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УДК 811.111:378.147.223:004
Kondrakhina N.G., Cand. of Sciences (Philology), Senior Lecturer, Professor, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia),
E-mail: NKondrakhina@fa.ru
Petrova O.N., Cand. of Sciences (Engineering), Senior Lecturer, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia),
E-mail: ONPetrova@fa.ru
Staroverova N.P., senior lecturer, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia), E-mail: NStaroverova@fa.ru
EXPECTATIONS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING FINANCIAL ENGLISH IN DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT. The
paper is dedicated to an analysis of students' needs and expectations in the process of teaching financial English in modern digital environment. The research has revealed different groups of students to have different wants and demands regarding their needs to use the target language, with the prevailing number of learners to be satisfied with their foreign language acquisition. The study has elicited the desire of more than a half of the interviewees to have a longer course of training provision and an increase in the number of academic hours per week. There is no single view but a strong preference in favour of paper-based textbooks. The findings of the study have also identified interviewees' preferences with respect to interactive communication activities as well as suggestions of a wider use of computer and mobile technologies in face-to-face classes. Regarding the role of the English language in building personal qualities and professional skills the learners give the priority to those which contribute to their professional career. Self-development and personal growth enjoy the priority, communication skills rank second. Competition and individualism appear to be also potentially important to the respondents. Curiosity, initiative, striving for innovation, mutual respect, analytical thinking, tolerance, responsibility and diligence are listed in the descending order. The results of the study will contribute to introducing innovations in teaching professional English, making learning more enjoyable and interactive by incorporating game elements and Al-powered content, and become the basis for building the trajectory of professional development.
Key words: students' expectations and needs, teaching financial English, language acquisition, digital education environment, building professional skills and personal qualities
Н.Г. Кондрахина, канд. филол. наук, доц., проф., Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, г. Москва, E-mail: NKondrakhina@fa.ru
О.Н. Петрова, канд. техн. наук, доц., Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, г. Москва, E-mail: ONPetrova@fa.ru
Н.П. Староверова, доц., Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, г. Москва, E-mail: NStaroverova@fa.ru
ОЖИДАНИЯ СТУДЕНТОВ В ПРОЦЕССЕ ИЗУЧЕНИЯ ФИНАНСОВОГО АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА В УСЛОВИЯХ ЦИФРОВОЙ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЙ СРЕДЫ
Данная статья посвящена анализу ожиданий студентов в процессе обучения финансовому английскому языку в современной цифровой образовательной среде. Исследование выявило, что у разных групп студентов разные ожидания и требования относительно изучения профессионального иностранного языка. Большинство студентов выразили удовлетворенность процессом обучения. В ходе исследования было установлено, что большая часть студентов, участвующих в опросе, желают изучать иностранный язык в течение более продолжительного периода времени, а также увеличить количество учебных часов в неделю. Статистически значимая часть студентов предпочитает работать с печатными учебными материалами, а не с их электронным вариантом. Были выявлены предложения студентов относительно более широкого использования интерактивных информационно-коммуникативных технологий при проведении аудиторных занятий. При изучении роли иностранного языка в процессе формирования профессиональных навыков и личностных характеристик наиболее ценными для студентов оказались такие качества, как саморазвитие и личностный рост, второе место принадлежит коммуникативным навыкам. Такие спорные качества, как конкурентность и индивидуализм, оказались также статистически значимыми. Любознательность, инициативность, стремление к инновациям, взаимное уважение, аналитическое мышление, толерантность и прилежание представлены в порядке убывания. Результаты исследования будут способствовать внедрению инновационных приемов с использованием элементов геймификации и содержания на основе искусственного интеллекта, а также послужат основой для построения индивидуальной траектории профессионального развития студентов.
