DIGITAL ENCYCLOPEDIAS AS A MEANS OF TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AT THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Statement of the problem. Teaching foreign languages at school and university is a complex and multifaceted process. Undoubtedly, the organization of the educational process is impossible without the use of textbooks, workbooks and books for reading. Dictionaries and encyclopedias become an additional means of learning a foreign language. The focus of this study is the problem of using special encyclopedias in the process of studying a foreign language at the university, particularly, English encyclopedias while learning English at the university. The relevance of the study is due to the high interest in foreign languages and the need to know them on a sufficient level to achieve some goals. Results. Modern encyclopedias in foreign languages, presented both in printed and online formats, allow users to obtain the necessary information on the topic under study, as well as to get acquainted with new terms of the subject area being studied. The analysis of "World History Encyclopedia" is presented in the article. The data of this encyclopedia can be used by students of historical specialties studying history as the main discipline, and a foreign language as an additional subject. Conclusion. The conducted research allows us to conclude that the introduction of encyclopedia materials into the educational process makes it interesting and interactive, provokes students’ interest and contributes to a better memorization of information. Such encyclopedias are learner’s ones that is manifested in exercises to check the assimilation of the studied material. Moreover, the learner’s orientation can be seen on the example of sound files included into the encyclopedic articles that allows to listen to the data in the language being studied. The information in such encyclopedias is usually given in a user-friendly language. The introduction of graphic illustrations contributes to a more effective perception of the material.