Creating an English-speaking digital learning environment for preschoolers: linguodidactic aspect

Parents' feedback on the status of learning English by their children

The third question addresses challenges pertaining to learning English. The most common challenge is financial one, as 41% of parents find English classes to be rather expensive.

Among other issues, adults have highlighted methodical challenges (15%), administrative challenges (27%), language difficulties (3%), psychological (4%), pedagogical (7%), and national values (3%).

Thus, based on the parents' ideas, it is clear that English preschool education should be offered free of charge and that it should enjoy administrative, pedagogical, psychological, and communicative support to parents and children nationwide. As it can be noted and seen in Table 5, a nation-oriented approach to English is also on the agenda.

Table 5.

Parents' feedback on the difficulties of learning English by preschoolers

The next question deals with the issue of establishing the frequency of consumption of digital content in the English language by children. We have ascertained that 41% of preschoolers listen to and watch digital content. 54% of parents are not sure of what the digital habits of their children are. 5% of respondents claim that their children pursue no virtual life whatsoever. Overall, it is obvious that the frequency of digital tools use by children is high. However, those parents who hesitate about their child's everyday digital activity may be surprised if they come to identify basic English language perception skills in their children as a result of involuntary online interaction with technology. Adults' ideas are presented in Table 6.

The last question is to verify the efficiency of guidelines on how to create an English digital learning environment for children. 69% of parents prove these learning tips to be useful and helpful. Meanwhile, 26% of respondents trace no progress of their children in learning English with digital tools use. 5% of adults are not supposed to take these guidelines into consideration, as it is shown in Table 7.

Table 6

Parents' feedback on the frequency of using digital technology by preschoolers

Table 7.

Parents' feedback on the efficiency of the suggested learning tips

In general, based on the parents' overall prevailing answers in the affirmative, the conducted interview has verified and showcased the feasibility of the suggested guidelines on how to shape a digital English learning environment.

However, numerous scientific works draw our attention to the negative psychological and physiological consequences of the overactive use of digital technologies by children as it might lead to clipping, virtual addiction, and sometimes even mental disabilities [9].

Regarding these negative consequences, Ukrainian scientists [36] have designed the principles of education in a digital era, which should be considered and applied by parents as well. It is highly recommended to follow such principles:

1) the principle of confidence and security for data preservation, actions control, information permission and restriction by parents;

2) the principle of individualisation aims at building individual educational strategies and paths, in particular, individual forms of presentation and communication over social media;

3) the principle of accessibility (digital space should be open, easy-to-use, cutting-edge and constantly developing);

4) the principle of accuracy means the use of relevant digital methods and technologies according to the educational objectives;

5) the principle of development aims at moral personal aspects of character-building, improving and developing the child's creative skills using digital tools of the new era;

6) the principle of flexibility helps to use the digital content according to the individual, age, special needs and interests of each child, considering his or her likes, objectives, time, place, etc.

7) the principle of innovativeness provides the opportunity to use modern interactive, remote learning forms, technologies and methods and ensures the educational benefits from the digital space;

8) the principle of integrity promotes learning a variety of phenomena from the point of view of different sciences [36, p. 1-11].

Conclusions and prospects for further research

Modern worldwide trends in globalisation, digitalisation, universality, plurality, interculturality and mobility have evoked a scientific interest in the study of the issue of an English-speaking digital learning environment shaping for children of preschool age.

The increasing role of English is obvious nowadays, as it changes the style of interpersonal, intercultural communication and interaction in the digital age. Safe use of digital technologies facilitates the relationship, daily routine, well-being, education and entertainment of a modern family anytime, anyplace. Scientific and technological progress not only helps tackle the intelligence challenges of humans (e.g. using AI), but also assists in resolving intercultural communicative issues that can be solved and enhanced with the aid of digital learning tools. english language competence preschooler

Linguodidactics has been used as a background to analyse learning English as a second language by preschool children with its culture, juxtaposed with mastering their mother tongue and embracing their native culture, highlighting the impact of such bilingual education on their personal multifaceted development. A detailed analysis of theories of language acquisition proves the sociocultural theory to be the most accurate and appropriate in the context of the study. Accordingly, the paper has emphasised the core role of parents' Scaffolding and Zone of Proximal Development for mastering a second language through discussing, working in groups, negotiating, and showcasing learning strategies. Parents (mother, father, or caregivers) are considered the first agents of the child's socialisation. By providing positive behaviour and speech patterns, they are shaping a child's personality on the basis of their interaction aimed at moral, spiritual, emotional, communicative, intelligent, and physical development. Parents may play a significant role in learning English at a young age and building a positive attitude towards English as a second language. Communicative interaction between adults and a child is a milestone in human shaping and mother tongue acquisition, as well as learning a second language. One of the benefits of second language acquisition in childhood is the parent's ability to speak English to a child beginning with an early age and equip him or her with the corresponding linguistic and cultural repertoire. However, parents' insufficient English language proficiency may be offset artificially by resorting to English-speaking digital learning environment shaping which is defined as a systematic unity of English-speaking linguistic and cultural repertoire in a digital format supported legislatively, scientifically, and methodically, which is managed and overseen by parents, teachers, volunteers with digital learning tools (apps, online educational platforms, computer software, social (digital) media) use.

To that end, we have highlighted a variety of resources that can be used by parents, including audio materials (lullabies, songs, bedtime stories, radio programs), video clips, digital stories, cartoons, video blogs, video games, online educational platforms, and applications providing opportunities for learning English.

