Developing German reading skills using the Moodle e-learning platform

Abstract

Multimedia programs are one of the means of modern information and communication technologies used to develop students' speech skills, including reading. One of the components of reading skills development is the formation of reading technique skills. Currently, there are a number of undeveloped and insufficiently studied issues, in particular, the problem of forming students' reading skills on the basis of the Moodle e-learning platform, which requires special research. The following leading methods are distinguished in this study, namely, modeling reading techniques using the e-learning platform "Moodle", experimental training, analysis and description of quantitative and qualitative results of experimental training. The study has been conducted among first-year students of the Faculty of Linguistics in Vyatka State University of Kirov (Russian Federation). 80 students were involved in experimental training during 2016-2018. As a method of statistical processing of the obtained research results, the Student t-test has been used, in calculating which the p-value has been taken into account. It has been empirically proven that the Moodle e-learning platform develops a group of students' skills in the reading technique: firstly, the actual reading skills associated with recognizing and combining letters and letter combinations, and secondly, the skills of cognitive processing of perceived text units. The results of statistical processing of the experimental data allowed us to confirm that the students of the control and experimental groups during the period of participation in the experimental training were able to form the necessary reading technique skills. The results of the paired t-test indicate significant statistical differences between the control and experimental groups (t=1,12 приp<0,05 for the experimental group). And this fully proves the effectiveness of the developed methodology for the development of student reading techniques based on the Moodle e-learning platform. Thus, the use of the Moodle learning platform can significantly increase the efficiency of reading materials in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, use of words in various contexts and their understanding.