Video conference tools as an element of technogenic educational environment in the system of foreign language teaching

Abstract

The article examines the tools of interaction and control between the teacher and students in the process of teaching a foreign language in a technogenic educational environment by means of Zoom, Skype, Webinar and Discord. The system of foreign language teaching, implemented by the authors of the article in practical classes, is characterized by integrity, and all its tools are aimed at implementing the competence-based approach dictated by the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education in modern realities. This system takes into account both the practical orientation of the “Foreign Language” discipline and the transformation of contact hours from offline to online environment. The relevance of the article is explained by new conditions and challenges faced by participants in the educational process in connection with the pandemic of the coronavirus infection COVID-19, which has reached a global scale. The new way of contact work and control of the educational environment revealed some problems. According to the authors’ point of view, electronic, mobile tools and applications, including Zoom, Skype, Webinar and Discord, are similar in such features as audio and visual contact, communication in chats, sharing screen and emoji symbols. Nevertheless, there are such differences as demand for downloading the apps to the user’s device, limit of the free access, functions of video recording, waiting hall, session halls, calendar integration, etc. In the process of teaching a foreign language, cooperation and control obtain a personality-oriented nature, which results in increasing the motivation of students for independent and distance learning.