TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING SYNTHETIC SPEECH ACTIVITIES AS A WAY TO FORM NETWORK COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Maria Yakhno¹*, Irina Prosvirkina², Lyudmila Shatalova³, Lyudmila Apakina⁴, Marina Bragina^5
 1Assoc.Prof., Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), RUSSIA, mariayahno@mail.ru
² Prof., Orenburg State University (OSU), RUSSIA,
 prosvirkina.irina@yandex.ru
³Assoc.Prof., Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), RUSSIA,
luidmila.shatalova@mail.ru
⁴Assoc.Prof., Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), RUSSIA,
L.apakina@gmail.com  
⁵Assoc. Prof., Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), RUSSIA,
rudnauthors@gmail.com 
*Corresponding author

Abstract

Modern technologies have drastically changed the educational space and environment. Today, the technology, which significantly impacts the learning process and has informational power, is the Internet. Customary ways and situations of communication are transformed into new forms, e.g. instant messengers, in which one can write a message, or send an audio or video file instantly. Thus, the primary task of teaching Russian as a foreign language is the development of complex skills and abilities to be used by a foreigner in various conditions of real modern communication, which in the modern world is directly connected by the Internet telecommunications network.

The network space allows students to immerse into the actual linguistic reality and, therefore, significantly reduces the traditional language barrier of the practical use of the target language, in particular Russian, in this environment. The purpose of learning is the development of students’ network communication skills in a non-native language in various communication areas which are increasingly mediated by the network space.

Network communicative competence involves the ability to work with information, the means of its transmission and processing in the World Wide Web. The development of certain skills is promoted by methods, techniques or forms of work that are associated with the processes of retrieving, storing and processing information in a network environment, with the choice of necessary electronic resources and network services, with an understanding of their purpose. Network communicative competence also includes the ability to interact with the subjects of the global network, to organise joint activities in the network educational environment. An important role in this is played by the formulation of tasks, for the solution of which, it is required to compose and publish messages of various types and use means of emotional and graphic expression on the Web as well as the ability to make a self-presentation through network profiles or personal electronic resources.

If in earlier science, a text was the basic unit of language and speech (communication), today media discourse can be considered a unit of modern communication. It is media discourse that becomes a new didactic material in RFL classes. The article presents an analysis of the main research papers on media discourse issues and identifies the linguodidactic media discourse potential for developing network communicative competence.

To date, media discourse is rarely used in the process of learning Russian and, in fact, there is no developed methodology for working with this unique didactic material, because it requires a completely new approach. With this approach, in the process of learning Russian, a student is simultaneously involved in all types of speech activity, that is, an educational route is being formed, which includes exercises related to the development of reading, speaking, listening and writing skills in a network environment. We call this complex work in media discourse “synthetic types of speech activity” which develop skills necessary for students learning Russian today. To determine the effectiveness and reliability of the methodology, we conducted an experimental training course for one year. Two groups of students participated in this experiment. The first (experimental) group was trained using the proposed method for teaching synthetic speech activity and the second (control) group learned Russian according to the traditional method. At the end of the year, a final test was conducted, the purpose of which was to determine the level of students’ network communicative competence. The results of the experimental training course allowed us to draw the following conclusions: (1) the use of synthetic types of speech activity in classes efficiently develops communicative competence, teaching students to work freely in the Russian-language Internet space; (2) the proposed technology helps students to develop skills necessary for real networking in Russian, involves them in real communicative situations and also contributes to the development of the abilities to effectively organise their learning activities and work in the information network space; and (3) this technology makes it possible to develop skills in analysing, transforming and processing information received in the network space.

Keywords: network communicative competence, teaching methods, synthetic speech activities, Russian as a foreign language.