Internet technologies as a means of organizing the teaching of foreign language writing in the context of intercultural communication

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Department of Pedagogy and Methodology of Foreign Languages Teaching, Kyiv National Linguistic University

Department for Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University

Department of Foreign Languages for Faculties of Psychology and Sociology, Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Internet technologies as a means of organizing the teaching of foreign language writing in the context of intercultural communication

Vira Svyrydiuk PhD in Pedagogics, Associate Professor, Associate Professor

Anzhela Hordieieva PhD in Pedagogics, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Valentyna Kyrykylytsia PhD in Pedagogics, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Foreign Languages

Lutsk, Kyiv, Ukraine



Abstract

The article deals with the problem of teaching foreign language writing to the students of higher educational institutions in the context of intercultural communication. The difficulties encountered by the subjects of the educational process during the formation of communicative abilities in a foreign language written communication have been indicated, and the way of solving the problem with the help of Internet technologies as a means of organizing the educational process of teaching writing to students of higher educational institutions has been proposed. The emphasis has been put on the formation of intercultural competence in the context of written communication activity in a foreign language. The professional literature on the problem has been analyzed and the advantages of Internet technologies as a learning tool have been clarified, in particular blog -, tandem-, postcrossing technologies for optimizing the educational process of the students of higher educational institutions in the course of writing activity inside or outside the classroom. The advantages of Internet teaching technology have been indicated and compared with the main learning tool - a textbook. The paper outlines the place and role of blog, tandem and postcrossing as learning tools in written communication at the intercultural level. The goals and objectives of Internet technologies with corresponding strategies have been specified. The article presents didactic possibilities of using blog-, tandem-and postcrossing technologies for the formation of intercultural aspect of written communication of higher educational institutions' students. The empirical research with the help of diagrams based on the survey of the students of different specialities at four Ukrainian universities has been described. The novelty of the study lies in the use of innovative technologies for teaching and learning a foreign language and culture in the context of a cultural approach to the formation of written communication skills in a foreign language at the level of intercultural communication.

Keywords: intercultural communication; Internet technologies; written communication (writing); students of higher educational institutions; learning tools; foreign language skills and abilities.



Анотація

ІНТЕРНЕТ-ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ ЯК ЗАСІБ ОРГАНІЗАЦІЇ НАВЧАННЯ ПИСЕМНОГО МОВЛЕННЯ ІНОЗЕМНОЮ МОВОЮ В УМОВАХ МІЖКУЛЬТУРНОЇ КОМУНІКАЦІЇ

Віра Свиридюк

кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент,

доцент кафедри педагогіки та методики навчання іноземних мов

Київський національний лінгвістичний університет, м. Київ, Україна

Анжела Гордєєва

кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент,

доцент кафедри іноземних мов факультетів психології та соціології Навчально-науковий інститут філології

Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка, м. Київ, Україна

Валентина Кирикилиця

кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент,

доцент кафедри іноземних мов природничо-математичних спеціальностей Волинський національний університет імені Лесі Українки, м. Луцьк, Україна

У статті розглянуто проблему навчання писемного мовлення іноземної мови студентів закладів вищої освіти в умовах міжкультурної комунікації. Зазначено труднощі, з якими зустрічаються суб'єкти освітнього процесу під час формування комунікативних здібностей у письмі іноземною мовою, і запропоновано шлях розв'язання проблеми за допомогою інтернет- технологій як засобу організації освітнього процесу навчання писемного мовлення студентів закладів вищої освіти. Поставлено акцент на формуванні міжкультурної компетентності під час виконання писемномовленнєвих завдань іноземною мовою. Проаналізовано фахову літературу з проблеми і з'ясовано переваги інтернет-технології як засобу навчання, зокрема блог-, тандем-, посткроссинг-технологій для оптимізації освітнього процесу студентів під час писемномовленнєвої діяльності в аудиторних або в позааудиторних заняттях. Зазначено переваги інтернет-технології навчання над основним засобом навчання - підручником. Окреслено місце і роль блогу, тандему і посткроссингу як засобів навчання в писемному спілкуванні на міжкультурному рівні. У статті конкретизовані цілі і завдання інтернет -технологій з релевантними для них стратегіями. Представлено дидактичні можливості використання блог -, тандем-, посткроссинг-технологій з метою формування міжкультурного аспекту писемного мовлення студентів закладів вищої освіти. Відображено та описано емпіричні дослідження за допомогою діаграм, які були укладені на основі проведеного опитування студентів різних спеціальностей чотирьох університетів України. Новизна дослідження полягає в застосуванні інноваційних технологій навчання і вивченні іноземної мови і культури в контексті культурологічного підходу до формування здібностей писемного мовлення іноземною мовою на рівні міжкультурної комунікації.