Ключевые слова: ожидания и требования студентов, преподавание финансового английского языка, овладение языком, цифровая образовательная среда, формирование профессиональных навыков и личностных качеств
Introduction. For a long time English language teachers at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation have focused on the process of empowering their students with linguistic knowledge and skills, whereas such aspects as students' preferences and expectations, personal interests in the ways of acquiring the second language (L2) have not been always treated as a high priority. It has recently become quite obvious that changes should be introduced in the process of teaching with special emphasis on the personality of a learner. It is the learner who is the major subject of the academic process, therefore it is vital for a teacher both to understand students' expectations and to effectively arrange the process of empowering them with knowledge. It is also important to be aware of peculiar personal characteristics of quite a new type of learner born at the turn of a century, at the time of unprecedented advancement in technology, which strongly influenced the younger generation's mindset, their relationship with the surrounding world [1].
The relevance of the research is determined by constant changing of learning environment, the variety of information technologies which influence the process of teaching and students' requirements and needs. Our duty is not to miss these changes but to elucidate, take advantage of them and help our students excel in acquiring communicative competence suitable for the globalized workplace.
The aim of the study is to thoroughly research into third-year students' expectations of foreign language training, their specific and non-specific linguistic needs, wants, anticipation and preferences, assess the level of satisfaction with English language classes.
The tasks of the research involve:
- eliciting learners' assumptions on the duration of the course of learning a foreign language and a number of face-to-face classes per week;
- revealing students' preferences in using text-books;
- determining the most effective types of foreign language activities,
- revealing students' preferences concerning linguistic skills;
- identifying the most favoured information communication technologies used in and out of class;
- eliciting the value of the course with regard to personal qualities and professional skills;
- recording respondents' ideas regarding L2 acquisition improvements.
The scientific novelty of the research boils down to revealing the level of satisfaction with ESP language learning and identifying teaching methods to better meet students' needs.
The theoretical significance of the study is aimed at adding new data to the accumulated body of academic knowledge of building students' linguistic competence at a non-linguistic higher school worldwide.
The practical value of the research is based on identifying the changes in elaborating ESP curriculum with a special focus on students' needs and expectations in digital education environment.
Literature review. Developing foreign language knowledge and skills has always been a part of university education in Russia. However, professional foreign language teaching has been enjoying the priority in national higher schools of learning only for the last twenty-five years since the time when university education underwent radical changes. By professional English language we understand English for Specific Purposes (ESP). According to T. Hutchinson and A.Waters ESP can be defined as "an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning" [2, p.19]. In our setting, it is financial English, which is taught for specific needs of our learners - future specialists who will be involved in finance related jobs. The last two decades have seen a growing trend towards analyzing students' needs and expectations in the context of tertiary education in different countries. According to T. Dudley-Evans "needs analysis is the cornerstone of ESP" and its proper application can result into a "focused course" [3, p. 121].
S. Menggo et al. indicates that students' needs analysis plays a vital role in developing teaching and learning speaking materials. The large survey of students' needs in Indonesia has revealed that they lack independent speaking tasks and vocabulary, would like more group work, communication and collaboration in course design. The conclusion is made that language lessons must develop the 21st-century skills [4, p. 742].
D. Chostelidou considers the results of a learners' language needs analysis project in Greece. A needs-based ESP course should address current academic needs of the students and have a strong emphasis on the major discipline, which in this
particular case is accounting. Needs analysis is regarded by the author as an indispensable component of any ESP course, where students are not the only interested parties [5, p. 4510].
V. Chan confirms the above findings by a large-scale survey of Hong Kong Polytechnic University students' perceptions of language needs and wants in the academic, professional, and social domains, matching them with the opinions of their English teachers. The author stresses that the learners are often seen as the best judges of their own needs and wants. Both students and teachers would agree that the priority in language learning should be given to improving listening and speaking skills necessary for international conferences and seminars, building academic and professional vocabulary and increasing students' confidence and motivation in language learning [6, p. 23].
E. Vermeulen analyses the expectations of students in the era of digitalization and states that education needs become much more "forward-looking" and skills-based, "updating" the content of programs or courses is really no longer enough. Students should be taught creative thinking by analyzing complex situations and communicating results in the form of presentation or video; operating without a teacher means showing initiative and self-motivation. Teamwork in constantly changing groups is of great importance. One of the most promising challenges is interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary study (CLIL) [7].