A thorough review and analysis of cutting-edge audio and video materials for preschoolers involves their authenticity, didactic value, preschool learners' age, interests and language proficiency level. A didactic comparison of English vlogs provides the possibility to determine their educational significance for children's multifaceted development and the English language communicative competence shaping, including a number of video-based activities in a real- life situation.

Vlogs and cartoons as effective audiovisual tools should be used at the pre-watching, while-watching and after-watching stages in order to form preschool learners' audiovisual comprehension and communicative skills. Plenty of exciting interactive methods and game techniques (e.g. playful experimentation, role-playing, acting out, dramatising, storytelling) based on highlighted video materials for preschoolers are also suggested. The list of English educational online platforms with games and applications has been examined in order to pinpoint the educational potential of digital learning tools for preschoolers. Within a family, the following techniques of learning English through digital media may be used: audio-visual reception, emotional interaction, imitation, conversation, explanation, drilling, role-play, dramatising, gaming, and parents' social and communicative interaction with a child. The suggested guidelines have been used to design a framework for shaping an Englishspeaking digital learning environment. Considering factors impacting kids at different levels (family, preschool educational institutions, state etc), the suggested model aims at providing preschoolers with a beneficial and efficient digital learning environment which would facilitate the shaping of their communicative competence in the English language. It calls for collaboration and consolidation of efforts put in by family, out-of-preschool communities, kindergartens, state and local authorities aimed at providing opportunities for a free-of-charge shaping of communicative competence in the English language, supported by digital learning tools.

The Feasibility of the suggested guidelines on how to shape the English digital learning environment for children has been verified on the basis of interviews conducted with parents in the kindergarten.

Creating an English-speaking digital learning environment for a child has a number of benefits, specifically: it helps broaden the child's world view, lifestyle and culture, expand and develop his or her knowledge, interests, likes, and abilities; it widens the audience (number of interlocutors) for emotional, communicative and social interaction; it has a positive impact on the child's intelligence, emotional, cognitive, and communicative development.

Meanwhile, alongside the benefits of an English digital learning environment mentioned above, there are also some restrictions that should be imposed on the scope of use of digital learning tools by preschoolers. The following factors and criteria should be addressed and considered: linguistic (authenticity, level of language proficiency), ergonomic (safety, netiquette, reliability, screen time, length, size and download ability of audio or video, picture and sound quality), educational (age-appropriateness, interests, individual abilities, motivation, educational and intercultural value, multifaceted development objectives, interactivity, variety of cognitive and physical integrated activities). As far as prospects for further research are concerned, the academic paper suggests that different conditions (pedagogical, ergonomic, psychological, cultural, etc.) of Englishspeaking digital learning environment functioning should be studied thoroughly and methods of digital competence building of preschool children, parents and in-service teachers should be developed.

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Анотація

Створення англомовного цифрового освітнього середовища для дітей дошкільного віку: лінгводидактичний аспект

Оксана Хомишак

кандидат педагогічних наук, доцент, доцент кафедри практики англійської мови і методики іі ' навчання Дрогобицький державний педагогічний університет імені Івана Франка, м. Дрогобич, Україна

Анотація.

Нещодавні трансформації в мовній політиці в Україні привертають увагу громадськості та актуалізують вивчення проблеми створення англомовного цифрового освітнього середовища для дітей дошкільного віку в дослідницьких студіях крізь призму лінгводидактики. У статті висвітлено педагогічні переваги оволодіння англійською мовою як другою мовою дошкільниками на основі співвіднесення її з вивченням рідної мови та культури. Ретельний аналіз теорій засвоєння рідної мови доводить актуальність соціокультурної теорії, на тлі якої окреслено ключову роль батьків (опікунів) як перших педагогів дитини та творців англомовного цифрового освітнього середовища для дітей дошкільного віку.

Подано відповідні рекомендації батькам щодо створення англомовного освітнього середовища для дітей та його подальшої підтримки за допомогою цифрових ресурсів. Визначено поняття «англомовне цифрове освітнє середовище для дітей дошкільного віку». Запропоновано застосування цифрових освітніх ресурсів одночасно для міжособистісної та міжкультурної взаємодії батьків і дитини. Уточнено дидактичну цінність аудіо- та відеоматеріалів для формування англомовної комунікативної компетенції дошкільників. Блоги та мультфільми розглядаються як найцікавіші та найдієвіші аудіовізуальні засоби вивчення англійської мови для дітей цього віку. Задля мовленнєвого та всебічного розвитку дітей запропоновано ігрові прийоми роботи з цифровими медіа (застосування міміки, переодягання, драматизація, театралізація, рольова гра). Проаналізовано низку освітніх онлайн-платформ і застосунків для вивчення англійської мови з урахуванням цільової аудиторії, завдань, змісту, лінгвістичної та дидактичної відповідності. На основі аналізу низки цифрових освітніх ресурсів і поданих методичних рекомендацій батькам щодо їх застосування розроблено модель створення англомовного цифрового освітнього середовища для дітей дошкільного віку, що охоплює три рівні (сім'я, освітні заклади, держава). Результати опитування батьків дітей дошкільного віку доводять ефективність запропонованих рекомендацій щодо створення сприятливого англомовного цифрового освітнього середовища на рівні сім'ї.

Ключові слова: англійська мова; цифрове освітнє середовище; діти дошкільного віку; батьки; цифрові освітні ресурси; теорія засвоєння мови.

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