Ключові слова: міжкультурна комунікація; інтернет-технології; писемне мовлення; студенти закладів вищої освіти; засоби навчання; іншомовні вміння та навички.



Introduction

The problem statement. A sufficient level of proficiency in a foreign language and culture (FL&C), in particular English and German at the advanced user level C1-C2, indicates the quality of the developed communicative skills of a cultural secondary language personality of the student of a higher educational institution. In addition, «nowadays technological advances and globalization trends generate a demand for the new generation of graduates, competent not only in their professional field but also in business communication with the representatives of other national and business cultures» [1, p. 54]. Taking into account national and cultural peculiarities is one of the important conditions for the organization of the foreign language educational process in accordance with the modern needs of the globalized world. In this context, we consider the capacity to communicate with people from diverse cultures, which is called «intercultural communication». This notion encompasses the exchange of ideas and information between individuals by any means, including the verbal ones, in particular writing.

Teaching writing as a means of intercultural communication needs to be optimized in the process of developing communicative foreign language skills, as it requires more time to rethink the use of verbal and semantic means to solve communicative problems. The use of Internet technologies improves the modelling of the social and cultural situation in which the communicative interaction of speakers of different linguistic cultures is carried out.

Knowledge of foreign languages, in particular English and German, not only expands the cultural boundaries of teaching and learning these languages, but it is also an essential requirement for a modern graduate of a higher educational institution and a key element of fundamental education. Proficiency in foreign languages contributes to the enrichment of global experience through access to the latest technologies, outstanding innovations and trends in the development of science and technology, etc. Writing plays an important role in communication between representatives of different languages and cultures. The ability to write in a foreign language can contribute to the successful cooperation of communicators in the field of socio-economic, educational, scientific and national-cultural development of the community of nations. Intercultural foreign language communication is a communicative goal, the successful achievement of which depends on appropriate means, methods and techniques in the socio-cultural environment modelling. educational communicative ability internet

The need for more time to teach written communication determines the choice of tools and technologies for the optimal organization of the educational process. The current economic situation allows only a reduction of classroom hours at the expense of increasing them for independent educational activity. In such a rather tight schedule of the classroom work, students manage to develop skills and abilities that are often unstable and inflexible.

Writing skills are developed in practical foreign language classes. The time regulated by the curriculum does not allow students to fully organize their learning to write different genres and types of texts. In order to solve the problem of time-limited classroom work, innovative technologies, in particular Internet technologies, and appropriate learning tools and principles are being used. The identification of the principles helps to organize the foreign language learning process, in which interactivity, individualization and self-responsibility, flexibility and openness, students' autonomy and creativity play a leading role in the implementation of foreign language activities.

Analysis of recent studies and publications. At the international level a number of documents have been implemented in order to support intercultural awareness [2] and to make intercultural communication more effective [3], [4]. It is fundamental to note that the Council of Europe has offered suggestions for a definition of intercultural dialogue as a process that comprises an open and respectful exchange of views between individuals and groups with different ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds and heritage, on the basis of mutual understanding and respect [5, p. 9]. Topical issues related to the definition of information and communication technologies as an integral component of the educational process and a modern means of teaching a foreign language and culture are presented in the works of domestic and foreign scientists. T. I. Koval, S. O. Sysoieva, L. P. Sushchenko and N. V. Maiier studied and characterized the educational environment in which innovative technologies of teaching FL&C are implemented on the basis of modern information and communication technologies [6], [7]. V. V. Chernysh conducted scientific research on the didactic and methodological possibilities of Internet technology and search engines for the formation of foreign language skills and abilities of future foreign languages and cultures teachers in all types of speech activity: speaking, listening, reading and writing [8]. O. B. Bihych highlighted blog technology as one of the most effective means of developing students' intercultural competence skills and abilities at different stages of teaching and learning a foreign language and culture [9]. Some researchers pay special attention to blog design as a new manifestation of the realization of personality in combination with information and communication technologies [10, p. 394]. V. P. Svyrydiuk focused on the possibilities of teaching writing to the part-time students of philological specialities using network technology through a distance learning course [11], [12]. Yu. S. Iliasova, L. S. Shevchenko consider Internet technologies as an appropriate tool for the formation of general competencies of medical students [13].

