Формирование иноязычной коммуникативной компетенции студентов в рамках смешанного обучения (модель «перевернутый класс»)

Abstract

Introduction. English as a vocational and scientific lingua franca constitutes an academic environment even in non-English speaking countries. The objective of the research is to create an efficient flipped classroom blended learning model for university students taking English as a foreign language (EFL). The object of the research is the process of forming students' language competence via blended learning. The subject of the research is the methodology of developing students' foreign language communicative competence within the framework of flipped classroom model. Materials and Methods. The experiment comprised 400 students (211 students in test groups and 189 in control groups) and 20 instructors of the South Ural State University (National Research University, Chelyabinsk, Russia). The results of the experiment were assessed via 1) IELTS-type test, 2) Moodle statistics, 3) students' in-class participation, 4) overall instructors' feedback, and 5) the survey showing students' feedback. Results. The result has shown higher index in the test groups than in the control groups: 1) average IELTS score in the listening and reading sections by 0.5; 2) significant level of students' interest in taking an online course (number of students, number of attempts and total time of task completion, points and deadlines); 3) 10% higher in passing topical vocabulary check-points. Classroom practice is optimized, teacher preparation time is reduced. Discussion and conclusion. The developed online course becomes a part of a comfortable learning digital environment for the student, while freeing up space and time for creative, communicative-oriented classwork that contributes to the more effective formation of foreign language competence. The successful implementation of the authors' designed online course allowed to create a prototype for the development of similar courses in allied disciplines.