The study of Meenal V. Dalvi focuses on the ways and the effect of using digital gadgets both by teachers and students in classroom learning. It indicates teachers' positive attitude towards digital classrooms, an increase in students' interest in learning in such environment and improvement of students' reading skills. The problems for teachers are monitoring the use of gadgets in large classes and providing quick reply when students need their guidance. It is concluded that more communication channels and direct interaction between teachers and students can help achieve optimum benefits [8, p. 7].
D. Christelow tackling the problem of using a foreign language outside the class room positively assesses the opportunities the digital technology provides because digital students are keen to socialize with peers of similar backgrounds and interests, both in class and outside of it. It is worth motivating students to seek out opportunities for genuine interaction and practice outside of class. Students also ask to be given easier access to digital content without having to go through lengthy sign-up processes [9].
L. Todea and R. Demarcsek [10] in quoting P. Robinson [11, p. 52] report that needs analysis should be an on-going process carried out during the life of each course since the learners' needs are changing too. The truly surprising aspect for them is that students seem to be quite aware of their needs in terms of English knowledge and skills and have quite an objective viewpoint on what activities are useful and generate improvement of their skills and knowledge. They conclude that students' responses should be taken into account when designing ESP courses, since the target group seems to be objectively aware of its needs.
Materials and Methods. To study the issue of matching students' expectations and demands to the process of teaching financial English in digital educational environment the following methods of research were used: students' questionnaires, scientific literature review on the topic, classroom observations, summarizing the experience of instructors' practical work, interviews with learners. By now the first part of the survey has been completed encompassing 108 third-year financial students whose professional activity in future will require high level of proficiency of financial English. The subject-matter of the research was the process of developing foreign language professional communicative competence in the course of English in the Professional Sphere. Following the Council of the European Union Recommendations by "competences we understand a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes, where: a. knowledge is composed of the facts and figures, concepts, ideas and theories which are already established and support the understanding of a certain area or subject; b. skills are defined as the ability and capacity to carry out processes and use the existing knowledge to achieve results; c) attitudes describe the disposition and mind-sets to act or react to ideas" [12].
The questionnaire of 20 open and closed questions was chosen as the main method of the research because of the advantage of obtaining the necessary information within a short period of time, with respondents' highly individual opinions due to anonymous answers.
Seventeen questions were closed: 4 of them were of yes or no type, 5 contained 2 answer options, 4 questions suggested from 3 to 5 variants of the answer and 4 included from to 2 to16 options for choice. The findings of the questionnaire were complemented by interviews with 36 students, those willing to give more detailed comments on the topic. The data derived from the questionnaires were analyzed by using descriptive statistical methods. Frequencies and percentages for all items of the questionnaires were obtained.
Results and Discussion. To have a better understanding of the results and interpret them correctly, it is reasonable to note that the compulsory course of L2 acquisition at the University lasts for three years. We consider the first two years to be an important preparatory step before diving into a new learning environment with more complicated professional materials, therefore it is of vital necessity for instructors to understand if students' expectations of the knowledge and skills they have acquired in the first two years are realistic in relation to the process of teaching. The answers of the third-year linguistically experienced students have demonstrated quite a wide variety of opinions: the majority of the students - 72% (78 respondents) have clear-
ly stated a significant improvement in their knowledge and skills, thus, satisfaction being in line with their expectations. However, 28% (30 interviewees) have claimed a drop in skills of using English as a means of communication - both speaking and writing. 15% of them assumed the main reason for their shortfall of knowledge and skills to be inadequate independent work both at home and in class. The others (13%) shifted the responsibility on teachers, pointing out a low level of demand. The negative results demanded quick measures in terms of enhancing teachers' proficiency in methods of teaching, analysing and seeking the ways of meeting the needs of the students.
