Linguistic and didactic peculiarities of teaching foreign languages in crisis situations: the experience of Ukrainian higher education institutions

Abstract

Modern European integration processes highlight the importance of foreign languages in a multicultural society and their effective teaching, accordingly, is one of the priority tasks of the European language policy. However, its implementation is significantly complicated in the crisis Ukraine experiences nowadays. Consequently, it causes a change in approaches to teaching foreign languages and the methods used. One of the preconditions for improvement of the level of foreign language education and coping with crisis situations is the research of best practices in other countries. The purpose of such an investigation is the improvement of this experience and implementation of the best achievements of scholars and practitioners in the branch of linguistic didactics and methodology of teaching foreign languages in the educational process. The aim of this paper is to summarize and systematize the experience of teaching foreign languages in higher education establishments in Ukraine, and to determine its linguistic and didactic peculiarities in crisis situations. The author considers the practice of teaching foreign languages in Ukrainian higher education institutions in crisis situations. Within the period of the investigation, there could be distinguished the covid and war stages. These stages differ in linguistic and didactic features of teaching foreign languages. During the covid period, the teaching of foreign languages was arranged as the active development and teachersʼ acquaintance with online courses characterized by a complete set of goals, content, forms, methods, and means of teaching foreign language communication, setting educational content in accordance with the specific features of “Foreign Language” as an educational component. Whereas during the war period, the teaching of foreign languages in higher education institutions has been done in synchronous, asynchronous, and mixed versions of distance teaching of foreign languages. Linguistic and didactic features of the determined period include the application of flexible approaches to the organization of constructive communication between the participants of the educational process. Moreover, the creation of “situations of success” during the implementation of creative projects has manifested itself as a specific feature of this period. This paper reveals a significant expansion of the teacherʼs didactic repertoire in using digital technologies, depending on their functions (those of training, communication and cooperation, search and information, presentation and research, experimentation, and gamification). As a result, changes in a teacherʼs role as a coach, an Internet moderator, a video tutor, and a facilitator of communication were detected.