Use of Internet technologies in teaching Russian

Appearance of the Internet and its general distribution plays a great role in teaching languages. In the article modern internet-technologies in educational process are considered. Authors pay special attention to the prob­lems of distance education by means of innovative technologies. Principles of work are described with such technologies in teaching Russian, as podcasting, screencasting, webinar and others. Authors prove the great significance of internet-education in the modern world, its basic advantages are discussed. 

In the world where globalization affected all aspects of life, the knowledge of several languages be­comes a vital need of each person. In the Republic of Kazakhstan priority is given to knowledge of three lan­guages: state language that is Kazakh, Russian and English languages. Russian has the status of language of international communication in the Kazakhstan society and it is officially used in many fields of activity. Emergence of the Internet and its universal distribution plays very great role when teaching languages.

In literature there is a set of definitions of the Internet. In the popular encyclopedia Wikipedia the fol­lowing definition is given: «The Internet (English Internet, — the world system of the integrated computer networks constructed on the basis of IP and routing of IP-packages. The Internet forms global information space, serves as physical basis for the World wide web (World Wide Web, WWW) and sets of other systems (protocols) of data transmission» [1].

The worldwide information network gives a lot in the course of self-education, allows each user to choose the way of training. Use of computer technologies helps to make training of students more independ­ent and operated. E.G. Azimov writes about it [2; 4]. The form and content of communication become more various: such types of communication, as verbal, nonverbal, informative, visual, sound, etc. are involved. Didactic opportunities of multimedia draw attention of an increasing number of scientists. According to M.Yu. Bukharkina, «the main didactic properties of multimedia are integrative approach in presentation of information in different forms» [3; 9]. In the research of O.I. Rudenko-Morgun operative use of evident in­formation materials is described [4; 9].

The following forms of using information technologies at language lessons are possible:

1. creation of computer presentations by the teacher and student;
2. work with the sites focused on teaching Russian;
3. use of electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias;
4. performance tasks with audio and video records from the Internet by students;
5. distance language teaching;
6. contact with the sites of the educational institutions teaching Russian;
7. communication with native speakers in virtual communities, social networks.

Each form of using information technologies has its peculiarities.

Especially it is necessary to emphasize use of interactive board in educational process. The specialized site teaching working with an interactive board, allowing to exchange experience on its application, to look through online interactive tasks, to pass training is Promethean Planet (http://www.prometheanplanet.ru). Now the number of the sites which are professionally teaching Russian grows. It is Gramota.ru (www.gramota.ru), Culture of written language (www.gramma.ru), the Portal on use of Russian and getting education in Russian in the states of the CIS and Baltic countries (www.russianforall.ru), Russian and Cul­ture of Speech (http://www.shpora07.narod.ru).

These sites are public, convenient in use, the registration isn't obligatory. Teaching Russian with appli­cation of similar resources broadens the trainees' outlook, increases the level of their background knowledge, promotes awakening of interest in history and culture of the Russian people. As training materials it is possi­ble to consider multimedia materials of regional geographic or encyclopedic character. These are the disks of regional geographic character informing on the political, economic system of Russia, its geographical posi­tion. The disks «Big Encyclopedia of Russia», «Our Penza Suburb», «Cities of Russia», «Geography of Rus-sia», «Big Encyclopedia of Kirill and Mefodiy» concern to them, for example.

Besides, it is possible to combine work with electronic disks and online resources. For example, Google offers the virtual museum. The Internet user has opportunity to make virtual excursion to the Bolshoi Theatre, the Kremlin, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage.

Performance by students the tasks with — audio and video records from the Internet stimulates com­munication, intensifies development of skills of independent search and selection of information, extends students' vocabulary. For example, listening poems of the Russian poets read by masters of the word devel­ops auditive skills of students, helps to acquire intonational types of the speech. Video records give valuable experience of development of a lingua cultural background of Russian. After all the knowledge of language assumes not only knowledge of grammar, but also culture, rules of behaviour, country history. In this plan one of modern forms is work on use of podcasting, screencasting. Podcasting from English means a univer­sal broadcasting. It is the process of creation and distribution of sound or video files. Podcasts have a certain subject and frequency of edition. They can be represented as audioblogs, programmes spread in a network. They can easily be downloaded and listened with convenient frequency. As effective means of teaching from genres of podcasting can be distinguished such as: audiobook, audioblogs, interview, audioperformances, etc. In the Internet there are professional podcasts as well as the general orientation podcasts which allow to be prepared, for example, for the international examinations, or intended for students with low level of profi­ciency in language, podcasts with the developed tasks and recommendations. It should be noted that in the Internet it is possible to meet both professional podcasts, and amateur ones. Therefore when material selec­tion the teacher should study carefully material, to dry, look through files. One more new direction of pod-casting is screencast. It is possible to find a definition of screencast in Wikipedia: screencasting (Eng. Screen — screen and Eng. Broadcasting — transfer) — the podcasting type allowing to transfer a video stream with record on the computer for wide audience. Its specificity is opportunity to involve at once some «channels of perception of information»: visual, motor and acoustic [5]. Screencast (Eng. screencast) — digital video of information displayed on the computer screen, also known as video screen capture (lit. «video capture of the screen»). Often it is followed by voice comments. For creation of screencast web or video cam­eras are not used. Screencasts are filmed by means of the special programs recording all actions happening on the screen in the video with audiocomments. It is possible to supply the video with subtitles in any lan­guage. By means of a screencast it is possible to record the instruction on the training programs, operating instructions of training portal material in network, rules of work with interactive tasks.

