Specific Features of the Use of Distance Learning Technologies in Foreign Language Classes with Postgraduate Students

Abstract

The study substantiates the effectiveness of using distance learning technologies in preparing postgraduate students in technical specialties for candidate minimum examinations in the foreign language during the transition to distance learning in Moscow universities due to the epidemiological situation in 2020-2021. The present study reveals both positive and negative aspects of distance learning and provides an understanding of the key vector in the development of the methodological basis of pedagogical activity. The study emphasizes the special organizational role of a foreign language teacher in distance learning. The empirical section of the study presents the results of a questionnaire survey of postgraduate students in aerospace specialties collecting their opinions on the distance learning format of the “Foreign language” discipline using information and communication technologies (ICT) at the Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University). Seventy first-year postgraduate students participated in the survey. The study also uses a questionnaire interview of teachers working with postgraduate students. This survey used open-ended questions. Overall, the study demonstrates students’ positive attitude to the distance format of the “Foreign language” discipline. The use of ICT raises interest both in the learning process and the discipline itself.