MODERN TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES TO STUDENTS OF THE DIGITAL GENERATION

Abstract

This article is devoted to modern technologies and their use in foreign language teaching of the students of digital generation. The authors note the factors contributing to the introduction of new technologies, consider the psychological characteristics of modern students and suggest ways to take these features into account choosing types of technologies for teaching foreign languages. The authors emphasize that the quality of teaching foreign languages in higher education at the present stage directly depends on the introduction of modern information and communication technologies and the use of their potential in the educational process, which is the trend of the development of society at the present stage. Modern technologies of education include the whole range of the latest information technologies, which occupies an ever-increasing place in our daily life and becomes an integral part of modern culture, including in the field of education. Thanks to modern technologies, students get interested in the subject, their mental activity is activated, motivation for learning increases. The term “learning technologies” refers to a combination of the teacher’s working methods that ensure the achievement of the set learning goals with the greatest efficiency in the shortest period possible. The most important characteristics of learning technologies are the following: a) performance (a high level of achievement of the set educational goal for each student); b) productivity (a larger amount of educational material is assimilated with the less expenditure of effort on mastering the material per unit of time; c) ergonomics (learning process takes place in an atmosphere of cooperation, positive emotional microclimate, in the absence of overload and overwork); d) high motivation in the study of the subject, which contributes to an increase in interest in classes and allows teachers to improve the students’ best personal qualities, to reveal their reserve capabilities. The authors also refer to the training of students in the classroom using mobile devices, which activate the skills of the 21st century, namely 4 Cs (creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration) and can develop with a student-oriented, dynamic and motivating way. The authors particularly highlight the mobile application efficiency in the classroom. Digital narration, clips, podcasts, web quests, trailers are created using a video camera of any mobile device with direct access to the Internet and can be available to any student, at any time and in any place convenient for him. In this article, the authors give a variety of exercises using mobile devices, which causes a lively response from both teachers and students, and has already shown itself as a current trend in the field of teaching foreign languages using digital technologies.