Peculiarities of the use of modern mobile technologies in the study of foreign languages in higher education institutions of Ukraine

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Peculiarities of the use of modern mobile technologies in the study of foreign languages in higher education institutions of Ukraine

Viktoriia Liulka,

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Poltava State Agrarian University (Poltava, Ukraine)

Olena Savenkova,

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Poltava State Agrarian University (Poltava, Ukraine)

The article is devoted to the actual problem of the possibilities of using mobile phones and their applications in the process of teaching foreign languages in higher education institutions of Ukraine. They contribute to the effectiveness of the learning process. The article reveals the essence of mobile learning and its advantages over traditional teaching methods individualization of learning, increasing cognitive activity and motivation of higher education seekers, providing greater independence to students. The scientific study gives the qualification of mobile applications and examples of their use in foreign language classes (English and German). It also provides ideas for using mobile phones in independent, group, pair and individual work of students in English and German classes at higher education institutions.

Today, mobile learning is a new, developing direction in education, the hallmark of which is the creation of a new learning environment. Due to the prevalence ofmobile technologies and the constant growth of the functionality of mobile devices, experts in the field of education suggest using their potential to improve the quality and accessibility of education, as well as building an individual learning path.

It is concluded that the use of mobile technologies in the educational process contributes to the improvement of the formation of foreign language skills and abilities of students, ensures effective independent work, increases the motivation and cognitive activity of students, interest in the subject, helps to intensify and individualize learning. The advantages of using mobile technologies in the course of classes for the teacher are also outlined (a good way to activate cognitive interest and involve passive students in active activities; classes become more visual and intensive; more variety and active work in tasks and exercises).

Key words: information and communication technologies, foreign languages, mobile learning, mobile applications, higher education.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ СУЧАСНИХ МОБІЛЬНИХ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ ПІД ЧАС ВИВЧЕННЯ ІНОЗЕМНИХ МОВ В ЗАКЛАДАХ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ УКРАЇНИ

Вікторія ЛЮЛЬКА,

кандидат філологічних наук, доцент, доцент кафедри гуманітарних і соціальних дисциплін Полтавського державного аграрного університету (Полтава, Україна)

Олена САВЕНКОВА,

старший викладач кафедри гуманітарних і соціальних дисциплін Полтавського державного аграрного університету (Полтава, Україна)

Стаття присвячена актуальній проблемі можливостей використання мобільних телефонів та їх додатків у процесі навчання іноземних мов закладах вищої освіти України. Вони сприяють підвищенню ефективності процесу навчання. У статті розкривається сутність мобільного навчання та його переваги перед традиційними методами навчання: індивідуалізація навчання, підвищення пізнавальної активності та мотивації здобувачів вищої освіти, надання більшої самостійності студентам. У науковому дослідженні наведено кваліфікацію мобільних додатків та приклади їх використання на заняттях з іноземної мови (англійської та німецької). Також наводяться ідеї використання мобільних телефонів у самостійній, груповій, парній та індивідуальній роботі студентів на заняттях з англійської та німецької мов у закладах вищої освіти.

На сьогоднішній день мобільне навчання це новий напрямок освіти, що розвивається, відмінною рисою якого є створення нового навчального середовища. Завдяки поширеності мобільних технологій та постійному зростанню функціональності мобільних пристроїв, експерти в галузі освіти пропонують використовувати їхній потенціал для підвищення якості та доступності освіти, а також побудови індивідуальної траєкторії навчання.

Зроблено висновок, що застосування мобільних технологій у навчальному процесі сприяє вдосконаленню процесу формування іншомовних умінь та навичок студентів, забезпечує ефективну самостійну роботу, підвищує мотивацію та пізнавальну активність здобувачів вищої освіти, інтерес до предмета, допомагає інтенсифікувати та індивідуалізувати навчання. Також окреслено переваги використання мобільних технологій у процесі занять для викладача (хороший спосіб активізувати пізнавальний інтерес та залучити пасивних студентів до активної діяльності; заняття стають більш наочними та інтенсивними; більше різноманітності та активної роботи у завданнях та вправах).

Ключові слова: інформаційно-комунікаційні технології, іноземні мови, мобільне навчання, мобільні додатки, вища освіта.