The most part of teachers of Russian in Kazakhstan doesn't use Internet resources in educational pro­cess adequately. At the same time interest of students in computer technologies is noted. In English speaking researches of the last time there were terms 'digital native' — people for whom the electronic environment became habitual, and 'digital immigrants' — people for whom the electronic environment remains unfamiliar and hostile. http://bigdesignevents.com. A person 'digital native' was born after introduction digital technolo­gies. He uses such service online as: Facebook, YouTube, Hulu and Twitter on various digital technologies, such as smartphones or Tablet PC. Also he skillfully combines the life online (on the Internet) with offline (out of the Internet) life.

Researchers use the term 'digital immigrants' to classify the people who were born before introduction digital technology. For such people popular technologies are radio, television, newspapers, books and maga­zines.

The experts belonging to people of the first group use programs, digital technologies actively as the tool for preparation for lessons and actually at lessons. For the teacher of Russian in the XXI century it is desira­ble to be able to use e-mail actively; to create flipcharts, slide presentations; to participate in virtual commu­nities, popular network services; to create own microblogs and participate in others; to use electronic dic­tionaries, to participate in their creation; to place materials of different forms into network, to organize inde­pendent work of students on the basis of digital technologies.

Certainly, there are teachers who successfully integrate information and communicative technologies into practice of teaching language. Kanatova S.Sh. writes that information technologies will enrich integra-tive teaching [6; 42].

Distance teaching Russian as a foreign language is successfully introduced at higher education institu­tions of Kazakhstan. The part of classes is conducted in a virtual class, and another part in a contact way. Thus the teacher places educational and methodical materials, tasks for examinations in the network, fixes time of delivery of tasks. The teacher and students keep in contact with the help of message system. In our opinion, an effective form of the organization of educational process in the sphere of remote education is the organization of webinars. This technology was enshrined in Western Europe and the USA for a long time ago and it is actively used. In Kazakhstan it only gains the development. By definition in the online free dic­tionary, the webinar is an online conference with speech of the leader and questions of listeners [7]. The leader and participants are at the computers, communication between them is established on the Internet. The leader uses a microphone and the webcam, and listeners can ask questions in the built-in text chat, also the teacher can hear voice questions of participants, responses to surveys conducted in real time. Thus it isn't necessary to install additional programs, and any Internet browser is required. Webinars can be organized as online lectures in the course of which their participants can receive theoretical information, and also get ad­vice on the interesting questions, specification of any ambiguities. Use of a webinar allows to save as much as possible time, it is possible to get education, without leaving the house or office. Physically disabled peo­ple will also be able to be trained, get experience, to master modern technologies. This technology allows to save on financial expenses if, for example, the higher education institution invites to provide the foreign ex­pert training, a master class or other forms of education. The higher education institution won't need to pay accommodation, transport and other trainer's expenses. One of advantages of a webinar is that even if class was missed, it is possible to look at its record at the forum, to read the archival chat which was conducted by participants during the webinar.

More and more popular is use of interactive dictations at classes in teaching languages. Though the word 'dictation' is associated with reading the text, but here the insert of the passed letters and punctuation marks is meant. On the numerous sites a large number of orthoepic and punctuation exercises is presented.

«Total Dictation» project which took place on the 12^th of April, 2014 in open spaces of a world wide web causes interest. The project purpose is to draw attention to questions of literacy, speech culture. It is ab­solutely free for participants and will take place in at one time in several hundred cities of Russia and the world. From the Kazakhstan cities only Almaty has been presented so far. Perhaps, participants of a total dictation after holding such action will want to increase the literacy, realize being competent to be fashiona­ble. «We understood that work which is carried out by the commission of experts of the Total dictation with­in the project, experience of which we receive in the result of carrying out the action, can have serious scien­tific consequences. We hope that philologists in the result of work at conference will be able to draw con­crete conclusions on changes which happen in standards of spelling, and to formulate offers to the Spelling commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences on introduction the amendments into the existing dictionar­ies and reference books», — the project manager Olga Rebkovets tells about plans [8].

The worldwide information network allows to make educational process more effective, involving the majority of sensual components of the trainee in the process of perception. Development of new information technologies involves formation of essentially new educational system which can help providing educational services to millions of people at reduction of specific expenses for education. Internet education which can be defined as the education of general population got by means of information educational resources of the Internet [9] is directed on achievement of these purposes. Aiming to develop communicative competence of students, the teacher has to be able to organize work with Internet resources, to seize new methodical ap­proaches in teaching. The Internet is a global sociocultural phenomenon of the present. It possesses enor­mous communicative opportunities and transforms traditional techniques of language teaching into new forms. 

References

1. Wikipedia — the free encyclopedia, Access mode: http://ru.wikipedia.org.
2. Azimov E.G. Col. of articles: Lingua didactic search at the turn of the century, Moscow, 2000, 257
3. Bukharkina M.Yu. Foreign languages at school,2009, 5, 9-15.
4. Rudenko-Morgun O.I. The principles of modeling and realization of an electronic educational and methodical complex on Russian on the basis of technologies of hypermedia, Moscow: RUDN, 2009, 332 p.
5. Wikipedia — the free encyclopedia, Access mode: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
6. Kanatova S.Sh. Foreign languages at school,2009, 3, 37-43.
7. [ER]. Access mode: http://termin .bposd.ru/publ/3-1-0-28990
8. [ER]. Access mode: totaldict.ru
9. Ermolaeva О.Үш, Sereda М.М.Internet technologies in education, educational and methodical handbook, 3, Tambov: Publ. house of Tambov State Technical University, 2002, 136 p.