The Impact of the Pandemic on Higher Education: New Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the experience of the transition to distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic in domestic universities. The article considers some of the features of distance learning, as well as the advantages and disadvantages that have become obvious during this experience. The authors pay attention to the actions of public authorities in response to new circumstances in the period of pandemic. The proponents note that universities have passed major efficiency tests of their work and have successfully sorted out the problem of providing high quality education outside the walls of the universities. As a result of this complicated experience, new soft-skills have been formed for both teachers and students; moreover, the concept of an innovator teacher has been expanded. The article addresses the issues of teaching foreign languages in higher education in the context of distance learning while maintaining the high level inherent in classes in a university classroom. The authors draw attention to the psychological system of distance learning, talk about the importance of the emotional ties and face to face communication during the educational process and emphasize that the development of a digital learning environment will expand students’ access to highquality curricula, in foreign languages in particular, regardless of the form of study. In conclusion, the authors believe that it is too early to draw final conclusion about the results of distance learning, but they consider it will become an integral part of the entire educational process in the nearest future. This educational process will be a continuation of that close inter-university cooperation aimed at interaction with the aim of sharing experiences and expanding the prospects for the use of hybrid forms of education in the future.