The next two questions aimed at revealing students' opinion on foreign language course duration and the number of academic hours per week. Of 108 interviewees the majority were in favour of both extending the course up to 4 years and an increase in the number of face-to-face classes: 54% of the learners (58 students) suggested having 4 hours of English (2 periods) per week as opposed to 1 period the students have in the third year now. 20% (22 students) were in favour of 6 hours (3 periods) weekly, 10% (11 learners) consider 8 hours (4 periods) to be appropriate for efficient acquisition of a foreign language. In their opinion excellence in language skills which is required in their future professional activity can be achieved through a long and inspiring process. The remaining 16% (18 respondents) are quite satisfied with the current situation. Students' preferences in favour of using course books written by foreign writers and published abroad were not surprising. The majority consider international textbooks to be more effective - 78% (86 students), while only 22% (24 learners) prefer working with in-house textbooks produced at the University. To solve the problem teachers of English together with professors majoring in these subjects have been recently involved in creating course-tailored books using quality, authentic materials which are suitable for the specific needs of our students and, most importantly, provide curriculum links with the sciences which are a part of the course of studies. The similar results regarding the choice of textbooks in favour of those published abroad have been received by R.West and E.Frumina in the case study of the National University of Science and Technology [13, p. 53].
The answer to the question "What kind of book do you prefer working with: paper-based or electronic?" revealed that 71% of the respondents would rather work with paper text-books, and only 29% are in favour of a digital version. As it was explained in the research carried out by Antipenko O.E. when students use a textbook as a source of knowledge, which requires a lot of concentration on the materials studied, physical reading a paper book gives them more chances to comprehend the materials better and fewer chances to be distracted in comparison with reading a digital book. Moreover, reading a traditional book could be supported by bookmarking, highlighting, underlining the most important information which contributes to memorising the materials much better [13].
Learners' needs in terms of the activity which is more important at the moment -speaking or writing - were in a way predictable, 90% and 10% respectively. The interview has proven the fact that the students are by far more motivated in speaking as it is a highly interactive activity which contributes to developing communication skills, sharing and extending professional knowledge, discussing professional matters, role-playing, case and problem solving activity, etc. Writing requires a lot of systematic practice and overall is considered by students to be more challenging than learning to speak fluently. It might seem to be more difficult, monotonous, less interesting, with the level of demand for professional writing at the stage of the completion of the course to be quite high. As the respondents have mentioned during the interview, producing a high-quality piece of writing requires a lot of time, effort and not necessarily leads to success, if adequate skills have not been built at earlier stages. The most important answer for teachers concerned the question on their favoured activities. It was intentionally open allowing students to offer from 1 to 5 types. On the top of the list the students have placed the activity dealing with watching and discussing video materials - instructional videos from Youtube, TED Talks, extracts from feature films, etc. As explained by the respondents in private talks, they are keen on working not only on highly specialized materials aimed at extension of their professional knowledge but watching episodes from feature films. It brings them closer to real life, for example, an episode from the film Devil Wears Prado while learning the topic area Job Interviewing or when discussing the topic Stock Exchange - a part of the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. As students stress, this mode of learning creates a long-lasting impression in their minds and motivates them to watch films in English, which in the long run contributes to the efficacy of their communicative competence. Undoubtedly, being a combination of visual and audio stimuli, it is an effective tool for teaching both business and professional English. It is true that it is used by teachers of English at different stages of a lesson - as a warm-up activity, for consolidating the materials of the topics studied, practicing listening and speaking skills in and out of class, reinforcing the skills acquired, focusing on information novelty, etc. [14]. Business games rank second, they are a really powerful instrument to encourage developing communication skills. They teach how to shape their own vision of the problem, communicate that vision to the groupmates, suggest a course of action honing analytical and critical skills. In fact, business games deepen learners' involvement in professional issues, build professional communicative competence which is the overall purpose of L2 acquisition. To satisfy students' needs the University teachers of English have created quite a sizeable bank of short business games which can be used in class for engaging either all the students or individuals, or as a part of home assignments combined with the internet search to get a wide exposure to a subject [15, p. 105].
Doing practical tasks, problem solving, round-table talks, discussions on the basis of students' power point presentations have also been assessed as effective modes of learning. According to learners' opinion, these activities improve their speaking abilities and independence, produce positive outcomes, boost their self-esteem. Really, used extensively this approach makes the teaching process student-centered and highly effective, it can be recognized as a vital means of developing communication skills, logic and professional mentality.
