Modern educational standards impose quite high demands on the quality of teaching English, therefore, to form all the relevant foreign language competencies, most teachers use a variety of methods that help students master this discipline.

Currently, the leading method of teaching English is the communicative-oriented teaching method, the main objective of which is to develop the foreign language communicative competence of students.

One of the most important principles of the communicative-oriented teaching method is the principle of situationality. Based on this, we can conclude that the process of teaching English should have a situational basis for greater motivation of students to speak, read, listen or write in a foreign language.

The situational teaching method developed from the direct method that preceded it, which is based on the idea that teaching a foreign language should imitate the acquisition of the native language and proceed naturally, without specially organized preparation. The meaning of a foreign word, phrase and other language units should be conveyed to students directly, i.e., by creating associations between language forms and the corresponding concepts, which are demonstrated with the help of facial expressions, gestures, actions, objects, communication situations, etc. The method of situational language teaching is associated with the names of famous British scientists H. Palmer, A. Hornby and M. West, who note the priority of this method in speech activity, which is considered the basis for mastering a foreign language. The situational method of teaching involves teaching in which students develop speech skills and abilities based on educational situations and situational exercises offered by the teacher by solving practical, cognitive and speech-thinking problems [1].

The main characteristics of the situational method include the following:

• language teaching is a process of developing a specific skill;
• the language being learned is the language of communication in the classroom;
• mistakes can lead to the development of an incorrect skill;
• English language teaching will be more effective if oral skills are acquired first, and then written ones;
• the process of teaching English ​​is better based on analogy than on analysis;
• new linguistic points are presented and practiced in different situations;
• the meaning of words should be memorized only in a specific linguistic and cultural context;
• grammar points are studied in such a way that easy forms should be studied before more complex ones;
• reading and writing are taught when the basic lexical and grammatical base has already been mastered.

The theory of situational language teaching is based on behaviorally conditioned theory based on teaching through habit. It mainly refers to the process, rather than the conditions of teaching. The aims of this method are to teach practical mastery of the four basic language skills, aims that are shared by almost all language teaching methods [2].

The basic idea behind the situational method is that language is best learned when it is used in real communicative situations, rather than simply learned mechanically from textbooks. A typical situational lesson looks like this. The lesson begins with stress and intonation practice, followed by a stage of repetition and presentation of new material, mainly grammatical structures or vocabulary. The material learned is then practiced and practiced in oral speech. Only after this are written exercises or reading assignments carried out.

The situational method focuses on the development of speaking and listening comprehension, providing students with many opportunities to practice and improve their communication skills. It also emphasizes the importance of context and direct interaction, which helps students better remember and use the language they are learning. This method to teaching a foreign language is actively used in modern teaching methods, as it helps students develop their communication skills, confidence in communication, and the ability to adapt to various real-world situations [3].

When teaching English using the situational method, a number of conditions should be observed:

• there should be accuracy in pronunciation and in the use of grammar;
• practical mastery of the main components of the language should occur through mastering stable constructions;
• the ability to react quickly in conversational situations should be developed;
• the use of basic structures and sentences should occur automatically.

The situational method assumes that in English classes much attention is paid to the selection of material and the formation of skills for the automatic use of certain words and expressions. The rejection of the native language in the classroom creates conditions for immersion in the language environment, and the emphasis on oral speech allows you to break the language barrier and overcome the difficulties of using English, while learning words in a certain context allows you to remember them faster and use them more successfully in practice [4].

The rapprochement of the process of teaching English and the situation of real communication can be facilitated by modeling a real situation of communication through the use of educational speech situations.

According to researchers, the model of situational teaching involves the use of educational speech situations, which in turn represent a system of factors that determine the content of students’ speech actions, as well as a way of setting communicative and cognitive tasks that help to form the student as a communicant. An educational speech situation is understood as specially created conditions, circumstances, a system of relationships between interlocutors for the purpose of educational and upbringing influence on students when implementing speech actions in English.

The situation serves as a condition for the development of speech skills, in particular, it is used to develop dialogic skills.

In teaching dialogic speech, the goal is to develop dialogic skills:

• formulate a request for information (communicative and situationally motivated questions);
• satisfy a request for information;
• communicate information for the purpose of its further discussion;
• clarify information;
• express value judgments.

Situations of different types and kinds are used to develop dialogic skills. Methodologists distinguish the following types:

• Situations of social and status relationships. These include relationships that arise when performing intra-group roles and roles that develop in the process of formal and informal communication.
• Situations of role relationships. Relationships take on a personal character, the roles played in them reflect the leading psychological and moral qualities of the individual.
• Relationships of joint activity. Relationships have the character of dependence, coordination, mutual assistance, etc.
• Situations of moral relationships.

Educational speech situations as a means of developing the foundations of students’ foreign language communicative competence must meet the following requirements:

• the situation must ensure a communicative focus in developing students’ dialogic skills;
• the situation must have a cultural focus, manifested in the presence of speech material containing a nationally specific coloring and reflecting elements of the culture of the country of the language being studied;
• the situation must meet the requirements of the educational program.

The use of a situational method in teaching implies great opportunities for bringing communication in the classroom closer to the conditions of natural communication. This ensures a practical focus of training and allows students to be transported for some time to another culture, to experience the features of foreign language speech from their own experience. This is why the use of situations in an English class in the formation of the basics of foreign language communicative competence is so necessary [5].

A positive effect is also noted when creating integrated educational and speech situations on the development of students’ creative activity. When unexpected circumstances arise during the resolution of an educational situation, a change in the goal leads to the need to change the entire sequence of actions, which should ensure a response to the circumstances that have arisen. The actions assumed in it can encourage students to independently search for new ways to solve the task at hand. In this case, the conditions of the situation can change towards complication. Activation of students’ creative activity can lead to the creation of original approaches to solving specific problems that arise or a set of new and old problems. Accordingly, the entire program changes as a result of students’ interest in the subject of study and as a result of their receiving current information about the correctness of their actions in the process of performing educational activities, i.e., prompt feedback [6].

Creation of a situational orientation of teaching during a class stimulates students’ cognitive activity and allows for a one hundred percent focus on speech communication, which is the main condition for mastering a foreign language. Rational use of the situational method of teaching English provides ample opportunities for intensifying the teaching process. Organizing classes on its basis makes the teaching process interesting and educational.