Skype technologies in developing listening and speaking skills when teaching English to tour guides

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the need for the formation and development of listening and speaking skills, which are crucial for guides-translators who use English in work with foreign tourists and require constant improvement. It is the distance learning format that allows you to improve your professional language level. The purpose of the study is to develop a model for on-line teaching guides the English language employing Skype technologies. Methodology. The key research methods were the method of a needs analysis (questionnaires and interviews) and a pedagogical experiment. Questionnaires, interviews and testing allowed selecting the participants of the experiment who demonstrated high motivation to study online and confirmed their B1-B2 level of English. The experiment, which took place on the basis of the Moscow School of Tourism and Hospitality "Tour Center", involved two groups of 14 people each. Using a learner-centered approach we created a twelve-week Skype-based English course, which correlated with the professional training syllabus of the participants of the experiment. Results. The results of the final testing and interview showed that this technique with the use of Skype technologies is effective and contributes to the further formation and development of speaking and listening skills. The number of students experiencing difficulty demonstrating these skills decreased from 55% to 22% and 60% to 30%, respectively. In addition, the approbation of the developed model revealed the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning in general and Skype technologies in particular. Conclusion. The study showed the high efficiency of Skype-technologies in teaching English for special purposes as part of an additional educational course. The developed methodology can be used in the process of practice-oriented training aimed at forming the professional competencies of future specialists.