The purpose of the study is to describe the trends in the use of toponymic peripherals in Russian media texts, which serve to designate cities: to identify the degree of their relevance to native speakers of modern Russian and the features of their use in live speech.

Methods. To achieve this goal, the methods of continuous sampling, observation of linguistic material, lexico- semantic and contextual analysis, and data systematization were used in the work.

The results of the study show that toponymic periphrases are actively used by native speakers as a means of linguistic expression and evaluation, allowing them to focus on certain features of a geographical object, its cultural or historical significance and other distinctive properties and to some extent influence the reader's perception of the city, which is not inherent in the meaning of a separate toponym.

Conclusion. The analysis of examples of the use of toponymic periphrases in modern Russian media texts provides grounds to identify some trends. The same periphrasis can be used in relation to different cities, but the specific denotation is specified in the context. The combination of a periphrasis with a toponym focuses attention on the existing seme in the meaning of the component or develops a new one. The use of certain periphrases indicates their rethinking by native speakers in connection with a change in ideology or vector of political development. The transformation of the periphrasis in speech fills it with a new meaning. Media texts use wordplay based on the repeti- tion of a component of a peripheral expression or its form. The study of toponymic peripherals has prospects due to the vastness of the current linguistic material.

The purpose of the research is to investigate the phenomenon of counter text from the point of view of psycholinguistic mechanisms of activity that “launches” its creation – the individual’s metalinguistic activity. The creation of a counter text (“finished product” of understanding) is considered in a complex of “events” during perception and understanding of the text as a separate stage of understanding activity.

Materials and methods. To analyze counter texts, the author used an experimental technique. The materials of the study appeared to be 55 counter texts obtained during the experiment conducted among 1st and 2nd year students of the Southwestern State University (52 participants) and teachers of the Department of Foreign Languages of the Southwestern State University (3 participants), a total of 55 people.

The results of the experiment indicate that the construction of a counter text has a deeply individual character, due to the difference in the strategies of metalinguistic activity of the participants of the experiment presented in the article, and the difference in the qualitative characteristics and properties of metalinguistic activity recorded during the analysis of counter texts. The characteristic features of metalinguistic activity are noted: paraphrasing and replacing words with synonyms or those that play the role of synonyms in the individual lexicon of the subjects; adding evaluative judgments and intermediate conclusions to the narrative canvas of counter texts; introducing abbreviated semantic blocks that are understandable to the author of the counter text, but require additional decoding; generalization of information; restructuring the original structure of the author's text; distortion of individual details of the content.

Conclusion. The counter text is a compressed fragment of the "reality" recreated by the recipient, which arose in his consciousness as a result of the influence of the author's text. The degree of discrepancy is determined, firstly, by the presence or absence of such experience in the recipient (both his own lived experience and adapted through books, etc.), and secondly, by the formation of cognitive mechanisms for processing information that make it possible to refract someone else's segment of reality and project it onto one's own reality; thirdly, the presence of a sufficient arsenal of linguistic means and skills for their immediate use. The counter text is an accessible tool for studying the individual's metalinguistic activity.

The purpose of research is to describe the features of the representation and functioning of proper names in the poetic texts of the Belgorod poet I. A. Chernukhin, acting, on the one hand, as a geographically marked vocabulary (lexical units belonging to the name of the Belgorod region), on the other hand, they are markers of the poet's poetic discourse and idiosyncrasy.

 Methods. To achieve this goal, the methods of continuous sampling, descriptive method, method of discursive analysis, and data systematization were used.

Results of the conducted research indicate that the onomastic space of I. A. Chernukhin's poetic texts is a multifaceted and multi-layered phenomenon, the top of which are proper names nominating historical figures or historical events, however, no less important, semantically capacious onyms are proper names acting as markers of territorial affiliation. These synonyms, as a rule, have great pragmatic potential and carry different semantic shades, the main of which can be called the meaning of ‘small homeland'.

Conclusion. Proper names are the most important markers of the poetic discourse of the Belgorod poet I. A. Chernukhin. The study showed that the greatest pragmatic potential among the onyms acting as a geographically marked vocabulary is possessed by the onym Belogorye, which receives full semantic disclosure in the poetic texts of I. A. Chernukhin. Along with the specified proper name, the hydronyms Vorskla, Quiet Pine, and the toponym Tomarovka play an important role in the formation of the poet's idiostyle. These proper names are not only geographically marked vocabulary, but also act as markers of the poet's individual authorial style.

The presented study analyzes the features of the formation of the image of Russia in the modern consciousness of the youth socio-demographic group from the point of view of psycholinguistics. The study is based on the results of a psycholinguistic experiment.

