CULTURAL ASPECT OF E-LEARNING

 

Marina Vinnikova^1*, Aliya Abdrakhmanova², Guzel Vassafova³, Liliya Islamova⁴

¹Assoc. Prof., Kazan Federal University, Russia, MNVinnikova@kpfu.ru

²Assoc. Prof., Kazan Federal University, Russia, z_aliya@mail.ru

³Assoc. Prof., Kazan State Agricultural University, Russia,  f.guzel-73@mail.ru

⁴Senior Lecturer, Kazan State Agricultural University, Russia, liliyarustamovna@mail.ru

*Corresponding author

 

Abstract

In modern conditions of global integration processes, skills that are associated with foreign language communication in the professional and business sphere are of particular relevance and significance. The problems existing in the system of higher education, such as reduction in the number of higher educational institutions and in the teaching staff, optimization of university and departmental structures, reveal a contradiction in the field of teaching foreign languages to students of non-linguistic specialties: a high requirement for the level of knowledge of a foreign language with a rather limited number of teaching hours that are allocated for its study. 

One of the ways out of this situation can be the introduction of open educational online resources into the educational process which will dominate the development of education in the next decades. The aim of the paper is to explore the problem of cultural adaptation of open online educational resources, which involves taking into account the trainees' belonging to one or another type of culture (collectivist or individualist, male or female type, visual or textual perception of information) and cultural sensitivity (linguistic, economic, historical, political, religious, gender, technological, graphic and other factors that are also endowed with cultural identity).

The authors study in details the abovementioned factors and the requirements for them in e-learning. The key role in this process remains for the teacher who is a carrier of the native culture for students, who, for the successful mastering of the material, can perform the language and cultural translation of the electronic course. Language as an integral part of culture plays an exceptional role in global online learning. It is important to take into account that in the course of using open educational resources, various kinds of cultural difficulties may arise related to the relationship between countries, intergender relations, religion, historical and economic factors. The technological, graphic and design components of open educational resources, which are also closely related to a particular culture, also need to be adapted to increase the pedagogical effect of using online learning.

Keywords: E-education, Open Online Educational Resources, Intercultural Differences, Cultural Adaptation