New technologies are claimed to be an effective way of learning as they help students to acquire new knowledge easily because of the fast access to international libraries and other sources of information and provide them with a wide range of multimedia devices, different applications [14, p. 38]. The expediency of using information and communication technologies in teaching, more often it is Internet technologies, is discussed by experts at scientific and practical conferences and it is a hot topic in scientific publications, as professionals aim to improve the educational process of mastering a foreign language communication. The term «Internet technologies» in the methodology of teaching and learning foreign languages and cultures is understood as a set of forms, methods, ways, techniques of teaching FL&C using Internet resources and social services [6].

In the era of scientific and technological progress, the use of technical teaching aids (TTAs), Internet resources that complement the textbook and traditional technology in teaching and learning FL&C, in particular the formation of the intercultural foreign language communicative competence (IFLCC), is significantly optimized. Internet resources refer to information and communication technologies in FL&C teaching and learning, and at the same time they form communicative and information competences in foreign languages [15]. As the world gets more interconnected, the ability to communicate successfully across cultural boundaries is becoming more and more vital. In this regard, we put emphasis on the intercultural foreign language communicative competence that is defined as the ability to interact effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations to achieve a communication goal [16, p. 4].

The peculiarities of the organization of the educational process of forming students' IFLCC largely depend on the learning tools (LTs) that create the material basis for the implementation of the goals, content, principles and approaches to teaching foreign language communication and studying the culture of the countries, which, in turn, acts as a regulator of the intercultural information exchange. LTs are designed to create conditions for the interaction of participants in the educational and cultural process, as they can perform educational and cognitive activity through action, and the action is as close as possible to the realization of a real life communication situation [17, p. 62], in which a person satisfies one's own social, professional, educational and scientific needs. Therefore, the multi-vector assignment of LTs requires a comprehensive consideration and specification regarding their implementation and use by both teachers and students. In recent years, several publications have appeared that describe the crucial role of Internet technologies in the educational process, particularly during the pandemic, when new challenges made it necessary to reformat education and enrich it with modern multimedia and interactive means [18], [19], [20].

Adherence to the principles for the organization of the foreign language process in the modern conditions of higher education acquisition gives grounds to single out the Internet teaching technology as one of the interactive means of forming written communication skills and abilities in a foreign language [21] and also contributes to the organization of monitoring and evaluation [22]. Internet technology is referred to as TTAs in the methodology of teaching FL&C [23].

In terms of the intercultural aspect, the Internet technology provides an open access to linguistic and cultural sources (the principle of openness) and, thus, creates optimal conditions for learning, using and promoting FL&C learning (the principle of flexibility) in accordance with the circumstances of intercultural communication of those who convey messages to each other [24, p. 198].

Based on the analyzed publications, it is appropriate to single out among the variety of possibilities of Internet technology such technologies as blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies, which can simultaneously serve as LTs inside and outside classroom conditions in order to optimize the formation of students' written communication skills and abilities at the intercultural level of communication.

The research goal is to consider the possibilities of Internet technologies as a means of organization of foreign language written communication teaching in the context of intercultural communication.



Research methods

In order to study the effectiveness of the use of Internet technologies for the purpose of written communication foreign language skills acquisition, the method of observation and questionnaire regarding its active use as a learning tool was applied.

