Ways to improve students' motivation while mastering English language at Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University during distance learning

It was discovered that 25% of respondents study English in order to get a credit, other 32% study English to pass External Independent Evaluation to get admission to Master's degree levels, 16% of respondents believe that the motive for finding a prestigious job is important and career growth, 9% of students learn English to complete tasks, about 6% put forward the motive of understanding scientific texts, 3% believe that learning a foreign language is necessary in order to exchange information between peers, friends, acquaintances, 2% of students see the goal of learning a language to continue studying abroad; 2% - English is a compulsory subject in the university, 2% - students have a special interest in learning foreign languages.

кандидат педагогічних наук, старший викладач кафедри іноземних мов та професійної комунікації Східноукраїнський національний університет імені Володимира Даля

In 2019 Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine published Conceptual Principles of State Policy on the Development of the English Language in the Field of Higher Education [6]. This document explains the ideology of changes that need to be implemented in English language education. Ministry of Education and Science has decided to provide entry-level B1 for all students at the beginning of their studies, and the goal is for all students to master the language at the appropriate level by 2023. For this purpose, the concept assumes that by 2023, B1 level of English will be required when entering the bachelor's degree.

Quite often motivation is defined as a psychological quality that leads a person to goal achievement. In domestic psychology, the study of motivation has a long tradition. Modern ideas about motivation originate from the concepts of O. Leontiev, S. Rubinstein, D. Uznadze [5; 7; 9]. O. Leontiev defines that the motive is not the experience of a need, but the objective in what this need is concretized under such conditions and what the activity is aimed at. He distinguishes between the concepts of motive and purpose. The goal is a preliminary result that a person imagines. Motive - the motivation to achieve the goal [5].

The reality of today is that the hiring of specialists is usually carried out on the basis of competitive selection, one of the requirements of which is proficiency in a foreign language, which indicates the growing social significance of a foreign language in modern socio-economic conditions. This creates healthy competition and encourages young people to strive for a better education, to improve their English proficiency.

In this context, significant opportunities open up in the study of the structure of motivation and the use of motivational reserves for successful solving the problem of developing language competence. Theoretical and experimental studies of the problem of motivation show that motivation has a decisive role in teaching a foreign language.

Effective use of motivation allows to identify the internal reserves of the individual for its development, training and education. Motivation as the most flexible education is subject to change depending on the social and economic situation. This makes the problem of motivation significantly relevant and requires constant study.

Ukrainian legislation supports the rapid development of distance education. This is confirmed by various provisions and regulations of Ukrainian legislation on this topic, namely the Law of Ukraine “On Education”, “Concept of distance education in Ukraine”, “Regulations on distance learning”, the state program “Education” and quarantine measures introduced in Ukraine due to coronavirus COVID-19.

Nowadays, learning English is relevant at VDEUNU in connection with external independent evaluation in English, participation in international conferences, meetings with native speakers, foreign students' internships and grants, reception of foreign delegations. In this regard, teachers are faced with the task of creating a language environment for foreign language communication in the process of learning a language remotely, as close as possible to natural conditions.

The most important factor in learning to communicate in English is the motivation to learn a foreign language. Motivation should be understood as the organization of such educational activities, which are aimed at a deeper study of English, its improvement and the desire to develop the needs of learning a foreign language. Therefore, it is necessary to create such conditions in educational activities that promote the development of a student's high level of cognitive interest in learning English.

According to Zhu Quan “Motivation is a frequently used word both in our daily work and study. A teacher might encourage his/her students by asking “Given motivation, anyone can learn a language”. Thus, it shows in language learning that motivation is very crucial, and actually the same as aptitude, intelligence and attitudes, it is an important factor which can greatly influence the achievements of learners' second language or foreign language acquisition” [10].

While discussing motivation we should take into account motives. The motive is seen as an internal interest in educational activities caused by needs of the student, social status, upbringing in the family. There are two types of motives: internal and external. Internal motives develop under the influence of their own thoughts student, aspirations, experiences, the emergence of certain needs, resulting in an awareness of inner necessity.

The main factors that contribute to the formation of students' positive motives for learning English are: understanding learning objectives and outcomes; content of the lesson, authentic materials; development of students' cognitive abilities; interest; professional orientation; awareness of the importance of the acquired knowledge; assessment; a great desire to learn English; necessity to pass EIE in English.

External motives are not related to the content of the study material. They include: duty (the student must study this subject to get credit, pass the exam); assessment (the desire to score as many points per module per semester). However, it is necessary to take into account not only the assessment, but also the student's motivating role; assessment of the student by the teacher. The teacher creates motivation in the student by his example, interest, respect. The attitude to the teacher automatically turns into the attitude to the subject. The teacher must be a leader in the process of cognition, authority in all areas of communication with students. There is no stronger motivator than your own positive example, the teacher's interest in the English language and culture of the country of the studied language.