The fifth position in the list of engaging activities is occupied by a case studying technique. Learners find it inspiring because it is a powerful method to facilitate developing real world professional skills. Cases are favoured both by students and teachers because this is an effective method integrating all types of activities - speaking, writing, reading and listening. A case study technique teaches students to research and evaluate multiple sources of data, fosters information literacy, enriches with skills of using the language naturally, imparts learners with communicative competence, critical thinking, analytical and interpersonal skills [16, p. 40].
Round-table talks, project activity, group and panel discussions are also among techniques which students expect to be used vastly in classes of English. Such interactive activities when the teacher puts forward a problem and asks the students to assess its importance, discuss advantages and disadvantages, find possible solutions are useful because they contribute to L2 learners' successful performance. From the point of view of the teachers, these highly interactive communicative methods empower students with reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, foster building communication skills and are in line with the achievement of learning outcomes. It is necessary to state that the respondents have assessed highly not only engaging interactive speaking group activities but the tasks developing linguistic competence and facilitating the knowledge of grammar and mastery of subject-specific vocabulary, technical words, in particular. Among them are grammar exercises which develop grammatical and syntactical accuracy, extensive vocabulary practice, compiling mind maps, brainstorming activity, different types of reading on professional matters, checking home prepared written translation tasks. The learners' need for them is explained by their wants to develop accuracy, to be equipped with the right kind of the language, engaging in pragmatic authentic language necessary for meaningful communication. As pointed out by the learners, the use of mind mapping helps students understand difficult concepts and organize ideas. Innovative e-learning Quizlet platform complements traditional classes, increases learners' involvement in the process of learning grammar and vocabulary, which results in acquiring self-confidence in discussing professional matters.
Only 3 students of 108 (about 3%) ignored answering the question about preferred teaching techniques which proves the fact that practically all interviewees have genuine concern about the methodology used to build their intercultural communicative foreign language competence. The results of the questionnaire have revealed that if language teaching is targeted, has practical, educational and intercultural value, contains the elements of problem teaching and is aimed at building competencies relevant to real-life communication, it completely satisfies the needs of the student body.
One more important question dealt with the use of digital technologies. Students' answers were not very encouraging: while 62% of the respondents (67 learners) gave positive answers, the remaining 38% (41 students) would prefer a more extended use of language training supported by the internet, computer and mobile technologies. They would like to be involved in online interactive tests, work with applications Duolingo, Talk to Books, Memrise, BBC Learning English. The individual talks with the respondents have revealed that a lot of them use ICT advantages for independent work, for example, Rosetta Stone. This is a course of choice because our university students can get access to this platform for free: all the costs are paid by the University.
Another opportunity, which has recently become available to those who are looking for an intensive acquisition of the language, is being empowered with the help of mass open online courses (MOOC). Their main advantage is getting education via virtual environment from the best schools of higher learning using all the advantages of ICT tools. Some students have already extended their knowledge and skills in English on the basis of educational platform Coursera in such areas as Business English: Making Presentations, Management and Leadership, Financial Markets, Accounting, Corporate Finance, etc. This new form of online education contributes to acquiring the best standards of education irrespective of time and location. With the help of our survey we have also managed to gain an insight into the attitudes the students have towards English and understand its value in terms of developing their personality, in particular, professional skills and personal qualities. The students were asked to identify 5 out of 20 personal qualities and skills which they assume they acquire in their classes of English. The answers appeared to be quite heterogeneous. The majority of the learners believe the greatest value for them is self-development and personal growth - 14,6% (78 respondents' answers), which proves the essential role of a foreign language in enhancing professional knowledge, increasing intellectual and cultural potential [17, p. 536]. Communication skills rank second. 11,4% of the respondents (61 votes) consider the ability to properly communicate to be of the greatest value they obtain in English classes. The truth is communication is not always directly related to the level of English proficiency. Speaking and communicating are not the same. A person can speak English, but may face challenges in communicating. The same can be observed in a native language, not all people possess the ability to communicate
properly in their mother tongue, those who need it attend special courses to develop the skills. On the basis of the communicative approach the teacher of English should not only make motivating and engaging materials, use meaningful tasks but pass on the learners the right knowledge of how to converse properly in compliance with the culture of the country where the target language is used and put the learners on the fast track to effortless communicating.