Introduction

At the present stage of development of education, much attention is paid to the problem of finding new effective learning technologies. Intensive informatization of society is reflected in the learning process at all its stages. Innovative technologies in the educational process are designed to develop the cognitive and creative activity of students, to improve the quality of education and the efficiency of using study time, and to reduce the amount of time students spend on reproductive activities. Many domestic and foreign scientists pay attention to the importance of the use of innovative technologies in modern education, since the use of innovative technologies makes it possible to significantly diversify the content, methods and forms of education. Moreover, innovative technologies provide students with an unlimited amount of information that can be effectively used as independent work. Especially relevant is the use of innovative technologies in teaching foreign languages. One of the trends in modern education is the increasing integration of innovative educational technologies into the educational process, but this does not mean at all that any use of multimedia programs will lead to successful learning outcomes. On the contrary, teachers and educators should be most careful in choosing innovative educational technologies and follow the principles that will allow them to implement these technologies most effectively. For example, PowerPoint presentations, which are fairly well established as a learning tool, are not always effective unless the principles that make learning more effective through the use of technology are taken into account.

Currently, global computerization has covered all areas of human activity, including science and education. The development of the Internet and the emergence of many computer programs that simplify the learning process have significantly changed the study of foreign languages, speeding up and facilitating work with authentic sources. Nowadays, mobile learning is a new, developing direction in education, the hallmark of which is the creation of a new learning environment. Due to the prevalence of mobile technologies and the constant growth of the functionality of mobile devices, experts in the field of educa-tion suggest using their potential to improve the quality and accessibility of education, as well as building an individual learning path.

The aim of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of the use of modern mobile technologies in the study of foreign languages in higher education institutions of Ukraine.

mobile technologies study language

Research analysis

The theory and practice of using mobile devices and mobile educational resources is actively discussed at scientific conferences and forums. Since 2002, a number of conferences and seminars have been held annually in Europe and the USA to discuss the use of mobile educational technologies or resources. Since 2002, the International Conference MLearnCon has been held on the problems of integrating mobile technologies into learning, creating and using mobile learning content. International conferences on mobile learning The International Conferences of Mobile Learning, which have been held since 2005, are a platform for discussing the results of research in the field of mobile learning and achievements in this area.

In general, the majority of domestic and foreign researchers, in particular J. Traxler (Traxler, 2009), H. Jarvis (Jarvis, 2013), M. Gianelli (Gianelli, 2019), A. Ba§al (Ba§al, 2016), R. Horbatiuk (Horbatiuk, 2017), V. Bilous (Bilous, 2018) conclude that that mobile learning compared to traditional learning methods and modern methods such as e-learning and blended learning is more unique. Many scientists and educators are sure that the future of learning with the support of information and computer technologies is connected precisely with the spread of mobile communications, the emergence of a large number of edu-cational applications and programs, new technologies that expand the possibilities and quality of education.

Mobile phones are known to provide easy access to materials and the ability to practice anytime, any-where. Another advantage is the limited screen size, which allows you to control the amount of content, unlike other educational materials (Reinders, 2010: 20). Mobile technology provides students with the opportunity to use four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing in English. In addition, students become motivated to learn the language and become more involved in the learning process. In turn, teach-ers should motivate students to use technology in teaching and provide an opportunity to use it in the classroom. Students can use mobile technologies in various types of learning (Schofield, 2015: 4).

Results and discussion

An analysis of recent research in the field of innovations in teaching foreign languages has shown that one of the topical areas is the introduction of modern information and com-munication technologies into the educational process, in particular technologies related to mobile learning, which ensure the optimization of the educational process, the availability and effectiveness of learning, the integration of students to the information society. This is expressed, in particular, in the gradual intro-duction of applications for mobile phones based on various platforms into the learning process: Android, iOS, etc. The use of tablet computers, smartphones, mobile phones, iPads, iPhones and other technological innovations for educational purposes has led to the formation of a new direction within the concept of e-learning - mobile learning of a foreign language.

Currently, users of mobile devices have access to a huge number of applications for learning foreign languages, especially English. In our opinion, training in the use of applications for mobile electronic devices is currently particularly relevant. Today, students, for all their education in the field of digital technologies, are not sufficiently oriented in the market of the services offered. The task of the teacher is to help students choose the necessary and appropriate products that can maximize language learning, thereby individualizing the learning process.

