The formation of language competence of foreign students-economists by means of distance technologies

Abstract

The article analyzes the possibilities of using the authors’ course “Foreign language” (for foreign students), certified by the E-learning center of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, on teaching a language of instruction to 2nd-year foreign students of economic specialties. The relevance of the article is undeniable in the transition to a blended or full-distance learning system in higher education. The authors have outlined research on the issue of e-learning and distance learning, identified the most productive forms of working with foreign audiences (“Face-to-Face Driver” and “Flex”). The structure of the authors’ course “Foreign language” (for foreign students), posted on the Moodle platform, and the peculiarities of its application are discussed in detail. The tasks included in the course, consisting of three sections (six topics), are aimed at developing language competence (learning grammar of complex sentences), skills of working with texts of educational-professional and socio-cultural spheres of communicative connection (specifically professional economic texts and culturological ones). The authors state that the theoretical explanations of grammatical material, audio and video fragments, a detailed glossary containing explanations of linguistic terms, unfamiliar to students, tokens and even interpretations of economic terms, presentations, various practical and individual tasks improve students’ language skills and their communicative competence. It has been proven that distance courses developed on the basis of the Moodle platform open up many opportunities for effective work of students while learning a foreign language within the framework of a blended learning system.