About 10,5% of the respondents (56 votes) have stated quite unexpectedly that, in their opinion, classes of English contribute to the development of such personal quality as competition, the feeling of rivalry. Undoubtedly, some elements of competition are present quite often in classes of English as components of gamification to spice up the lesson and motivate students. Competitiveness is certainly a factor in higher education, however, the teachers of English never set an aim to force and foster competition in their classes. Russian psychologists explain that this feeling is mostly urged by egocentric motives with the aim to solve personal problems. Hence, in our understanding it is of a more negative character, which makes it slightly different from interpretation by foreign specialists. As it follows from the interviews with the participants of the study, the feeling of competition might be transferred from the outside world to the world of education. On the fourth place the respondents (45 votes) have placed individualism (9,2%), which is not in agreement with the aims of our teaching community either. In general, the concept of individualism is ambiguous in meaning with some difference in interpretation in our country and abroad. According to Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, individualism is "the idea that freedom of thought and action for each person is the most important quality of society, rather than shared effort and responsibility"[18]. In our society this concept is associated more with a negative meaning as it refers to the behavior when a person places their personal interests above those of the society, without being concerned about what other people will think. On the other hand, we can't deny that it also implies independence of ideas and confidence in one's abilities, and this can be interpreted quite positively. To put is briefly, teachers do not set the task to nurture mavericks, our society needs top-notch, savvy specialists with independent ideas, a well-developed feeling of responsibility, empathy and emotional intelligence instead. We do not only educate the younger generation but also develop their positive personal qualities.
The fifth place in the hierarchy of personal traits and skills belongs to curiosity or inquisitiveness - 8,2% (44 votes). It proves the fact that there is hardly any other subject taught at University which can surpass the role of the English language in terms of satisfying students' needs in their desire to obtain knowledge and develop intellectual capacity.
The next two skills - initiative and striving for innovation - occupy the 6-th and 7-th positions (7,7% and 7,1% respectively). The ability to be open to new ideas and creative solutions can correlate with the development of leadership skills. Realizing the role of the English language in their development the students are trying to build them through handling specifically selected materials and participating in such activities as project developing, case studying, business games, via independent work. Our results are in line with the results of the survey made by Vera A. Fedotova stating that "the general innovativity index is higher among young people: the mean arithmetic value equals 3,9, so, young respondents are more likely to accept and introduce innovation" [19].
Mutual respect is ranked the eighth in our survey accounting for 6,2% (33 votes). As the figures show our students consider classes of English and activities they are involved in to be quite valuable in terms of acquiring this quality. Mutual respect is a two-way process, it starts with a teacher. The pattern obtained at university will inevitably influence the atmosphere of future working conditions. Cooperative learning strategies - role-playing, classroom debates, case studies, group discussions, teamwork - facilitate fostering respect and understanding other people's feeling and emotions [20].
Only 5,3% of the surveyed students (28 votes) have stated that analytical thinking is shaped in classes of English, which appears to be quite low. It is not a secret analytical skills play a tremendous role in professional life of any specialist working in the finance-related area. Gathering information, analyzing large volumes of information, solving common problems, making decisions on what actions to take next are only a part of this complex activity. The reasons why these skills are low-rated can be explained by the fact that students lack knowledge and experience of using analytical thinking in their majors. We assume that interdisciplinary cooperation with the departments teaching specialist disciplines, introducing problem solving and project techniques, case study method at an earlier stages of training will hone analytical skills of our students. Such personal qualities as tolerance, responsibility, diligence, politeness, integrity go one after another in the descending order with the number of votes from 15 to 10 (15, 13, 12, 11, 11 votes respectively), altogether making up 11,4%. The concluding group is made up of skills and qualities with the least number of votes - punctuality (10), humanistic values (9), diplomacy (8), flexibility (7), multitasking (6), perseverance (5), all in all - 8,4% (45 votes). It is evident that the students admit the value of English in developing the above personal traits although they are not focused too much on the qualities which are referred to moral or ethical issues, they consider themselves to be linked more to technology and professional matters. A new in-depth study is necessary to analyse this cluster of qualities with special attention paid to humanistic values.
