TRAINING PODCASTS IN THE TEACHING PROCESS UKRAINIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article reveals the possibilities of using podcasting in the process of teaching foreign students of preparatory departments of the Ukrainian language as a foreign language, shows its didactic potential (resources Studyukrainian and Ukrainianlessons). The article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of podcasting in the organization of the educational process and presents the types of work with podcasts. The modern educational process is inconceivable without the widespread use of such technology as “podcasting”. A podcast is a single audio or video file or a series of such files that are published at the same address on the Internet and have a certain frequency of publication, which depends on the creator of a particular podcast. One of the most productive platforms for online learning of Ukrainian as a foreign language is the Studyukrainian resource. The site already has 5 seasons of podcasts (about 160 recordings), and the resource is actively replenished. In the first season the podcasts are written in English, in the following seasons the share of English in the teacher’s explanations decreases significantly, in the fifth season the podcasts are written exclusively in Ukrainian. Each podcast lasts about 20 minutes. Foreign students have the opportunity to receive by e-mail a “script” in PDF format of the podcast and additional materials on the topic (grammar tables, explanations, examples, diagrams, a list of phrases and dialogues, exercises for more practice and vocabulary on the topic, etc.). In addition, the foreign student is given additional opportunities: sets of cards for learning words, videos of various songs and clips, which explain the Ukrainian realities or features of word usage (for example, national holidays, greetings etc.). The site provides foreign students with a dictionary, a list of phrases, a grammar block, a blog for communication with the teacher. In the process of learning the Ukrainian language as a foreign language, the fullest possible disclosure of the possibilities of podcasting technology is possible, because the language as a means of transmitting information in this context is also the object of study. The use of podcasts in teaching various activities helps to increase students’ motivation to learn the national language; the emergence of choice in the selection of interesting phonetic material; promotes the formation of listening skills and the ability to perceive different speech styles with different accents and intonations; improving speaking skills. Podcast as a media carrier of information is, along with other resources, an integral technical means of distance learning of Ukrainian as a foreign language, which allows to solve complex problems of foreign language education. Key words: podcasting, iPod, listening training, new information technologies in teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language, Studyukrainian and Ukrainianlessons resources.