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Педагогика
Моделирование профессионально-ориентированных и интерактивных онлайн-сообщений для студентов технических вузов при обучении английскому языка как иностранного
Болтаева Азиза Рустамжоновна, аспирант, Института иностранных языков, Российский университет Дружбы народов, Москва; Ассистент, Университет науки и технологий МИСИС, Москва
Цель исследования - рассмотреть и продемонстрировать значение онлайн-компаньонов при обучении английскому языку студентов технических вузов. Для достижения целей было поставлено несколько задач: объяснить жизненно важную часть обучения английскому языку для конкретных целей, определить важность различных интерактивных онлайн-задач на цифровой платформе Canvas. Научная новизна исследования заключается в том, чтобы перечислить разработку онлайн-компаньонов, которые содержат различные задания для повышения знаний учащихся, несмотря на занятия в аудитория. Профессионально ориентированное обучение иностранному языку, очевидно, рассматривается как приоритетная черта в обучении английскому языку студентов технических вузов. Для расширения знаний учащихся разработано множество подходов и методик. Роль разработки единого механизма наподобие онлайн-компонентов является определяющей в условиях образовательной среды вуза. Результаты многочисленных анализов показали, что методологических направлений и технологий обучения английскому языку в неязыковых вузах существует бесчисленное множество. Следовательно, особое внимание уделяется некоторым полезным ресурсам, таким как онлайн-компоненты на платформе LMS Canvas, где был создан широкий спектр онлайн-упражнений и интерактивных действий для повышения базовых навыков для овладения английским языком.
Ключевые слова: профессионально ориентированное обучение; иностранный язык; компоненты Canvas; коммуникативная компетенция; неязыковые вузы; интерактивные методы; онлайн-компаньоны; английский для специальных целей.
Цитировать: Boltaeva A.R. Modeling professionally - oriented and interactive online companions for students of technical universities while teaching English as a foreign language // KANT. – 2023. – №2(47). – С. 271-277. EDN: OGMESH. DOI: 10.24923/2222-243X.2023-47.49
Boltaeva Aziza Rustamzhonovna, Postgraduate student, Institute of Foreign Languages, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Moscow; Assistant, National University of Science & Technology (MISIS), Moscow
The purpose of the study is to examine and demonstrate the significance of online companions while teaching English to students of technical universities. To achieve the goals several tasks were set: to explain the vital part of teaching English for specific purposes, to pinpoint the importance of various interactive online tasks in Canvas digital platform. The scientific novelty of the study is to enumerate the development of online companions which contain various activities for boosting the knowledge of learners despite the classroom activities. Professionally oriented teaching of a foreign language is obviously considered as the prior feature in teaching English for students of technical universities. Many approaches and techniques have been developed to enhance the knowledge of students. The role of developing a single mechanism like online components is crucial in the educational environment conditions of higher institutions. The results of numerous analyses illustrated that there are innumerable methodological areas and technologies for teaching English at nonlinguistic universities. Hence, special attention is paid for some useful resources like online components in LMS Canvas platform, where wide range of online exercises and interactive activities were constructed, for upgrading fundamental skills to master the English language.
Keywords: professionally oriented teaching; foreign language; Canvas components; communicative competence; non-linguistic universities; interactive methods; online companions; English for special purposes.
5.8.2
Boltaeva A.R.
Modeling professionally - oriented and interactive online companions for students of technical universities while teaching English as a foreign language
Introduction
For the last several years the need of society for specialists in various fields who speak any foreign language is growing tremendously. Nevertheless, a sufficient amount of knowledge that facilitates good professional interaction requires not only boosting the language itself but also establishing cultural background, upgrading the specific features of social and business behavior, determined by the influence of historical traditions and customs and lifestyles. Starting from 2010 education and teaching switched to completely another level, where a significant part of students' lives covered internet and online activities. Even some educational institutions started providing on-line lessons or blended learning formats. Some representatives of the scientific and pedagogical communities claim that implementation of educational programs using e-learning and various online tools, components of technologies should be accepted as an effective addition or alternative to traditional education. [3, c. 362] K.A. Melnikova emphasizes the fact that online tools for improving learning skills are available anywhere and allows you to receive education at a very high level. [5, c. 356] Unfortunately, professional oriented language teaching still remains unsatisfactory due to the acute shortage of specialists who have a certain register of foreign-language knowledge necessary for professional communication. In order to teach students a foreign language to the extent useful for future professional activities, it is mandatory to abandon the traditional approach and rethink its goals and content in general. To accomplish this process various types of tasks have to be taken into consideration: ways of motivating students, creating online tools, utilizing different interactive activities. Consequently, the objective of this article is to highlight various interactive tasks for ameliorating the knowledge and skills of the English language which could be implemented while constructing exercises in online platform in teaching students of technical university. It is also important to pinpoint the efficiency of the Canvas tool as an additional online companion in teaching English to students of technical university MISIS.
