The Efficiency of Moocs Implementation in Teaching English for Professional Purposes

Abstract

The article considers the way of integrating Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) into the educational process and determining their role in students’ motivation to learn a foreign language for professional purposes. The goal of the research is studying the efficiency of implementation of MOOCs as part of students’ independent work while learning a foreign language for professional purposes at the university. Considering the increasing need for education around the world, the role of MOOCs will become more important than ever before. Consequently, engaging students whose major is Information Technology in learning the integrating course could enhance their skill and knowledge of programming. The integration of MOOCs in the process of learning English for professional purposes will help to personalize learning environments and prepare future professionals. Research shows that the successful implementation of MOOCs can bring new opportunities to learners, such as increasing English proficiency level, developing critical thinking, decision-making, problem-solving and time management. We consider the scientific problem connected with the efficiency of using Internet resources and MOOCs, ways of using interactive online technologies in the traditional educational process, potential and identified new opportunities offered by e-learning. Our observations are also related to the problem of integrating MOOCs into the curriculum; adapting them to the thematic modules and different subjects. Research shows that successful integration of MOOCs in the process of learning a foreign language for professional purposes depends on a number of factors. Each stage of our research has been carefully considered in the article. This study shows the efficiency of MOOCs as additional resources in studying English for professional purposes and describes the use of information and communication technology of distance learning in the traditional educational process. In this article, we describe how this idea is being realized and can be adopted by universities willing to use benefits of MOOCs in teaching English for professional purposes.

Possibilities of the Ukrainian Online Platform OUM

“…In case of mixed learning, it is possible to provide motivation with the help of a teacher [9]. In this case, a teacher acts as a mentor who helps to find the proper online course.…”

“…Second, it may be difficult to check the non-formalized tasks that cannot be reduced to tests [17]. Also, there is lack of face-to-face communication between the course participants and their developers/teachers [9]. In addition, some participants demonstrate a low level of motivation and self-control while taking an online course.…”

“…In higher education institutions of Ukraine MOOC are used to train future specialists both in the Humanities [9] and sciences [10]. In 2014, alongside with existing English-language online platforms such as Edx and Coursera [11], we could see the emergence of Ukrainian-language online courses such as Prometheus [12] and EdEra.…”

Analysis of the MOOC Capabilities for Student Training in the Humanities

“…The problematic issues related to the use of MOOC are: ─ a significant part of online courses imitates the traditional educational paradigm which is characterized by passive participation of students and little help from teachers [16]; ─ lack of direct communication between students and instructors / course developers [20]. It can lead to a decrease in motivation to complete the online course; ─ possible problems when displaying online courses on various digital gadgets [21].…”

Integrative Approach to Teaching English at University: Sociological Study

“…Besides, such approaches are not limited to offline technologies. As such, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have been actively applied in Russia [6] and abroad [7] for English language instruction, which is a great opportunity not only to improve one's English skills but also to deepen professional training. Still, it does not mean that teachers are no longer necessary.…”