The professional literature on the problem of Internet technologies application for the organization of written communication activity in a foreign language has been studied; an empirical approach to the selection of learning tools, which optimize the teaching of written communication inside and outside the classroom and increase the level of implementation of exercises and tasks in the process of foreign language communication in writing, has been carried out. While comparing and contrasting the possibilities of written communication skills formation with the help of a printed textbook (traditional teaching technology) and the use of Internet technology, we single out the advantages of teaching writing as a productive type of speech activity, which are used by such means as blog, tandem, postcrossing (Table 1).

Table 1 The advantages of using blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies in the process of IFLCC acquisition in a foreign language writing

Textbook (traditional teaching technology)	Blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies
1) unchanged content of educational materials	1) content filling in accordance with the conditions and circumstances of written communication
2) plain printed text	2) hypertext, a multimedia text that combines sound, graphics, video fragments with national and cultural elements of the countries whose language is being studied
3) possible difficulties in finding a topic for writing/compiling a written text	3) writing/compiling a text in accordance with the socio-cultural situation and the needs of the communicators by means of feedback
4) self-control (if the textbook contains keys)	4) self-control and control through feedback from representatives of foreign language linguistic cultures
5) receptive and reproductive activities predominate, or written (re)productive activity (exercises performance), as a rule, in a homogeneous cultural environment	5) combination of receptive and productive activities, written monologue activity with oral dialogue activity through interactivity with representatives of foreign language linguistic cultures
6) exercises performance, aimed at the formation of linguistic competence	6) participation in printed discourse with representatives of foreign language linguistic cultures
7) lack of feedback	7) availability of feedback due to the interaction of speakers
8) availability of educational and cognitive micro-environment with a teacher and other students	8) availability of interactive foreign language educational and cognitive macro-environment with representatives of foreign language linguistic cultures

The results and discussion

Table 1 shows that the use of Internet technologies creates optimal opportunities for the development of skills and abilities in a foreign language at the intercultural level. However, it should be noted that the role of the textbook remains the leading one at the stage of using didactic methods of organization/self-organization, familiarization and use of foreign language material.

In order to improve the traditional system of teaching FL&C and to solve the problems of improving the educational foreign language process of forming IFLCC, we highlight the possibilities of active use of information and communication technologies. A variety of Internet applications help to individualize the humanistic form of education based on the use of Internet technologies in order to organize a full-fledged educational process, regardless of the autonomous learning trajectory on the way to achieving the communicative goal.

This form of education contains all the components inherent in the learning process (goals, content, methods, organizational forms, learning and control tools), which are implemented by specific means of Internet technology or other means and involve interactivity with representatives of foreign linguistic cultures (e.g. Ukrainian, English and German), which provides students with immersion in a foreign culture through the exchange of information, interaction and mutual perception.

The successful use of blog-, tandem- and postcrossing technologies as learning tools will depend on the conditions of the educational process:

the general organization of the learning process, namely the allocation of time for the development of written communication skills and abilities during independent and classroom work;

methods of conducting classroom lessons for students, taking into account the formation of educational and strategic competence;

organization of students' independent work in an autonomous mode during extracurricular independent work;

specially designed teaching and learning materials, including a set of exercises for the development of written communication and a mechanism for effective control/self- control.

Let's take a closer look at each of these factors.

Teachers bear a major part of the responsibility for the full-fledged learning process. They model the foreign language environment with the help of various learning tools, teach to learn, develop skills and abilities of foreign language communication, demonstrate methods and techniques for developing language and speech skills, and assess the level of knowledge.

Teaching and learning materials play a key role in teaching. Specially concentrated and organized teaching materials should not only provide students with content, language, linguistic, country and socio-cultural stuff, but also give them a complete picture of the skills and abilities in all types of language activities (reading, listening, speaking and writing) that learners should develop during the formation of IFLCC, and provide an opportunity to test the level of development of their competences. The formation of students' readiness for intercultural communication is carried out within the typical areas, topics and situations of communication that are defined by the curriculum of the educational institutions [25, p. 259].

In our study, we consider blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies as learning tools for university students of philological and non-philological specialties in the offline mode with the maximum approximation of participants to the intercultural communication process in both homogeneous and heterogeneous educational and cultural environments. For this purpose, the following learning tools:

are tangible and are the means of labour that ensure the communicative activity of the teacher and students;

are focused on learning objectives, in particular, the development of IFLCC;

take into account the cultural component of the educational process according to the principle: native language and culture are guides to the awareness of «One's own» and «Other's»;

are used for mastering productive and receptive types of speech activity;

serve as regulators in independent research activities;

are used for modelling a virtual learning environment when intercultural

communication is carried out by means of information and communication technologies;

satisfy foreign language communication needs within professional, personal, scientific and educational activities.