Research methodologies
In the 50s of the 20th century, elements of specialized teaching of a foreign language appeared in non-linguistic universities. The main focus was on the issues of selection and identification of linguistic features of texts and the creation of specialized teaching tools and aids (I.G. Venikova, Z.M. Tsvetkova, L.I. Chaurskaya, L.Yu. Kulish, etc.). [1, c. 46] Most researchers come to the conclusion that literary texts are needed to develop reading skills and speaking skills in the specialty. The novelty of the content of specialized texts, in their opinion, increases interest in studying a foreign language and broadens the horizons of students in their future specialty.
Considering any foreign language as a means of forming the professional orientation of a future specialist, E.V. Roshchina points out that while teaching professionally-oriented language material, a two-way relationship is established between the student’s desire to acquire special knowledge and the success of mastering the language. [6, c. 645] According to the scientist a foreign language is an effective means of professional and social orientation in a non-linguistic university, which has great potential for formative influences.
Nowadays the availability of a wide range of electronic materials provides quick access to a variety of Internet resources both to the main tool for studying language disciplines, and to accompanying tools in teaching a foreign language. The use of online learning technologies at the university allows not only to solve educational tasks, but also to form educational autonomy, individual educational trajectory, critical thinking, allowing each student to enter a new level of academic achievement. [4, c. 167] Despite the maximum flexibility of online learning for both students and teachers, many researchers note the existing problems while creating such online components.
First of all, weak technical equipment, unpreparedness of teachers to make such online tools and lack of knowledge of possibilities of online systems are noted to be main complications at the universities. Special attention is given to the problems of methodological support and an online methodological approach to training students - potential candidates for positions that require the so-called "skills of the 21st century", expressed in the formation of a multimodal general cultural foreign language competence. [9, c. 159] The knowledge and use of the language audio, video, non-verbal communication, relevant situations, parameters organization of space, including digital communication are widely being ameliorated throughout the decades.
According to L.D. Shcherbina, one of the key reasons for the weak theoretical, methodological and practical development of issues related to methodological support and the accompaniment of students of foreign languages in modern technical universities is complexity, as well as the multi-purpose content of this process. [7, c. 102] In order to systematize and excel the online tools, components and educational process, therefore it is necessary to develop a mechanism for online methodological support, as well as the selection of optimal means of teaching English as a foreign language in an adaptive information and educational environment that will have the vital prospective to achieve its goals, specific structure and content.
