Distance learning practices on the Example of Second Language Learning during Coronavirus Epidemic in Russia

Abstract

The CoronaVirus (COVID19) made the higher education establishment take on urgent measures when all the students were prohibited from entering the university not to catch the disease, but the educational process was not to be stopped. Distance education tools were to be applied and digital platforms of the universities were to be checked. This paper deals with the experience of the National Research South Ural University. The courses of all the schools and institutes of the University were conducted based on the platform Digital SUSU. The example of the courses for second language learning was discussed. Fifty students of bachelor's and master's degrees were respondents in this research. The students answered the questions of the questionnaire on Google Forms and then were interviewed. The results suggest that the most interesting task on the planform Digital SUSU was a video with tasks and vocabulary exercises. However, among the most useful, according to the students' opinion were grammar, vocabulary, and reading tasks. The students were also asked to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such remote learning. The most frequently mentioned advantages were the ability to study at home and the absence of the necessity to look smart. However, the disadvantages were more varied, including absence of communication, no face to face contact, too much homework, and too many written tasks.