During classes in the discipline Practical Course of the First (Second) Foreign Language (English, German), teachers of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of Poltava State Agrarian Uni-versity try to effectively use both the mobile phones themselves and a variety of mobile applications, which can be conditionally divided into the following main groups: mobile applications aimed primarily at improving certain speech skills; mobile applications designed to develop language skills, such as vocabulary or grammar; universal mobile applications designed for the comprehensive development of foreign language communicative competence. This division is conditional, since even if the application is focused on improving and developing the skills of perceiving and understanding foreign speech by ear, it, one way or another, is in contact with the improvement and development of lexical speaking and reading skills.

From the point of view of developing the skills of perception and understanding of speech, BBC appli-cations are extremely valuable, using which students can access authentic audio, video and text materials, for example, Learn English Audio and Video, 6

Minute British English, Learn English Great Videos. They also have a number of other additional features, such as interactive texts of audio recordings, interactive keyword dictionaries, exercises for understanding each part of the material heard. In addition, they present materials of different levels of complexity. In order to develop students' vocabulary skills and expand vocabulary, teachers often use apps such as My Word Book, available from the British Council website, Learning Apps.org and Quizlet. They have a lot of fun content created by users around the world that you can modify and use as you see fit. One of the main advantages is that they make it possible to create materials adapted in content and complexity for groups or students of different levels, which plays an important role in the implementation of an individual approach to learning English.

In group work and in a fun and understandable way, these applications allow students to master new lexical units. Working together, students focus and communicate with each other. Each member of the team contributes, thereby practicing the learning material, together choosing the right answer, because each wrong answer throws the team back and returns to the beginning. Using flash cards of application data, students are given either an additional task - to make a story using these lexical units, or to ask a question, the answer to which will be a given word.

Words is one of the best mobile apps for learning English. In total, it contains about 8,000 words on cards, which are divided into thematic categories: “Food”, “Person”, “Irregular verbs”, “Phrase verbs”, etc. Memorizing new vocabulary in the application using 300 tasks of different formats makes it possible not to get tired of learning. To learn a word, a student can select a picture for it, the correct translation, make a word from letters, solve puzzles. Each task should be completed on time, after which the application will reward a student with points. In the application, statistics on the points scored can be seen to track progress.

Among mobile applications designed to work on the development of grammar skills, the LearnEng- lish Grammar application (British Council) is the most commonly used. Students can study LearnEng- lish Grammar at any level, all topics are divided into 4 levels: A1 (Beginner), A2 (Elementary), B2 (Inter-mediate), C1 (Advanced). In total, the program has 25 grammar topics and about 1,000 exercises. The tasks are varied and do not let students get tired of studying: the developers have provided 10 different formats for practice. In some of them, the user will need to fill in the field with text, in others, they will select one option from several, etc. At the end of the lessons, students will be asked to take a test. It will show how well they understand the topic.

Pearson's free MyGrammarLab course app contains mobile interactive exercises at various levels. The application gives users the opportunity to choose topics and questions that interest them and create their own collections of exercises and tests. This course is suitable for both self-study and for use as part of a group English course.

HelloTalk is a whole international community for those who are looking for a good way to practice speaking with native speakers of different languages. Anyone can register in the application for free and indicate in the questionnaire with whom he or she wants to talk. After that, it will be possible to search for an interlocutor and communicate with him/her in English in a video chat using voice messages or text. This can help not only improve students' oral speech, but also learn more about the culture of other coun-tries, make friends and just have a good time.

Speaky is a good application for practicing and exchanging languages between speakers of different languages. The first thing a new user should do is to register their profile. The user can indicate their native and studied languages, country, interests and add a real photo. After that, the system will suggest suitable interlocutors, but students can find them themselves through a search by criteria. Communication in Speaky is just practice, not English lessons. There is no tutor, homework and theory. All the students will find there are people with whom they can talk on various topics, learn to understand them and improve their speaking.

BBC Learning English is the official BBC app that collects content from various English learning programs on radio and the broadcaster's podcasts. In addition to audio content, a variety of exercises are available for understanding grammar, building phrases, and learning new words.

