Teaching Professional Foreign Language Discourse via IT Tools

Abstract

The chapter “Teaching Professional Foreign Language Discourse via IT Tools: Through the Example of WebQuest Technology” is devoted to the description of the didactic tools development based on the Internet technologies (IT) and the integration of the problem-based learning into the educational process for the formation of professional foreign language discourse in non-linguistic students. The author presents the experience of using IT, in particular the web-quest technology, in practice for the purpose of creating a professional foreign language discourse that allows students to master professional knowledge and develop relevant skills in the field of professional communication. In the chapter the web-quest technology is considered to be one of the most appropriate IT tools for the successful formation of professional foreign language discourse in students with non-linguistic major, since the format of the technology allows the teacher to manage the student work at all stages. In addition, the integration of the web-quest technology into the educational process solves one of the key tasks of modern education, i.e. the increase in the volume of students' independent work, due to which the process of metacognition develops the self-regulation of the personality. The chapter pays great attention to the historiography of problem-based learning from the very origins to modern times, its transformation and types, which depend on the didactic goals being set during the learning process. At the end of the chapter, the author presents the experience of technology integration in the pedagogical process and the results of the experiment.