Capítulo 21 - Didactic principles of e-learning technologies design for teaching english to the Tech. Univ. students in Ukraine

Iryna V. Sekret
Dniprodzerzhinsk state technical university, Ukraine

 

1. ABSTRACT

The paper concerns didactic principles of e-learning technologies design and application with a purpose of developing students’ competence in Academic English learned as FL at technical university in Ukraine. The investigation reports on the content of teaching Academic English as the predominant factor of designing e-learning tools for better learning outcomes.

2.  TEACHING ENGLISH TO STUDENTS OF THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY IN UKRAINE

According to the curricula of training specialists at the university in Ukraine a foreign language is one of the compulsory subjects to study at any academic degree (bachelor, magister, post-graduate program). As the Ukrainian students face difficulties in learning a second language which does not belong to the Slavic group such as English, German and French, researchers and teachers are concerned with effective means and approaches of developing a foreign language communicative competence which would comprise speaking, listening, reading and writing.

In spite of seemingly prolonged learning of a foreign language namely from the first grade of the primary school and even from the kindergartens teachers at the universities have to overcome a number of problems trying to raise the level of foreign language competence of the first-year students from A1 level (A2 in better cases) to B2 level according to the European Recommendations to the Language Education.

At their disposal teachers have no language surroundings, as a result, no ample practice of the foreign language communication. The situation becomes worse because of such factors as:

  • a diversity of English textbooks which fully satisfy neither curriculum’s needs nor teachers and students’ demands and expectations,
  • scarcity of hours for classroom work,
  • a large academic group of students with different initial levels of the communicative competence the foreign language.

The only way out from the situation is to design such an approach which is to be based upon the students’ background, language experience, epistemological beliefs about learning a foreign language and strategies they are used to apply in their learning activity. A potentially powerful tool in reaching desired results is blended learning mediated by e-learning technologies.

3. E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASS

With the rapid development of computer and Internet technologies learning at any level obtains new features and characteristics. Involving e-learning technologies into the traditional classroom is claimed to be an effective means for self-regulated learning, enlarging the students’ outlook and progress in their professional competence. However, when it comes to the practical application, e-learning technologies arouse much argument and discussion. The situation can be explained by a number of factors:

  • there is no unified approach to the classification of e-learning technologies applicable for the English language learning at the technical university, terminology regarding e-learning is characterized by discrepancies and it is not quite clear whether an e-textbook can be viewed as a main means of e-learning or there are other more effective decisions;
  • there are no scientifically grounded and valid investigations concerning design of an effective e-textbook for  the English language learning at the technical university; existing English e-textbooks are either too expensive for mass usage or cannot be applied to certain learning purposes and real students’ needs;
  • roles of the learning process participants –a student, a students’ group, a teacher and e-learning technologies– are vague and need differentiation.

In order to make e-learning technologies effective in the real classroom their design should correspond to the aims and purposes of learning as well as to the content of teaching English at the technical university.

4.  THE CONTENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AT THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Learning a foreign language is a compulsory component of a specialist’s training at Ukrainian universities. In average, students of technical faculties learn it for the first two years of their study at the university. The profile of the educational establishment and the students’ future profession determine the content of the foreign language teaching and its curriculum. According to the competence approach of training specialists at the university the students should obtain knowledge and skills in such a unity which would provide them an ability to function successfully in the professional and social environments. Therefore the purpose of teaching a foreign language at the university is to contribute to the development of the students’ professional competence through cultivating sociolinguistic skills as well as communicative strategies conditioned by different professional and personal interrelations.

4.1.  FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCE AS DEVELOPED AT TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Based on the Webster’s Revised Unabridged dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary, «competence» may be defined as a condition or quality of effectiveness/ ability, sufficiency, or success (Andrew J. Elliot & Carol S. Dweck, 2007). «Developing competence» is defined as the ongoing process of the acquisition and consolidation of a set of skills needed for performance in one or more life domains at the journeyman-level or above (Robert J. Sternberg, 2007).

