The article updates organizational and methodical peculiarities of schoolchildren's research work during foreign language learning. The authors justify the relevance of the research approach to forming schoolchildren's research skills as a universal way of learning the reality, gaining personal experience of learning, creativity development during lifelong education within contemporary information society. It is proved that the subject "Foreign language" offers significant potential for schoolchildren's research skills development. The main part of the article deals with the theoretical explanation of key aspects of schoolchildren's research activity, definition of the research approach, types of the research activity (academic and research); the terms "activity" and "research task". The authors give examples of academic work on creating projects at the English lessons. It is pointed out that a project creates conditions for independent search for knowledge, obtaining important for a growing person activity experience, self-monitoring skills, search activity formation, curiosity, and capability of independent thinking. The authors describe some research tasks used in school practice of German teaching. The tasks are illustrated by examples aimed at observation, drawing an analogy, analyzing, considering a phenomenon from different viewpoints, determining main and secondary points, generalizing, putting different questions, speaking on a given topic etc. In conclusion it is noted that schoolchildren's creative independence and cognitive activity and their research activity stimulation become characteristics of contemporary educational situation. The authors emphasize the significance of research activity for development of schoolchildren.

Keywords: research approach; research activity; research skills; developing teaching; a foreign language lesson; organizational and methodical peculiarities.