Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

There are three ways to view the relationship between traditional (“mechanistic”) and innovative (“holistic”) second language teaching and learning: as nearing towards a paradigm shift, as an existing dialectic tension between two competing paradigms, or as a state of “paradigm paralysis”. Paradigm is an overall concept accepted by a community of researchers or specialists as the main guiding principle in their endeavour. The mechanistic paradigm of second language learning regards the language acquisition process as that of conscious artificial construction of language knowledge in a learner’s mind. The persistent and widespread failure of traditional second language instruction to produce fluent speakers might be attributed not only to the faults on the part of learners or teachers but also to the underlying paradigm of teaching. Is second language teaching moving towards the paradigm shift in the Kuhnian sense or are the two paradigms co-existing side by side generating fruitful discussion? Is “paradigm paralysis”, i.e. entrenchment of both sides in rigid and inflexible opposition, also a reality in the field of language teaching? Our evolving understanding of language and learning urges us to compare mechanistic and holistic approaches, develop new perspectives and make informed decisions.

Foreign language competences for the military personnel of Lithuania and NATO are essential in sustaining National Security of the alliance especially by effectively performing their military duties that include not only specific military art but also administrative and managemental. The Military Academy of Lithuania is a unique higher educational institution that prepares specialists in administration, management, and other fields. Therefore, being a cadet of the Academy, he/she acquires all the necessary competences to obtain proficiency in these fields. However, the cadets of the Academy considerably need foreign language competences so that they could actively, successfully, and professionally conduct their duties not only locally but also participating internationally in various military organizations and missions. Thus, in many cases military’s success in multinational operations very often depends on soldiers’ ability to communicate and express themselves in English or any other foreign language. In this “global village” it is practically inconceivable to make career without the knowledge of the English or any other foreign language. Thus, the aim of the research is to analyze the role of foreign language competencies acquired at the Lithuanian Military Academy where cadets obtain qualifications and foreign language competences needed for successful career making, National and International security. Therefore, the objective of the research is how theoretically and practically resolve the issue of developing new linguistic competences in foreign languages necessary for MAL cadets through analyses of the results of the questionnaire.

The article analyses the notion of implementation of visual aids as a part of second language learning strategies (SLLS). Moreover, the article highlights the implementation of visual aids via multimedia in teaching the second language at the Military Academy of Lithuania (MAL) by applying the questionnaire for English language teachers and learners involved in English language learning and acquisition at the MAL. For this purpose of the research, the diagnostic questions were developed by using validated and reliable questionnaires such as the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and the Learner-Teacher Motivation (STM) questionnaire in terms of the implementation of visual aids in the SL learning and acquisition curriculum process. The analysis of the advantages of this method implementation into learning process is presented in the article, as well as the requirements and recommendations for authentic audio-visual materials on the basis of multimedia applied for the realization of pedagogical case study in a regular academic curriculum content and the technology of methodological development of authentic video or audio material for the achievement tests. The objective of the research is presented and described on the basis of the research. The research showed the significance of effectiveness of implementation of visual aids methods into the second language learning for they economize teaching, learning and acquisition time and increase motivation of both teachers and learners necessary to stimulate and boost psychological traits of a learner, such as verbal memory, behavior, positive emotions and others indispensable for participating in the language learning process and acquisition. Thus, the object of the research is based on visual aids as a part of SLLS alleviating and facilitating SL learning and acquisition by implementing visual aids as a part of SL learning strategies.