Conclusion. The findings of the research have been complemented by the interviews with the teachers of specialist and non-specialist subjects who approve of the idea that the students' body of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation is heterogeneous at present. In the 20-th century only the most
educated, capable and purposeful candidates could become university financial students, whereas nowadays when higher education has become more accessible, there are also learners with a lower educational potential. Taking a Unified State Exam in a foreign language is not required to become a student majoring in Financial Markets, Corporate Finance, Business Valuation, etc., therefore different groups of learners have different expectations regarding their needs to use the target language.
The results obtained are of great value as they indicate what improvements should be introduced in the teaching process. The English language teachers should adhere to a student-centered approach where at the heart of the education process is a student, motivate every learner, meet their demands for high quality L2 training. Digitization decreases the information advantage of a teacher but requires the increase in the level of their knowledge of and expertise in methodology, pedagogy and psychology. Following the results of the study the teachers of English are recommended to vastly use those innovative interactive technologies based on doing or creating which are most favoured by all the learners of Generation Z: business games, video materials supported by group discussions, problem solving, round table talks, case studying. it is required to focus on practicing computer and digital technologies recommended in the questionnaires such as online interactive tests, mobile applications to BBC, Ted Talks, GPT-3 in addition to the ones they are regularly involved in. We should follow modern trends in education and provide our students
Библиографический список / References
with tailored materials based on their needs and capabilities by utilizing AI-powered content, making learning more enjoyable and interactive by incorporating game elements such as challenges, rewards, and competition into the learning process, which will allow students to progress at their own pace and receive customized learning experiences [21].
The role of the English language is crucial in raising a new generation of highly qualified professionals because interactive activities used in English develop a great many personal qualities and professional skills, with special emphasis on so-called 4 C skills of the 21-st century - creative thinking, collaboration, communication and critical thinking.
It is also necessary to inform Faculty authorities of students' wants related to the extension of the period of learning English and settle the problem of an increase in the number of academic hours via introducing optional classes in the syllabus of a foreign language. Regarding students' preferences to work with paper-based textbooks it is also reasonable to contact the University library with the request to have the required quantity of textbooks in stock.
We hope very much the findings of the study will be a starting point in developing students' individual trajectories of learning English which should be in compliance with the demands and requirements stated in the curriculum, on the one hand, and abilities, level of linguistic competence, needs and wants of a learner, on the other.
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Статья поступила в редакцию 29.01.24
УДК 378
Kondrakhina N.G., Cand. of Sciences (Philology), Senior Lecturer, Professor, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia),
E-mail: NKondrakhina@fa.ru
Petrova O.N., Cand. of Sciences (Engineering), Senior Lecturer, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia),
E-mail: ONPetrova@fa.ru
THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POWER TO TEACH FOREIGN LANGUAGES: A NEW REALITY IN EDUCATION. The paper briefly touches upon the emergence and evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The authors provide certain examples of current best practices in using AI as educational technology to teach foreign languages both in Russia and abroad along with the forecasts related to the future applications of AI opportunities in education. The ways students use the power of AI when getting prepared for English classes and sitting their language examination are also discussed to find out to which extent it should be considered academic fraud. Some approaches to confront the misuse or even the abusive use of AI for doing current and specifically exam writing tasks are offered. The paper also considers challenges and limitations of AI in education in general and in teaching foreign languages in particular. The conclusion is made that taking into account the current level of AI development nowadays it cannot be regarded as a full-fledged educational technology. Being undoubtedly an innovative, powerful and helpful instrument for a teacher of foreign languages both when preparing and teaching the language class it is still unable to fully replace a human in a classroom in a foreseeable future though the benefits of AI power for the students studying foreign languages specifically independently or using e-learning are obvious.
Key words: artificial intelligence, educational technology, academic fraud, foreign languages
Н.Г. Кондрахина, канд. филол. наук, доц., проф., Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, г. Москва,
E-mail: NKondrakhina@fa.ru
О.Н. Петрова, канд. техн. наук, доц., Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации, г. Москва, E-mail: ONPetrova@fa.ru
