Is online teaching and learning effective

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IS ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING EFFECTIVE

N. Shchetynyna

Аннотация

ЭФФЕКТИВНО ЛИ ПРЕПОДАВАНИЕ И ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ИНОСТРАННОГО ЯЗЫКА В ОНЛАЙН-ФОРМАТЕ?

Н.А. ЩЕТИНИНА

Все больше преподавателей и слушателей открывают для себя онлайн-обучение благодаря его удобству и актуальности. Но некоторые все еще сомневаются в эффективности такого вида обучения, которое может казаться непривычным и менее результативным. Многие современные педагоги, однако, предпочитают работу из дома благодаря колоссальной экономии времени и сил. Серьезным преимуществом для учащихся является финансовая составляющая: онлайн-уроки на порядок дешевле очных занятий. В сфере онлайн-обучения иностранным языкам существуют свои правила, соблюдение которых позволит преподавателю осуществлять корректную организацию и проведение урока, а также увидеть плоды своей работы через результаты, достигаемые учениками. На всех уровнях учебного процесса необходимо соблюдать четкость относительно расписания занятий, учебного плана, объема домашнего задания, необходимости его выполнения и т.п. Тщательная подготовка к каждому занятию необходима как опытному, так и начинающему преподавателю для обеспечения и сохранения высокого уровня качества обучения, поддержания динамичности урока, а также экономии учебного времени. Наличие всех материалов под рукой является необходимым: файлы, требуемые для данного занятия, должны быть отправлены слушателю заблаговременно, а также открыты на устройстве преподавателя еще до урока. Должное рабочее состояние устройства, с помощью которого педагог проводит занятия онлайн, - это нечто само собой разумеющееся. Здесь необходимо обратить внимание не только на фон позади преподавателя, но и на устойчивое положение устройства или камеры.

Одной из неотъемлемых составляющих обучения является мотивация учащегося, ведь без четко поставленных целей и задач, только на энтузиазме преподавателя слушатель, вероятно, потеряет интерес. Работа над мотивационным аспектом обучения также заслуживает пристального внимания профессионального преподавателя.

Ключевые слова: онлайн-обучение, изучение иностранного языка, преподавание онлайн, мотивация.

Annotation

Online studies are gaining their popularity due to technological advances as well as the pandemic situation as it has developed across the globe. Therefore, the article touches upon the practical issues of online learning processes, their effectiveness and benefits.

Key words: online learning, foreign language, online teaching, motivation.

The main text

Online studying is reasonably gaining more and more popularity nowadays due to the growing demand to study at any convenient time and place. Most adults learning a foreign language need it for their job and thus they are often far too busy to attend any courses with a stableevening / morning schedule. Constant availability - that's what makes any online learning course really attractive.

On the part of the teacher, the advantage is also obvious: they don't even need to leave their homes in order to teach lessons. With the help of the Internet, the working process is always here, ready at hand.

Secondly, there come financial matters. If we compare the average price of an elearning course with that of a course requiring students' personal attendance, we will surely see quite a difference. That's another reason for choosing studies online, particularly nowadays in these hard economic conditions virtually worldwide.

The factors making the learning process effective are, in fact, numerous.

Clarity of the learning process should be provided at all levels. It means the clarity of our learning schedule and curriculum, home tasks that we request our student to do, even the image they see on their screens: these all should be one hundred percent clear. Our students should clearly know the date and time of the next lesson, the page of the book where they will find the home task, etc. It's definitely better to second check and confirm such points right away than to waste time repeating and clarifying these aspects after the lesson.

For any knowledgeable and responsible teacher, it's clear and goes without saying that the proper preparation is required prior to any lesson. “Proper” doesn't mean taking up hours of your time, it only denotes high quality. It doesn't matter whether we know the material and the course book or not, each group is different and requires a “tailored” approach. Consequently, the preparation can only be called proper if it's performed on an individual and regular basis.

