Специфика дистанционного обучения иностранному языку

Abstract

The internationality of the communicative community and the incessant process of modernization require from railway specialists the skill of freely interacting with native speakers of another language. Knowledge of a foreign language at a time when many types of activities have switched to remote functioning is an absolute advantage. This is both the opportunity to obtain relevant knowledge from foreign language sources, and the freedom to communicate and exchange experience with colleagues, regardless of which language they are native speakers. Learning online increases the responsibility of the future railway specialist for the result of mastering a foreign language, conscientiousness in organizing his own educational activities, and independence in completing assignments. The importance of learning a foreign language for railway students during a pandemic remains extremely high. With an eye on quarantine measures, we note that the inability of live communication with people is compensated by online communication channels. The greater number of tools future specialists possess, the more successful they are in coping with the current problems. A foreign language (especially English as a working language of business communication) is one of these tools. The quarantine did not prevent railway specialists from contacting their foreign colleagues, actively sharing their experience, thus being able to cope with a stressful environment in a much better way. Those specialists who switched to online mode and had to communicate with clients using communication tools also noted tangible advantages in knowing a foreign language. In case of forced physical isolation, USURT teachers use productive forms and methods, making foreign language learning no less interesting than in university classrooms. In this article, the author provides a comparative analysis of the capabilities of various online platforms and makes arguments in favor of choosing the Blackboard digital platform. Particular attention is paid to the organization of remote control over training and the forms of influence on the motivational sphere of students.