The use of these Internet technologies as learning tools can be carried out with the help of technical tools, namely a computer, laptop, smartphone, iPhone, tablet, which help to form students' information and communication competence.

In this way, students improve their general and professional competences in the use of information and communication technologies, as well as develop modern tools for the formation of students' foreign language communication competence and control of its level.

When developing a lesson plan for a class using Internet technologies and with the purpose to take into account the goals of their implementation, D. Rosler suggests the following possibilities [26, p.12]:

to carry out a country-specific review of information;

to find relevant information on linguistic aspects (grammar, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.);

to collect linguistic and sociocultural information for the purpose of its didactic and methodological improvement;

to visit chat rooms where you can communicate online with native speakers (e.g., blog, tandem, postcrossing, etc.)

to post your own learning material for the development of foreign language skills and abilities on the Internet, e.g., on a blog, learning platforms;

to take part in webinars, conferences on the speciality, forum discussions, etc.;

to conduct an interpersonal or collective exchange of information online and offline (e.g. tandem communication in writing).

Linguistic proficiency in written and printed speech indicates that the communicator has culturally marked skills and abilities to transmit information using textual knowledge, which becomes the object of control in the course of IFLCC development.

Internet technologies play an important role not only in the development and improvement of foreign language communication skills and abilities, but also in the implementation of selfmonitoring and self-assessment of the results obtained. The use of Internet resources allows you to perform training exercises, problem-based tasks and create your own communication product, as well as intercultural communication through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, which expands the range of socio-cultural space. Following O. B. Bihych and D. A. Rusnak, we understand Internet resources as text, audio and visual materials on various topics aimed at forming of foreign language communicative competence and developing students' communicative and cognitive skills to search, select, classify, analyze and summarize information [27]. We specify the goals and objectives of using Internet technologies, in particular blog, tandem and postcrossing, to optimize the development of IFLCC skills and abilities in writing in a foreign language (Table 2).



Table 2 Aims and objectives of using Internet technologies as learning tools for the development of IFLCC skills in writing

Internet technologies	Goals	Objectives	Learning strategies
Blog	compiling educational and methodological material; conducting a discourse with readers; advertising own product (photos, texts, illustrations); publishing and disseminating cultural materials; cooperation with colleagues from the countries whose language is being studied	writing comments; designing posts; writing titles for illustrations and photos; compiling tables; conducting a printed discourse; encouraging readers to write	observance of spelling and punctuation norms in writing texts in a foreign language; use of verbal and semantic means in accordance with the usages of foreign language linguistic culture; compliance with stylistic norms according to the genre and type of text; summarizing or detailing information;
Tandem	mastering the foreign language and culture with the help of a conversation partner; teaching the conversation partner your native language and culture; immersion in the cultural and linguistic environment through communication with a native speaker; learning the communicative etiquette of the language being studied	conducting a printed discourse; exchange of text messages of various types and genres; exchange of illustrative material; observance of communication etiquette in written communication;	comparing the national and cultural peculiarities of the printed discourse of foreign cultures with Ukrainian culture; making descriptions to understand the national and cultural phenomena of the countries whose language is being studied; asking and answering questions; explaining, arguing, and proving one's own point of view; use hypertext; be tolerant of linguistic and cultural diversity; clearly express opinions; be empathic; use linguistic, sociocultural lexical and grammatical means to formulate communicative intentions in written communication
Postcrossing	conducting a discourse using postcards; writing texts of different genres and types; presenting native Ukrainian cultural information	writing texts; adherence to the format of the postcard; observance of discourse and conventional signs when writing postcards; observance of speech etiquette in accordance with the social and cultural communication situation



It should be noted that when planning forming IFLCC in writing, the teacher should clearly outline not only the goals and objectives, but also the learning strategies for students. Optimization of the development of foreign language skills and abilities depends to a large extent on the transparency of the actions to be performed during the task in order to achieve a certain goal. It is appropriate to give examples of such tasks, demonstrate a product, thematize cultural differences in texts, and offer links to the Internet, in particular for:

blogs - http://verablog3001. blogspot. com/; http://verasviridjuk. blogspot. com/;

tandem communication - https: www.vhs-tandem.de ;

postcrossing - https: www.postcrossing.com.

