Vol 19, No 1 (2021): Distance and Online Teaching the Russian Language in Different Linguistic and Cultural Environments

In March 2020, due to the coronavirus epidemic all Italian universities switched to online classes and managed to ensure the right to education. Making the switch to online learning, teachers faced new difficulties that they had to sort out immediately. The purpose of the research is to provide scientific and methodological substantiation of the development of the online course of Russian as a foreign language at the University of Bologna. Due to the coronavirus lockdown, such a course was considered as the only possible way to provide the educational process. The author of the article made an attempt to empirically determine the potential of information technology used to organize a productive learning environment for language learners (including Russian-language learners). The article analyses the way the online educational process was organized to teach Russian to political science students of the University of Bologna (Forlì Campus). The researcher studied the structure and functions of the IOL and Virtuale learning environment on the Moodle platform, as well as the means of interaction between students and teachers. The methods for analysing distance learning research papers and empirical methods for assessing the communicative-speech activity of Italian students attending the online Russian language course were used. Apart from that, based on the results of the survey conducted to find out the learners’ attitude to online education, a psychological and pedagogical analysis of the students’ educational activities was carried out. The researcher clarified the definition of e-learning, and considered the cognitive theory of multimedia learning in terms of effective transmission of information during the educational process and direct communication with students. As for the theoretical significance of the article, the author made an attempt to substantiate the need to create and use distance courses for students learning foreign languages (in particular Russian). As for the practical significance of this work, the researcher developed practice-oriented modular computer environment to teach Russian as a foreign language and considered computer-assisted language learning. Methodologies to increase linguistic, communicative and regional geographic competencies of Italian students were developed. In addition, new multimedia educational resources were introduced into the process of teaching political science students. The author summed up the results of the study, analysed the weak and strong points of the online course and proposed the ways to improve it.

The article describes the project structure of an electronic educational resource in Russian as a foreign language which is based on a system of social interaction including a component of virtual simulation of the Russian language environment. The relevance of the study arises from modern trends in the development of communicative language learning and computer technology that provides the need to study and develop new efficient approaches improving the theory and practice of distance learning of Russian as a foreign language. The purpose of the study is to make a theoretical research on drawing up the structure of an electronic educational resource in Russian as a foreign language with the use of a virtual simulator of the Russian language environment as its component. The main methods are observation of modern trends in the development of electronic resources, analysis of research literature, generalization of the authors' empirical experience in the development of prototypes of learning systems based on the technology of virtual worlds and educational and game applications in the Russian language. The research materials are the works of Russian and foreign researchers devoted to the use of virtual reality technology in language learning. In the course of the study, the modern trends in the development of electronic resources were analyzed, and on this basis the basic principles and practical approaches to the formation of an electronic language environment were identified. The study resulted in theoretical and practical provisions considering an electronic educational resource in Russian as a foreign language as a living and self-developing virtual ecosystem. The results can be used to create a communication-oriented electronic educational resource on Russian as a foreign language.

When switching to online teaching, the question arises about the feasibility, methods and form of transposing existing teaching materials into the Internet and creating new ones. The aim of the study is to show what opportunities electronic educational environment ViLLE, developed in Finland, has for teaching Russian as a foreign language and as a second home language. The material of the article include exercises created in this e-environment, and the methods of the research include various software and pedagogical solutions aimed at implementing the methodology. During research, starting in 2017, e-learning platform ViLLE has allowed the Russian language to find and to take its place in Finland’s digital language teaching system. Different courses were created, with different sets of tasks and exercises that can be used by teachers and students of any educational institution. Some of the courses, among them those aimed at bilinguals, provide an opportunity to familiarize students with the included theoretical material. Having mastered the necessary minimum skills of using ViLLE, any teacher can independently modify tasks and exercises, combine them in the desired sequence and volume, and thus create courses adapted to the needs of their students. An integrated performance analysis system makes their work easier by allowing the teacher to focus on a specific language teaching problem. The results showed that among the existing electronic educational resources, online platforms and e-learning environments are the most essential tools for teaching a foreign/second language, since only they give the teacher the opportunity to independently plan and structure the entire educational process, manage it, use existing materials and create new ones, automatize certain functions, combine various educational events, and communicate with students. The article compares criteria for evaluating such resources and dividing them into two categories: (1) general criteria that include multi-functionality, the set of features provided by the environment, and compatibility with regard to encoding and format of training materials and other system components; (2) those considering needs of specific teachers and students and their resources, namely, resource administrating, creating tasks and courses, managing and monitoring the learning process. The future plans concern carrying out extensive monitoring of the effectiveness of the system in school and university teaching.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made significant changes in the educational process in almost all countries of the world. The methods and approaches, techniques and technology that teachers used in offline learning, turned out to be ineffective. The issues related to online teaching of Russian as a foreign language have become particularly relevant, since many students had to leave Russia and study the language only online. The purpose of the study is to consider the prospects (immediate and long-term) of the Russian language online teaching to foreign students in Russian universities. The research materials are the results of a survey conducted among the 1st year master degree students, specialty 45.04.01 “Russian as a Foreign Language” of the Faculty of Philology of the RUDN University (Moscow), as well as the experience of the author, who teaches Russian to foreign students online on the TEIS (Telecommunication Educational and Informational System) and Microsoft Teams platforms. The study revealed the pros and cons of online learning of Russian as a foreign language, and showed the ways of improving its effectiveness in Russian universities. As a result of the conducted research, the immediate prospects are identified, which include the implementation of relevant components of pedagogical tools in Russian as a foreign language online learning: modern pedagogical technologies, the principles of individualization and differentiation, and the communicative approach. The long-term prospects concern teaching Russian to foreign students only in a mixed format. The formation of communicative competence, the lack of Russian-speaking environment, difficulties in organising control and developing students' writing skills are among the main problems that undermine the quality of teaching Russian as a foreign language online. It is concluded that in the future we should expect the implementation of a new approach in the world education system, since the pandemic will certainly affect the market of educational services all over the world.

-