Duolingo is a well-known language platform that has activities for every skill. Students can practice pronunciation, master grammar rules, learn new words and listen to how the announcer pronounces them. At the same time, the application automatically offers only those materials that suit students' level of knowledge of the language. Students can practice every day, and for completed tasks they will receive points (crowns and lingots). They can be spent on skipping one day without losing the shock pace. Stu-dents can track their progress in learning through intermediate tests and their personal statistics.

Another application with an unusual game approach that will make learning English a pleasure and will allow students to easily memorize new words is Memrise. To encourage themselves to practice reg-ularly, students should set a goal of learning 5, 10, or 15 words daily. In addition to exercises, Memrise has videos with dialogues that allow learners to better navigate spoken English.

To learn German, an attention should be paid to the following applications: Learn German: Language Course by ATi Studios. This app offers daily short and effective lessons that help students quickly memorize words and whole phrases in German. The application can be used by people with different levels of German proficiency. Through interactive lessons and tasks in reading, listening, writing and even speaking, students can quickly improve their German. Special attention in the application is paid to colloquial vocabulary and practice, which is especially important for most users.

Babbel - Learn German. Each lesson in this application takes only 10-15 minutes, and during this time students can advance in German and develop a wide variety of language skills from complex German grammar and pronunciation to vocabulary and colloquial vocabulary. In addition, there are tasks for self-testing and special topics dedicated to, for example, German for travel, business, work or getting to know the national culture.

Der Die Das. Mobile application for memorizing German articles. There are special dictionaries there, students can save words, the articles of which are especially important to learn, and test themselves in special games.

Grammatik. In this application, separate topics on verbs, articles, numbers and sentences, as well as all sorts of exercises and self-tests, can be found.

Learn German - The City of Words. The app was developed by the Goethe-Institut and is great for those who are just starting to learn German. The educational process in the application takes place in a playful way, aimed at explaining the basics of language, grammar and expanding vocabulary. And yet, through this application students can get to know the cities and culture of Germany.

In addition, the use of mobile technologies during the classes has its advantages for both the teacher and the students. Advantages for the teacher are following: a good way to activate the cognitive interest and involve passive students into vigorous activities; classes become more visual and intense, more variety and active work in tasks and exercises; it provides an opportunity to implement student-centered and dif-ferentiated approaches to learning. Advantages for students: more involvement in the learning process, more independence in completing tasks, activity, interest and cooperation; more opportunities for cre-ativity and self-expression; increasing motivation to learn a foreign language. The use of mobile technolo-gies helps to increase the efficiency of the English and German language teaching process, open up its new sides and turn it from a serious labor-intensive process into an exciting activity.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it should be noted that the practical application of mobile applications has a huge potential in increasing the efficiency of the process of learning foreign languages and can significantly improve the process of foreign language training of students. Practice shows that they have a considerable advantage over traditional teaching methods: intensification of independent activity, individualization of learning, increased cognitive activity and learning motivation. At the same time, the use of mobile technologies in the learning process contributes not only to the enrichment ofthe educational process, but also to the acquisition by students of skills and abilities, the formation and development of which on the basis of traditional teaching aids seems to be quite laborious. Thus, the use of mobile technologies in the educational process contributes to the improvement of the process of forming foreign language skills and abilities of students, ensures effective independent work, increases the motivation and cognitive activity of students, interest in the subject, helps to intensify and individualize learning.

The article provides a theoretical justification and analysis of the use of individual mobile devices as a means of intensifying the educational process. We determined that mobile technologies in education are based mainly on the use of mobile phones, which due to constant improvement can be considered not only as a means of communication, but also as a means of learning.

We noted that the use of mobile applications in the classes can significantly increase students' interest in learning foreign languages. The range of opportunities they provide can be built into the structure of almost every lesson for the following purposes: introduction and processing of new material; checking the learned lexical and grammatical material; listening using audio and video materials; compilation of dictionaries for the relevant educational material, etc. Currently, there are a large number of applications that implement the ideas of learning English and German using technical means on the platform of mobile devices. At the same time, the potential for expanding foreign language learning opportunities lies not only in the continuation of already existing ideas on the mobile platform, the development of mobile applications for learning English and German, but also in the implementation of fundamentally new learning models possible with the use of mobile devices.

Therefore, the use of mobile technologies is the material, contribute to the stimulation of students' suitable for learning a foreign language, as these cognitive activity, and ensure the continuity of technologies provide a high informative capacity of education.

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