The expediency of using Internet technology, in particular the use of blogs, tandem, postcrossing, is as follows:

enrichment and supplementation of the textbook / EMC (Educational and Methodological Complex) with cultural information and involvement of students in world cultural values;

authenticity of the cultural communication environment;

intensification of studying a larger flow of information in accordance with the topic being studied through «live» communication with native speakers;

formation of language, speech, linguistic and sociocultural skills and abilities on an interactive basis;

modelling a virtual learning environment and creating conditions for interpersonal communication with representatives of foreign countries;

expanding opportunities to conduct research activities, in particular, the study of linguistic and psychological phenomena of communicative behaviour of representatives of a foreign linguistic culture;

adherence to the principles of individualization and self-responsibility, autonomy and creativity in the formation of IFLCC;

acquisition of information knowledge and skills to carry out project work, in particular as a prerequisite for writing a qualification work and its publication;

development of professional skills and abilities to develop their own courses for teaching and learning FL&C.

By creating their own blog (e-diary, journal) or using another blog, students learn to express their thoughts in writing [9, p. 3], to present their own product to a wide range of users. Such written communication obliges students to be as self-responsible as possible for their own creativity.

During tandem group chats, written communication is often used primarily to exchange basic information, establish contacts, and create a communicative atmosphere. Short messages about your own experience, interests that can be discussed, and the culture of the country are always communicative tasks for teaching written communication to both parties.

Postcrossing technology can serve as a means for students to broaden their socio-cultural outlook and improve their understanding of the intercultural components of everyday life in a country. These components are very important because they are determined by traditions, customs, artefacts of the country, and because they distinguish the national identity of communicators.

The formation and development of written communication in a foreign language is carried out through interactive exercises on the learning platforms of the Web 2 service [28], [29] which makes it possible to organize self-control and self-assessment without the direct participation of the teacher, and allows self-management and self-correction of cognitive and speech skills and abilities in educational and cultural activities. Students have at their disposal constantly updated teaching and learning materials, as opposed to a textbook (teaching and learning complex), through convenient access to information (smartphone, laptop, tablet, computer); interactive communication with representatives of other linguistic cultures; access to a real foreign language environment via the Internet, which contributes to mobility and flexibility in acquiring foreign language knowledge, including linguistic and sociocultural knowledge.

These learning tools, including a blog, writing postcards, and written communication in tandem, have wide possibilities in creating optimal conditions for students' independent work to master written and spoken communicative competence, namely:

providing relevant teaching and learning materials from representatives of foreign cultures that can be flexibly combined with various sources of information on the Internet and in the textbook;

modelling of a foreign language macro-environment for thematization, comparison and study of the peculiarities of national cultures;

access to authentic information from foreign language speaking countries;

organization of feedback at all stages of teaching and learning FL&C, in particular during tandem communication;

individualization of the educational process;

motivation of cognitive and learning activity.

One of the tasks of the research was to find out students' usage of blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies, students' attitude to such types of technologies and their awareness of the necessity of obtaining written communication skills and abilities in a foreign language with the help of these technologies. Carrying out the research, we investigated how students of higher educational institutions understand the features and the potential of these technologies in the formation of foreign language written communication.

We will illustrate the usage of the Internet technologies mentioned above as learning tools for written communication in a foreign language with the help of diagrams (Figures 1, 2, 3).

Figure. 1. Using blog technology to teach writing in a foreign language

Figure. 2. Using tandem technology to teach writing in a foreign language

Figure. 3. Using postcrossing technology to teach writing in a foreign language

As expected, the obtained results showed that the most prevalent technology among students studying foreign languages and cultures at higher educational institutions is blog technology. 52.2% of respondents indicated their positive experience regarding the use of blog technology. Perhaps, this can be explained by its accessibility for written communication in order to store information, advertise, announce students' own developments or respond to interesting messages from bloggers. In addition, 17.2% of respondents expressed a desire to get to know and introduce blog technology into their educational process as a learning tool for written communication.

