Edutainment as a Modern English Teaching Technique: a Case Study of Lingua-Socio-Cultural Competence Development of Students Majoring in Interpreting and Translation

Abstract

The vast majority of present-day students belong to the so-called digital generation, which can be characterized by a number of unique cognitive features formed as a result of the extensive use of digital gadgets and modern technology. New means of interacting with reality and new strategies of cognitive information processing have created a demand for updating the repertoire of traditional teaching techniques. The edutainment technique has the capacity to satisfy this demand. Purpose. This article aims to provide a case study of applying the edutainment technique to develop lingua-socio-cultural competence of the students majoring in interpreting and translation. Methods. The article reviews recent advances in the edutainment technique implementation. The author analyzes the results of the practical application of this technique during English lessons. Results. The case study has shown that the application of the edutainment technique increases the students’ interest in the topic and motivation to study, boosts attention span through the activation of the emotional sphere, and improves the satisfaction from learning. Edutainment also facilitates understanding of complicated, culturally specific topics, helping to develop lingua-socio-cultural competence. While using the edutainment technique, it may be necessary for the teacher to perform the function of an edutainer, i.e., not only provide explanations of cultural contexts but engage students in them. Conclusion. The edutainment technique is beneficial for both the student and the teacher. This technique, by design, satisfies the cognitive preferences of the digital generation as well as the technological requirements of long-distance education, which, after the onset of the pandemic and the war, has become the norm in Ukraine.