Features of searching and selecting information when reading online in native and foreign languages by students of non-linguistic universities

Abstract

The article discusses the features of digital reading at the stage of search, relevance assessment and selection of information in native and foreign languages. The formation of skills to navigate information flows, understand what is read in a foreign language, and use the information to solve professional problems is one of the goals of teaching foreign languages at the present stage of development of higher education. However, the abundance of information sources on the Internet gives rise to problems in their choice. The author analyzes the difficulties faced by students in the process of searching and selecting relevant information both in their native and foreign languages. When using foreign sources, students experience more difficulties at the stage of information search, caused by differences between reading in their native and foreign languages. It is noted that most studies in the field of features of searching and selecting information from digital sources are limited to one language, most often native, and there is a shortage of works on the material of the Russian language. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the strategies for searching and assessing the relevance of a source of information in the native (Russian) and foreign (English) languages differ among first and second year university students of non-linguistic faculties. The article presents the results of a survey conducted among first and second year students of non-linguistic faculties. The results of the study indicate that the skills formed by students when working with Russian-language sources are generally transferred to English-language ones, but students prefer to work with information in their native language. The article reveals similarities and differences in the process of searching for educational and / or professional information and concludes that the skill of evaluating and verifying online sources is insufficiently developed.