Tandem technology is the second most popular Internet technology presented. The question «Do you use tandem technology to learn written communication in a foreign language?» was positively answered by 14.9% of respondents who use this technology to develop written communication with native speakers. However, 33.3% of the students expressed the wish to get to know tandem technology and to introduce it into their educational process as they find it innovative and productive when communicating with a tandem-partner.

We also asked students to indicate whether they use postcrossing technology for the purpose of written communication in a foreign language. Unfortunately, 76.2% of students mentioned that they do not use postcrossing technology at all. Perhaps, this can be explained by the fact that students are not aware of such a technology yet or maybe some students are not interested in sending and receiving back real postcards (not electronic) from random people around the world. However, the other diagram's results of using postcrossing technology are optimistic as they still show students' interest in interactive activities at the level of intercultural communication. Many students (15.3%) want to organize their interpersonal written communication, and 8.4% of students already have such a learning tool at their disposal.

It can be concluded that there is a tendency for the most willing students to use blog technology (67.4%). Less commonly tandem technology is applied or is going to be applied (by 48.2% of students). And students are mostly indifferent to such a technology as postcrossing (only 23.7% of respondents are interested in it).

The results of the questionnaire data analysis, supported by observations and conversations, presented in Figures 1, 2 and 3 show that in a foreign language written communication students perform a limited number of activities by means of blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies. Nevertheless, the analysis allows us to make a generalization that the students have a certain interest in them. It is quite obvious, that the implementation of these technologies enhances students' motivation and desire in learning the foreign language material carefully at high theoretical and practical levels.

We believe that when students realize the need for the systematic use of blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies as a means of learning a foreign language writing, it will cause significant changes in students' understanding of the importance of these technologies and will help to create a sustainable motivational basis for their usage in the process of further education. In order to significantly raise and maintain a general level of foreign language knowledge, teachers should also focus students' attention on developing their writing skills and abilities by means of blog-, tandem-, postcrossing technologies, which will enable them to fully form the basis for intercultural communication in the future.



Conclusions and prospects for further research

The survey conducted among 291 students of Kyiv National Linguistic University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University and Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav regarding the expediency of using Internet technologies in the educational process for the purpose of forming students' IFLCC in a foreign language writing testifies to the growing interest in learning tools in the web environment. Communication through the Internet enriches students' understanding of the national and cultural markers of the countries whose language they study.

Adherence to these principles, in particular individuality and self-responsibility, makes it possible to give students full autonomy in choosing their learning tools. The diagrams show that students prefer to write or use blogs, explaining that they can be either multi-personal or singlepersonal. They can be composed at the author's own discretion. Exchanging postcards is an interesting written communication activity, but it requires time and money to achieve the communicative goal. Tandem-learning requires the ability to demonstrate one's own communicative abilities in writing during online or offline communication, the ability to organize the educational process, as well as the ability to select cultural content for communication in order to attract the tandem-interlocutor of a foreign language culture.

Thus, the article considers a number of advantages of using Internet technologies as a means of organizing students' foreign language learning activity with the aim of forming their IFLCC in writing, which creates a diverse presentation of the educational material; adds fullness and authenticity to communicative interaction; and stimulates real communication in a foreign language.

The involvement of Internet technologies in the foreign language educational process does not in any way detract from the use of traditional learning tools, such as textbooks, workbooks, etc., but harmoniously complements the development of skills and abilities of foreign language communicative competence at the intercultural level. The introduction of Internet technologies makes it possible to accelerate the acquaintance and study of the linguistic and cultural aspect of a foreign language and, thus, to optimize the educational process of developing IFLCC, in particular in writing. Performing communicative tasks with the help of Internet technologies develops students' appropriate level of interpersonal communication, forms the features of a cultural secondary personality, reduces the feeling of a language barrier, improves communicative skills, and gives confidence in the appropriate level of intercultural training.

The development of educational and methodical materials for the purpose of their multimodal presentation in a foreign language learning process opens the way to further research in the future.



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