Speaking about learning a foreign language at the university as determined by the professional context we refer to the language used by the educated and which is needed to function at the university level and beyond in the professional environment. It may be referred to as Academic foreign language which comprises spheres of scientific and professional knowledge. Thus Academic language not only includes several dimensions of knowledge, but also emphasizes the context where learning takes place (Diego Uribe, 2008). Competence in Academic English as a foreign language is determined by the specifics of the context and situations for which it is learned. Diego Uribe after Scarcella R. differentiates the following characteristics of Academic English (Scarcella R., 2003; Diego Uribe, 2008):

4.1.1. The linguistic dimension

  1. The Phonological Component (knowledge of phonological features and spelling of Academic English, including stress, intonation, and sound patterns).
  2. The Lexical Component (knowledge of the forms and meanings of words that are used across academic disciplines as well as everyday settings; knowledge of the ways academic words are formed with prefixes, roots, and suffixes, the parts of speech of academic words, and the grammatical constraints governing academic words).
  3. The Grammatical Component (knowledge and corresponding skills to use morphological and syntactic features associated with argumentative composition, procedural description, analysis, definition; knowledge of grammatical metaphor, complex rules of punctuation and restrictions of the word occurrence).
  4. The Sociolinguistic Component (knowledge of an increased number of language functions, number of genres, including expository and argumentative text).
  5. The Discourse Component (knowledge of the discourse features specific for academic genres and including text organizational devices that aid in gaining perspective on what is read, in seeing relationships, and in following logical lines of thought).

4.1.2. The cognitive dimension

  1. The Knowledge Component (knowledge of the ideas, concepts based upon the personal experience and internal knowledge necessary for understanding the text).
  2. The Higher Order Thinking Component (knowledge and skills of higher order thinking which involve interpreting, analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing, citations in reading at the advanced level).
  3. The Strategic Component (knowledge of the advanced strategies (organize study, monitor errors, assess progress, etc.) that enhance the effectiveness of communication).
  4. The Metalinguistic Awareness Component (knowledge of advanced functions which allow to improve linguistic performance and particularly useful in editing and revising).

4.1.3. The sociocultural (psychological) dimension

The sociocultural or psychological dimension comprises social and cultural norms, beliefs, values, attitudes, motivations, interests, behaviors, practices, and habits which develop and shape in the larger social context where academic foreign language occurs.

5.  DIDACTICE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGNING E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES FOR ENGLISH LEARNING PURPOSES

Analysis of different e-learning technologies as applied to developing technical university students’ competence in English as a foreign language (Antonov, 2005; Khristochevskiy, 2008; Luhoviy, 2008; Saprikina, 2005; Shunevich, 2008; Zimina, Kirillov, 2003; and others) allowed to point out a number of didactic principles of designing e-learning tools. They are as follow:

Principle of Scientific Teaching means that the science and a certain profession the students are trained for should govern the content and tasks of the e-learning technologies.

Purposefulness of e-learning technologies entails that their usage should be determined by the purpose to develop Academic English through advancing the knowledge and skills which comprise the unity of the targeted competence.

Contextual Division of the material provided by e-learning technologies implies that the material to be learnt should be organized into sections which comprise, in their turn, modules, minimal in volume and determined by the professional content.

In evaluating e-textbooks in Academic English the Principle of Ampleness suggests that each module provided must consist of the following components: theoretical core, checking questions to the theories, examples, problems and exercises for independent work, checking questions to the whole module with answers, test, contextual reference, linguistic/psychological commentary.

The Principle of Visualization implies that each module of an e-textbook should present contextually and logically grounded combination of visual means and textual information quite enough for students to understand and retain new notions, statements and methods. Each module of an e-textbook should be connected with others by hypertextual links so that a user could have a possibility of easy access. This principle is closely connected with the Principles of Active and Educational teaching which imply students’ active part in learning and development their ethical, social and cultural competence.

The Principle of Adaptability of e-learning technologies suggests a comparatively easy possibility to adjust them contextually and technically to the needs of real students, teachers and learning purposes. Adaptation of the electronic textbook entails change of the learning material exposure according to the level of its complexity and possibility for teachers to generate additional illustrative material, graphic and geometric interpretation of notions studied.

The Principle of Easy Operation implies that at any time of work with e-learning technologies users can get computer support, which allow them to concentrate upon the essence of the task to be done without wasting time on regulating technical matters.

6.  CONCLUSION

To sum up the pedagogical assumptions about e-learning technologies in developing students’ Academic English competence it must be emphasized that the development and design of e-learning means should be realized by mutual affords of foreign language teachers and programmers according to learning purposes within a certain curriculum of specialists’ training. Therefore effective development of students’ Academic English competence enhanced by e-learning technologies can be achieved through:

  • contextually motivated usage of e-learning technologies;
  • orientation to the social and cultural peculiarities of the English speaking community and science studied;
  • communicative tasks and problem-solving;
  • correspondence to the students’ age as well as their motives and interests;
  • considering the students’ starting level the English language competente and the learning aims;
  • technological and methodological ease of the e-learning technology usage;
  • management of different work regimes (individual, microgroup, macrogrop, self-regulated learning, learning in classroom);
  • stimulating self-regulated learning.
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