EFFICIENCY OF TEACHING ENGLISH MONOLOGUE PRODUCTION TO FUTURE MECHANICAL ENGINEERS BY MEANS OF PODCASTING

Abstract

The purpose of the given article is to prove the efficiency of teaching ESP monologue production to students majoring in mechanical engineering by means of podcasting. The efficiency of the methodology devised was verified in the process of an experiment conducted at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in the academic year 2018 – 2019, from September to December. Three experimental groups, thirty-four students in total, studying in their final year of Bachelor’s studies, participated in the methodological experiment. The main stages of any methodological experiment that comprise its “nucleus” are: pre-experimental assessment; experimental teaching and post-experimental assessment. The obtained results of the pre-experimental assessment indicated an insufficient level of the participants’ communicative competence formation in monologue production, thus proving the significance of developing new teaching methodologies for the future mechanical engineers. The experimental teaching lasted for 28 hours and took place in three experimental groups on the basis of the suggested set of tasks. The set of tasks inferred implementation of information and communication technology and was performed both in class and out of class. Working out-of-class, students performed tasks on the podcasting terminal, arranged by the experimenter on the Internet on a special educational platform called Canvas. The purpose of the post-experimental assessment was to evaluate the participants’ communicative competence formation in monologue production after the experimental teaching, thus, verifying the efficiency of the methodology devised. The methodological experiment performed and the data processed by methods of mathematical statistics with its further qualitative and quantitative analysis have confirmed that the process of teaching ESP monologue production to future mechanical engineers is effective on condition that the set of tasks that envisages podcasting implementation is used.