An adaptive educational environment is a special socio-pedagogical system, which can adjust to the conditions of a changing external environment, flexibly respond to their own socio-cultural changes and modify as much as possible to personality traits with its individual abilities. [11, c. 328]
Online components which contain material related to the course syllabus in this context is not as much a tool to support, as an integral element of adaptive information and educational environment. Owing to its systemic, interactive communication that is aimed at improving the processes of learning and teaching English by means of educational, resource, information and scientific and methodological assistance to its main subjects - students and teachers. [2, c. 372]
In this particular research the significance of the canvas online companions is going to be evaluated. There are a lot of arguments in favor of this resource:
• compatibility of the tool for various categories of users - teachers, students, heads of organizations and other;
• adaptability of the environment of the digital platform Canvas is provided principles of formation and completion of information and educational resource base, as well as an automated system for diagnosing all competency-based components - knowledge, abilities, skills and experience of all subjects of educational ecosystems and the formation of their individual educational trajectories; [8, c. 24]
• all resources of the digital platform Canvas are differentiated and targeted;
• Their design and development is carried out in a strict orientation to the goals, objectives and the needs of the target audience, which is due to the results of large-scale monitoring studies, which are also carried out by specialists and teachers who are designing these online companions for the students of technical university MISIS;
• digital platform Canvas and online companions within the platform have great potential in the field of convergent technologies, which, as researchers note, formulate qualitatively a new format of interdisciplinary educational space within the educational and extracurricular activities, contributing to the perception of the world as a whole, rather than the study of individual subject disciplines. [10, c. 98]
Besides, it is vital to bear in mind that the mission of digital educational platform Canvas and designed interactive companions declare principles that are fully consistent with goals, objectives, specifics of online learning in English as foreign, and, of course, online methodological support of this process as forms of inter subject educational collaboration, namely: openness of resources, application of innovative technologies, organizational forms and means, in the range of which includes media education technologies using online resources and specialized tasks. [3, c. 359] Despite its limitless possibilities and convenience, there are other benefits of such online companions in Canvas LMS. Students are capable of checking their results right after the completion of the activities and tracking overall score till the end of the term. Moreover, there are not only grammar or vocabulary tasks, online companions provide students with reading, writing, listening and even speaking tasks. All learners can record their spoken answers and upload the tracks where teachers will evaluate them. Furthermore, students are supplied with numerous video materials, owing to this fact, it is simpliers for them to emerge in the world of English language.
The current study confirmed the findings on the concept and implementation of various interactive tasks while teaching English among Russian students. The research implies the significance of Canvas and online companions as supplementary tools in teaching English within the digital environment. For conducting the research, perceiving and showing the necessity and suitability of such online companions in Canvas LMS students of bachelor degree have been taught English from September to December months, simultaneously been provided an access to online companions where they could improve their skills by accomplishing extra tasks concerning class topics. Afterwards they expressed their appreciation for these online tools and started implementing them with pleasure. Eventually, questions were selected to focus the students' interest on the learning of English language with the help of online companions in Canvas LMS. After ensuring that the questions were concise and clear, students were asked to complete the questionnaire. By the given survey, they were requested to express their degree of agreement and disagreement on the following questions concerning improving English with the help of interactive online companions as an extra material. Students were asked to state their sex, age, CEFR English language level and so on. Subsequently, learners were to select the following statements choosing the numbers from 1 to 5 (all questions available below). Number 1 is equal to the answer ‘I strongly disagree’, number 2 is equal to the answer ‘I disagree’, number 3 is equal to the answer ‘I neither agree nor disagree’, number 4 is equal to the answer ‘I agree’, and last but not least, number 5 is equal to the answer ‘I strongly agree’
Table 1. Learners’ Survey.
1 2 3 4 5
I am familiar with Canvas LMS and online companions.
We are given tasks to accomplish in Canvas LMS.
I like to do English tasks with online companions.
I find it easy to use Canvas companions and submit my tasks regarding the English language.
It is convenient to complete extra tasks from the English language online and refine all my skills.
Online companions in Canvas LMS should be provided when someone is learning English or another foreign language.
With the help of online tools I understand the English language better as it connects me with English and its culture at the same time.
Questionnaire and survey comments
All diagrams and charts listed below resulted from the processing of the collected data. The given data exported from the responses of Russian students are provided below. The first bar chart (Figure 1) depicts the percentages of male and female Russian students from bachelor degree. According to this pie chart, females outweigh 60% of the total participants, while male constitute 35%.
Figure 1. Students’ gender.
The first pie chart (Figure 2) illustrates the percentages of the students’ overall age. The data represents that the majority of these students are from the age 17 to 19 with the percentage 53%. Students aged 20-22 take up the second place, with 31% of the whole. Whereas, students aged 23-25 come third, with 16% of the total.
Figure 2. Students’ age.
The second bar chart (Figure 3) enumerates the number of students with a particular level of CEFR. It is obvious that the highest number of students are in A2 level with the percentage of 40%. While 36% of the students are B2 level. Besides, students who obtain B1 level, at 14%. Other students’ levels (A1,C1) correlates between each other from 4% to 2%.
Figure 3. Students’ CEFR level.