One more important aspect concerning the above issue is having all necessary materials at hand. It simply means that all files, texts, pictures, books should be open / be sent to our students for downloading before the lesson starts. Thus we implicitly demonstrate our professionalism and reliability as a teacher.

It's essential that the equipment / devices we use during lessons be in operable condition: fully charged, updated, cleared of all waste that may affect their proper operation, etc. Moreover, the image our students will see on the screen during the lesson shall be absolutely stable, don't let it shake by holding the device in your hands! Most people (both students and teachers) find a shaking image extremely disturbing.

And, obviously, nothing can succeed without a proper level of motivation. It became clear from my own experience that it's not the age of your student that influences their motivation. It really is the goal they have set: moving to their dream country / city / place, becoming the best student in their group, speaking the language fluently when travelling, learning the language to be able to communicate with their foreign partner, etc. If we suddenly reveal the student's lack of motivation during our first lessons, we still can do something. We may find out more about his / her life and interests and suppose how our lessons will help extend his / her opportunities in these areas.

Most students starting to learn online have arrived with the purpose: some are here to achieve a clear pre-set goal, such as acquiring the knowledge necessary for successful professional future, others are here just for the sake of attendance, being pushed by their parents.

Definitely, motivation is one of the major factors affecting our students' success, however, it is a variable quantity. There are ups and downs in any field of human activity, and therefore, motivation tends to be fluctuating during the learning process, even in case a student is strong- willed and persevering.

There are so many motivational factors, and they may be strong or weak, extrinsic or intrinsic. Researchers consider the latter especially important for encouraging the students' success as such motivation comes from within an individual.

Motivation can be defined as “some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something” [1]. Motivation has also been called “an orientation toward a goal”, “the neglected heart of language teaching”, as, without students' motivation, “there is no pulse, there is no life in the class” [2]. Most researchers consider motivation the bedrock of learning due to several reasons.

First and foremost, it is the motivation that pushes forward the student through all inevitable hardships of the learning process, through any adverse conditions preventing him/her from studies. Students may have various difficulties, such as the pace or content of the lesson, some language aspects, personal issues, and difficulties arising at any stage of learning.

Mastering a foreign language may also become harder with the age, or the language acquired may just be too different from the students' mother tongue. It is practically impossible to outline all probable troubles, but one fact is evident: total lack or complete loss of motivation is actually equal to failure in learning.

One more reason why motivation is considered vital is that self-motivation immensely contributes to self-development. Motivation provokes a person to act in order to achieve some pre-set goal, short-term or long-term. For example, our learners may imagine themselves speaking English fluently with their business partners, at a job interview or during a trip abroad, which will influence and enhance their self-motivation and trigger their self-development.

It is amazing to have motivated students both in the classroom and online, but their motivation needs to be sustained continuously. On the one hand, researchers regard it incorrect to lay all responsibility on the teacher; on the other hand, they are sure the teacher can directly influence the learners' motivation in many ways. The teacher should be able to recognize and help students achieve their goals in learning the language.

Sometimes it is the teacher who helps learners set their goals. Some students start learning English (or another foreign language) just out of pure interest in the beginning. Later they definitely need to set a goal in front of them to move on. My teaching experience has shown that it is a good idea to suggest they should take an international exam or a trip abroad at the end of the language course - this will provide our students with a long-term goal, as well as will make their studies more reasonable and comprehensive. However, longterm goals are too far away, and the learners also need short-term goals to achieve: it can be a skill to acquire by the end of the week or a test to pass successfully.

Obviously, student motivation enormously contributes to success, just as lack or loss of motivation may demolish all efforts taken by the teacher. As teachers, we should draw the students' attention to the fact why they need to learn the language, how widely it is used around the world, where it is mostly spread, what areas of human activities it covers, etc. Thus, we will make the learning process challenging and motivating. It is day-to-day work, essential to be done both in a class and online with any group or individual learner.

Literature

learning student language motivating

1. Harmer J. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2011.371 p.

2. Rost M. Generating Student Motivation. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2006.

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