At the present stage of the socio-political development of the state and society the study of the multifaceted concept of the image of Russia is of particular importance. The relevance of the chosen research topic also lies in the fact that analyzing the image of Russia formed in the minds of young people presupposes a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of cultural and social development of young people. Their study will allow for a deeper understanding of their national identity. In the field of the modern humanitarian paradigm special attention is paid to the understanding of the essence and mechanisms of the formation of the internal and external image behind the stimulus object. The formation of the image of Russia in the consciousness of an individual represents an interference of events occurring in his life, his background knowledge about the studied stimulus object and the phenomena of the surrounding reality based on similarity or analogy.

The purpose of the study is to study the image of Russia formed in the minds of representatives of the youth socio-demographic group and to analyze it from the point of view of psycholinguistics.

The main method used in conducting the experimental study was a free associative experiment. To analyze the data obtained we used descriptive-analytical and comparative methods. The complex implementation of these methods made it possible to build associative fields of the image of Russia formed in the mind of an individual representing a youth socio-demographic group. The material for the study was the associations obtained during a free associative experiment conducted by us in November 2021 among the students of Southwest State University (Kursk).

As a result of the conducted experimental research a large amount of practical material was obtained. The analysis of the material made it possible to construct a lexicographic associative field as well as associative fields of the image of Russia in terms of the semantic distribution of associates and the nature of verbal means of predication. The structure of the associative field of the image of Russia that we have obtained is verified by the data from lexicographic sources.

This article deals with such a linguistic phenomenon as free indirect speech. The main goal is to clarify the basic principles of positioning of this type of speech in the text, to identify its stylistic features and grammatical structure. Within the framework of the work, descriptive, comparative-historical, comparative and semantic-stylistic methods of language research were used. The results of the analysis of grammatical reference books, as well as British and American fiction made it possible to define free indirect speech as a frequently used stylistic device with characteristic features of direct and indirect speech, but at the same time unique in semantic, syntactic and emotional component. Moreover, the cases of the transition of direct and indirect speech into non-direct speech are considered and analyzed, the main causes and principles of this phenomenon are identified. Special attention is paid to the semantic component in the expression of syntactic relations. The hypotheses were confirmed by the examples of written texts from the classical period of British and American literature (Galsworthy, Dreiser, G. Wells, J. K. Jerome). The research will expand the comprehension of free indirect speech in English literature and, perhaps, encourage linguists to study this phenomenon in modern spoken language.

This work is dedicated of examining the peculiarities of the functioning of "literary" memes in Internet communi- cation. The relevance of the research is due to the necessity to study the ability of Internet memes to process and present the most relevant semantic aspects for linguoculture. The opportunity to trace the transformation of the meanings of F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" for a mass format is particularly interesting in this regard.

The purpose of the work is to analyze the specifics of the formation, representation and functioning of memes in the media space, the "literary base" of which is the novel "Crime and Punishment".

Methods. To achieve the purpose of the study, general scientific methods were used: analytical and synthetic information processing, descriptive method; linguistic methods: the method of component analysis, methods of formalization of linguistic facts.

The results of the study indicate that the memetic units formed based on the named work have a number of distinctive features, among which the most significant are precedent, polydiscursivity, intertextuality. Their structure, models of semantic interaction, and meaningful properties are considered. The analysis of the content characteristics of memes revealed two opposing trends: on the one hand, memes represent the most stereotypical ideas about the novel; on the other, memes depict characters, situations known only to "specialists". It is emphasized that memetic units represent the plot scheme of the work in the most generalized form, and the semantics of the formed unity oppose the meaning embedded in the original work.

Conclusion. The conducted research has shown that the basic contrast of the meme makes it possible to combine diverse elements in its structure, forming new nuances of meanings. It is revealed that precedent phenomena become semantic dominants on which meme units are built. It is noted that the humorous orientation of most of the considered units indicates their polymodal nature.

Purpose of research. This article is devoted to the problem of choosing a name for a concept within a foreign linguoculture. At first glance, this stage of scientific analysis doesn’t imply any difficulties in selecting an equivalent concept for one of the languages under study. In the process of work, the researcher, of course, can use existing knowledge in a foreign language, as well as turn to lexicographic sources. But, having delved into the material, it is quite difficult to choose a particular option, since the selection of a priority lexeme may have a shade of subjective perception. The question raised in the article is quite relevant, as at the initial stage of working, it’s difficult to convey the lexeme’s verbal image referred to the concept, if it deals with a cross-language, comparative vector of research. The researcher is a priori responsible for transferring as clearly as possible all the contained semantics of the concept embedded in the native language into a foreign language, so as not to mislead the target audience. As a research task, the authors attempted to identify French lexical equivalents for the Russian concepts “one’s own” and “alien” in accordance with a specially developed algorithm.

Methods. Within the proposed sequence of actions, methods of lexicographic analysis, component analysis, and frequency analysis are used. The introduction of the latter is based on the choice of digital research vector. Modern capabilities, including text corpus, make it possible to work with a large amount of information, that affect the quality and accuracy of the results.