Personal interest (to find a well-paid job). Nowadays, English proficiency is becoming a mandatory requirement not only for foreign but also Ukrainian employers. Fluency in a foreign language, along with good professional skills, will allow a specialist to get a decent job and have a successful career; use of English as a means of receiving and exchanging information, using a computer and the Internet to gain knowledge in various fields of science and technology, using various programs to perform calculations, course projects and educational tasks; studying English for the purpose of career growth - passing international exams TOEFL, IELTS, APTIS in order to find a job abroad; study of the culture and history of the country whose language is being studied; learning the language in order to make tourist trips to communicate with other people, etc.; desire to improve their knowledge by studying abroad; enjoying learning foreign languages in order to communicate with peers from foreign countries; improving spoken language skills for participation in international conferences and meetings; self-affirmation (student learns a language to achieve a certain status in life); self-realization in life (the student wants to achieve great success during his studies, to get excellent grades in exams, to defend a diploma); social motive (the student realizes the social significance of learning English); any other motives.

The teacher's task is to teach students to communicate in English, creating certain situations that will help them in life and teach them to find the best solution. This requires raising the professional level of the teacher, constant improvement of knowledge of the subject. Interest in the process of learning a foreign language is based on internal motives that come from the foreign language activity.

In recent years, classes aimed at teaching students, undergraduates and graduate students to prepare presentations in English have been significant. An alternation of various types of activities and distance learning plays an important role in increasing students' motivation.

Teachers use different types of interesting distance work in the classroom: classes-discussion of various topics; group discussions with students via Skype, Zoom, etc.; round tables; mini-conferences in groups; tests; online presentations with sharing screen, as well as video classes. Students select material for their presentation via the Internet and articles in English from the original journals. They prepare their presentations in the form of slides in the Power Point in certain areas of their specialization. Teachers not only check ready-made presentations and reports, but also conduct classes with students remotely in Skype, Zoom, etc.

Such classes are conducted by many teachers of the Department of Foreign Languages and Professional Communication VDEUNU.

For many students, the main motive is to take a test or exam and get a positive grade in English. Therefore, the teacher has a task: to develop positive, cognitive motives in those students who have no interest in this subject: to increase the level of positive intrinsic motivation. It depends on the success of the student, skills, teacher qualifications, teaching methods that contribute to the acquisition of excellent knowledge, and many other factors. Poor quality of teaching, misunderstanding of the subject, numerous mistakes, reflect student's interest in language learning.

The research and experimental work were conducted at the Department of Foreign languages and professional communication Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University (Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine).

Overall the research included 604 participants. The age of students, who studied to gain the first higher education, was between 17 and 20. The research was carried out during the period distant learning due to the quarantine measures of COVID-19.

In the study, we used such methods as a questionnaire. The questionnaire of the students and was held on the basis of modern service Moodle. This service gives an opportunity to make a questionnaire of any type and any theme. The author can choose the number of answers in accordance with the theme chosen.

Fig. 1. Diagram of VDEUNU students' motivation in learning English

The participants of the research were asked to choose the motives that guide them in studying English. The results of the analysis are presented in the diagram.

Based on the results, we can conclude that when learning English, the internal motives of students prevail over external.

25% of respondents study English in order to get a credit.

Other 32% study English to pass External Independent Evaluation to get admission to Master's degree levels.

It is necessary to point out that usually the ESP course that introduces students to their profession is taught during the 1st and 2nd year of study, in some universities particularly, in Volodymyr Dahl East Ukrainian National University - during only 3rd semester. The restricted amount of English classes at non-linguistic universities only complicates the necessity of teaching professionally-oriented English to develop all the necessary English communication skills and competences as well as to reach the target level B2 [2].

That's why preparatory English courses for EIE are very popular for students of different levels.

16% of respondents believe that the motive for finding a prestigious job is important and career growth. Many students believe that for any highly educated person, the search for a prestigious, well- paid job in large cities, including abroad, depends largely on foreign languages proficiency. Therefore, they strive for perfect command of English. The motive of self-affirmation prevails here.

Approximately 9% of students learn English to complete tasks, projects, calculations.

Among the surveyed students, about 6% put forward the motive of understanding scientific texts, as the works of many great scientists are written in English. Every educated person should be able to read and understand the instructions and specifications for the installation and operation of various devices and mechanisms, written in English.

Some students (3%) believe that learning a foreign language is necessary in order to exchange information between peers, friends, acquaintances.

2% of students see the goal of learning a language to continue studying abroad; 2% - because English is a compulsory subject in the university; 2% - because they have a special interest in learning foreign languages.

Conclusions

Motivational aspect is important for the activation of all psychological processes - thinking, perception, understanding and assimilation of foreign language material. Motives, areas of desire, interests and inclinations, worldview, student status, as well as different situations are interdependent and constitute a harmonious unity of personality. All this is an inner force that motivates the student to learn a foreign language and creates a positive attitude to learning English. To do this, it is necessary to increase levels of motivation, promoting the development of knowledge and intellectual activity in students, which, in turn, leads to increased efficiency of the learning process.

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