.

Speech development. Understanding of the text  read while reading it aloud and listening to it. Compilation of short stories based on a series of pictures, materials of their own games, classes, and observations.

Systematic study:

Lexis. Understanding the word as a unity of sound and meaning. Identify words. Definition of the meaning of the word. Understanding of unambiguous and ambiguous words, the direct and figurative meanings of the word. Using of synonyms and antonyms.

The composition of the word (morphemic). Mastering the concept of "related (common) words." Distinguishingbetweencommon words and different forms of the same word. Selection in words ending, root, prefix, suffix.

Morphology. Division of parts of speech. Noun. Adjective. Pronoun. Verb. Adverb. Preposition. Conjunctions "itsrole in speech." Particle "not", its value.

Syntax. Discrimination of sentences, phrases, words. Distinction of sentences according to the purpose of the statement, according to the emotional coloring. Finding the main and minor members of the proposal. Establishing connection in phrases.

The English language

The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils:

• read easily, fluently and with good understanding;
• develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information;
• acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions (rules) for reading, writing and spoken language;
• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage;
• write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences;
• use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas;
• are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Reading:

The programmes of study for reading at Key stages 1 and 2 consist of two dimensions:

•  word reading
• comprehension (both listening and reading).

It is essential that teaching focuses on developing pupils’ competence in both dimensions; different kinds of teaching are needed for each. Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasized in the early teaching of reading to beginners.

 Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure house of wonderland joy for curious young minds.

 It is essential that, by the end of their primary education, all pupils are able to read fluently, and with confidence, in any subject in their forthcoming secondary education.

Writing:

The programs of study for writing at Key stages 1 and 2 are constructed similarly to those for reading:

•  transcription (spelling and handwriting)
• composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing).

It is essential that teaching develops pupils’ competence in these two dimensions. In addition, pupils should be taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing. These aspects of writing have been incorporated into the programs of study for composition. Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organizing them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.

Spelling, vocabulary, grammar, punctuation and glossary:

The two statutory appendices – on spelling and on vocabulary, grammar and punctuation– give an overview of the specific features that should be included in teaching the programs of study. Opportunities for teachers to enhance pupils’ vocabulary arise naturally from their reading and writing. As vocabulary increases, teachers should show pupils how to understand the relationships between words, how to understand nuances in meaning, and how to develop their understanding of, and ability to use, figurative language. They should also teach pupils how to work out and clarify the meanings of unknown words. Pupils should be taught to control their speaking and writing consciously and to use Standard English. They should be taught to use the elements of spelling, grammar, punctuation and ‘language about language’ listed. A non-statutory Glossary is provided for teachers. Throughout the programs of study, teachers should teach pupils the vocabulary they need to discuss their reading, writing and spoken language. It is important that pupils learn the correct grammatical terms in English and that these terms are integrated within teaching.

Assessment principles

In Russia the state assessment of the knowledge and skills acquired in primary schools in Russia is carried out at the end of grade 4, and takes into account the requirements of the federal state educational standard. At the end of primary school, students take the state test:

• Mathematics
• Russian language
• «The world around us»

Students write tests in their schools in the second or third lesson on April. Duration of work is 45-90 minutes. Schoolteachers check works on that day. The results are entered into a single information system, with the data of which experts can work.

Grammar:

The ability to recognize the grammatical signs of words is checked, taking into account the totality of the identified signs (what names, what questions it answers, how it changes) to put words into a certain group of main parts of speech.

Spelling and punctuation:

1. Write dictation texts in accordance with the studied spelling rules, check the proposed text, find and correct spelling and punctuation errors.

2. Testing the ability based on this information and the students' own life experience to determine a specific life situation for an adequate interpretation of this information, observing the written spelling and punctuation norms in writing.

In England the stated assessment takes place twice: after two yes of primary education, in Key stage 2 and after 4 years of education in Key stage 2.

Key stage 1  tests cover:

• English reading
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• maths

Children take the tests in May. The results of assessments are sent to every child automatically.

Key stage 2

The national tests is taken in May at the end of Key stage 2. These test children’s skills in:

• English reading
• English grammar, punctuation and spelling
• maths

The tests last less than 4 hours. The results are sent in July. The schools send out the results of children’s tests and teacher assessments.

Spelling, punctuation and grammar

This element of the tests requires children to identify and write sentences which have correct grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling. This assesses children on their technical understanding of the English language as well as their writing ability. It comprises two papers:

Paper 1: This paper contains a series of SPAG questions requiring short answers. Children will have 45 minutes to answer the questions

Paper 2: This is a spelling paper in which children are given a section of text with 20 missing words. The test invigilator will read out the test transcript for children to correctly spell the missing words in their answer booklet. The test takes approximately 15 minutes, but is not strictly timed.

Conclusion

In this research we conducted comparative analysis of Russian and English systems of education in primary school concentrating mainly on requiremens for knowledge and skills aquired in the native language and made a conclusion about some similarities and differences. 

The main similarities of promary education in these countries are

• education aims to foster a developed person, both mentally and physically, to prepare the child for life in society, to cultivate a patriotic person and to cultivate the spirit of tolerance and humanity.
• both school systems are divided into several stages: primary school, secondary school and high school.
• the state guarantees free secondary education in both countries.
• There is a state standard of education in Russia and a national educational program in the UK.
• Both Russian and English final assessment include test in Maths and native language.

The main defferences between two systems of primary education are the following:

•  In Russia children go to primary school at the age of 7 years old, while English primary school starts at the age of 5.
• In both countries primary school education ends with examinations, however, in contrast to Russia, English curriculum includes 2 state tests at Key stage 1 and 2.
• Besides final tests in Mathematics and the Native language , which is included in assassment in both countriestests, Russian final assessment also tests the knowledge acquired in the subject “World around us”
• All skills and knowledge related to the native language (reading, writing, grammar, spelling and punctuation) are checked in the same test, while in English assessment English reading is checked separately from English grammar, punctuation and spelling.
• It is also noteable that English curriculum places more emphasys on the development of discussion skills as the aim and the tool of learning.        
• Reqirement for composition in English are stricter and of more advances nature than in Russian primary school, where chidren are exposed to these criteria in further educational levels, namely in secondary school.

Literature:

• EducationinRussia [Электрон. дан.] – Режим доступаURL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Russia 
• Фатхиева Н. В. Сравнительная характеристика систем образования в Англии и России // Молодой ученый. — 2016. — №17.1. — С. 58-63. — URL    https://moluch.ru/archive/121/33520/

• The national curriculum [Электрон. дан.] – Режим доступаURL:https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum/key-stage-1-and-2
• Presentation on theme: "Key Stage 1 Standard Assessment Tasks Key Stage 1 Standard Assessment Tasks." [Электрон. дан.] – Режим доступаURL: https://slideplayer.com/slide/6042156/
• Приказ Минобразования России от 05.03.2004 N 1089 (ред. от 07.06.2017) "Об утверждении федерального компонента государственных образовательных стандартов начального общего, основного общего и среднего (полного) общего образования"
  [Электрон. дан.] – Режим доступаURL: http://gimnasium12.ucoz.ru/NEWS/05.03.2004_1089_red-ot_07062017.pdf