The second pie chart (Figure 4) outlines the awareness of students towards online platform Canvas LMS. By contrast, the answer ‘I strongly agree’ collected the largest percentage of all five answers, at 66%. However, the answer ‘I agree’ shows the second place with the percentage of 32%, followed by ‘I neither agree nor disagree’ at 2%.
Figure 4. Students’ awareness on Canvas LMS.
The following pie chart (Figure 5) shows the information concerning tasks whether they are provided in online tools or not for university students. The vast majority of the participants stated that they strongly agree (60%) and agree (40%), gathering 100% in total.
0
Figure 5. Provided tasks in Canvas LMS.
The given bar chart (Figure 6) expresses the number of students who are into completing various online exercises in Canvas companions. Overall, the answer ‘I strongly agree’ gathered the largest percentage of all five answers, at 63% of the sum total, followed by ‘I agree’ with 25%. However, 7% of students gave the answers ‘I neither agree nor disagree’.
Figure 6. Students' preference on online tasks.
The next bar chart (Figure 7) reveals the easiness and straightforward usage of online companions while completing the tasks among technical university students. Answers can vary, the majority of students’ answer was ‘I strongly agree’ which gathered the largest percentage of all other statements, at 682% of the sum total, followed by ‘I agree’ with 20%. Nevertheless, 5% of students selected ‘I neither agree nor disagree’ and 2% of them claimed ‘I disagree’.
Figure 7. Simplicity of completing and submitting tasks in Canvas LMS.
According to the provided pie chart (Figure 8) 58% of students undoubtedly asserted the comfortability and effectiveness of such online companions in upgrading the knowledge concerning the English language during and after tutorials, followed by 34% of them claiming ‘I agree’. Yet, 8% of others declared ‘I neither agree nor disagree’.
Figure 8. The beneficial implementation of online companions in upgrading the knowledge of English language.
The fifth bar chart (Figure 9) conveys the attitudes of students towards importance in utilization of such online tasks in English classes while learning the foreign language. All things considered, students with the answer ‘I strongly agree’ have collected 77% of the total, while the answer ‘I agree’ has the second-highest percentage at 18%.
Figure 9. The maintenance of online companions while teaching English as a foreign language.
The given pie chart (Figure 10) proclaims the connection and comprehension of English language with its culture while accomplishing various activities in Canvas LMS. Judging by the answers, 84% of students strongly believe that online tools can help them to be a part of the new culture, accept and exchange cultural values and improve their language, while 16% of them choose ‘I agree’.
Figure 10. Language and cultural connection with the help of online companions.
Conclusion
The English language is considered to be one of the most important international languages in the world. Attention to this language has been rising for many years, due to this reason higher education institutions do everything to provide their students with quality foreign language tutorials. Professionally oriented English language is way too complicated to obtain, therefore various interactive methods and approaches are being developed. One of the most efficient way of boosting the language is online tool, in a digital platform Canvas. The effectiveness of online learning directly depends on how the teacher will be able to optimally build a system for the formation of specific components, particularly English-speaking communicative competence which can cover various skills, as well as the learning process as an interactive way with effective digital resources. Online learning is a motivating factor while learning English as a second foreign language which contributes to the achievement of personal and subject learning outcomes at the university. In the light of the foregoing, it should be emphasized that the development of qualitatively new teaching materials to ensure productive online classes in English as a foreign language is guaranteed.
Most of the students who participated in the research were in agreement with the significance of learning English via online companions as a supplementary tool for effective ways of communication and enhancing various skills. Carefully scrutinized and examined data led to crucial facts regarding the usage of online companions in LMS Canvas while teaching English as a second or foreign language. The noticeable number of students who participated in the survey were female students at the age of 17-19, followed by males at the age of 17-19 and 20-22. Concerning the students’ replies, most participants are aware of the Canvas online companions and frequently complete the tasks within the platform. almost the same attitudes were expressed towards the importance of such online companions. As a consequence, it may illustrate the value of online companions while learning and boosting skills as a supplementary tool. As it was claimed earlier, activities and various online exercises in Canvas LMS can not only increase interest in the current language, by taking into account cultural and traditional values but also can expand the process of learning in general. In spite of what has already been mentioned, such online platforms and tasks within the companions may not only upgrade oral presentation skill, ameliorate reading skills, evolve written skills, but also improve listening skills.
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