Results. Thus, with the help of a comprehensive analysis, it was possible to determine the most frequent lexemes. In order to verify the data obtained, it was decided to refer to the fund of phraseological units of the French language and thereby estimate the level of error or make sure that the coefficient is negligible. The final stage of analysis confirmed the correctness of the results obtained.

Conclusion. Based on the results of the study, it was established that the key words for the Russian concepts “one’s own” and “alien” in the French language correspond to the lexemes “son” and “étranger”.

The present study considers the experience in final assessment of English language skills in adult learners (scientific researchers) which is performed within the staff training programs. The significance of this study is due to a necessity to find an optimum format to assess speaking skills in adult learners and to improve the quality of adult education.

The aim of the present work is to analyze the existing experience of final assessment of communicative competency formed in adult learners, shown on the example of an open air event “Going to a picnic” and to emphasize the advantages of the abovementioned format and possible challenges.

The results show that the open air format of control allows teachers to correctly assess the learners' ability to communicate in English, and the learners, in turn, are able to successfully demonstrate their achievements.

The present event recreates a real situation of communication in English, which solves the problem of language anxiety in adult learners and their non-acceptance of the situations which are connected with control, with all this increasing the learners' self-esteem and stimulating creativity and interest to the English language.

The study proposes an approach to the formation of universal competencies, assuming the graduate's ability to search, critically analyze and synthesize information, apply a systematic approach to solving tasks, which provides for the systematic structuring of educational material and its translation into graphical representations in the form of frames as structures that repeatedly reload information and represent a compressed reflection of reality. With this organization of the educational process, on the one hand, the tasks and specifics of studying humanities at the university are not violated, and on the other hand, conditions are created for specialists to achieve a holistic experience in solving professional tasks.

Purpose of research is to develop a method for systematically structuring educational material and translating it into graphical representations in the form of frames using the example of disciplines of the humanities cycle in order to form practical skills and competencies of students.

Methods: theoretical (theoretical analysis and synthesis; abstraction and concretization; theoretical modeling); empirical (study of the experience of teaching humanities; normative and educational-program methodological literature, textbooks on disciplines of the cycle), experimental.

Results: the relevance of the systematic structuring of educational humanitarian material, the use of frame schemes in the activities of students, the formation of practical skills and competencies of students in vocational education from the first year of study.

Conclusion: the systematic structuring of educational humanitarian material in the form of frames significantly saves time and effort on its updating, which contributes to the use of rational methods of working with information in general, the formation of practical skills and competencies of students in the process of solving professional problems.

The purpose of the study. In the context of the intensive transformations taking place in Russian society today, the problem of the effectiveness of professional activity, especially in the field of education, is becoming important. It is important to maintain an optimal level of teacher activity in educational institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to such a psychological phenomenon as professional burnout of teachers working with children of early and preschool age. The purpose of the study is to study the features of psychological assistance to preschool teachers who are subject to professional burnout.

Methods. The following methods were used in the work: the questionnaire of professional burnout by K. Maslach adapted by N. E. Vodopyanova, the methodology for determining the level of subjective personality control (USC) by E. A. Bazhin, E. A. Golinkin, A.M. Etkind, the questionnaire for studying coping strategies by N. Endler and J. Parker, S. V. Dukhnovsky's method of «Subjective assessment of interpersonal relationships».

Results. As a result of an empirical study, symptoms of professional burnout among preschool education teachers have been identified. Special attention is drawn to the high level of symptoms such as depersonalization and reduction of professional achievements. Among the factors influencing the development of professional burnout syndrome, it is important to choose a strategy for coping with stress. In the course of empirical research, it was revealed that teachers of preschool educational institutions have a low level of problem-oriented coping, an average level of avoidance-oriented coping, and emotionally-oriented coping. The subjective level of control is also a significant individual psychological factor of professional burnout. As a result of the study, it was found that the majority of teachers have a low level of internality in the field of industrial relations, in the field of failures, and a high level of internality in the field of achievements, in the field of family relations.

Relationships in the team are an important socio-psychological factor of professional burnout. Teachers of pre-school educational institutions found low values of subjective assessment of tension, conflict, aggression in relation- ships, which indicates a decrease in dialogue, self-worth, constructiveness in relationships, lack of close, open, constructive interaction among employees.

Conclusion. Thus, low values of problem-oriented coping, a low level of internality in the field of industrial rela- tions, in the field of failures, signs of disharmonious relations in the team are factors of professional burnout for teachers of preschool educational institutions. The psychological assistance program developed and implemented by us, taking into account the factors and symptoms of professional burnout of preschool teachers, has shown its effectiveness, which is confirmed by mathematical statistics.