Магистрант Кожабекова Б.С., к.п.н. Тургинбаева Л.В.,

Региональный социально-инновационный университет, Казахстан

Южно-Казахстанский государственный педагогический институт, Казахстан

TO THE PROBLEM OF BLENDED LEARNING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

The role of education as the basis of socio-economic and spiritual development of any society always depends on how important for social development is knowledge of people, their skills, and their communicative skills, experience, development of personal and professional qualities. This role is growing under the influence of socio-political and economic transformation of society, giving rise to new ideas about educational outcomes that cannot be achieved under the old paradigm of education.

English as one of the means of a dialogue and knowledge around the world takes a special place in the system of modern education owing to the social, informative and developing functions.

The peculiarity of the modern approach to the organization of the education system lies in the development in students the necessary general and professional competencies, which include the ability to learn and with the help of modern information and communication technologies (ICT). Focus on the implementation of high didactic potential of computer and telecommunication technologies is one or the major trends of the modern educational system, formulated in the framework of schools.

“Concept of modernization of Kazakhstani education till 2020” involves the following ideas: mass introduction of ICT in education and science, the use of new educational technologies, including distance learning technologies, review the evaluation criteria and format control, and as a result, requires a change in the concept and strategies for the development of education.

Under the current system of the traditional full-time study the learning process is carried out in accordance with a training program where the teacher is the source of knowledge and the main link in the transmission of knowledge to his students, who during the period of study should be the subject to the prescribed educational path, from one stage to another. Traditionally it is believed that this form of training is largely dependent on the teacher. At the same time, this form of learning is becoming more apparent in terms of its effectiveness. Training materials are strictly built in accordance with a fixed curriculum, in which it is almost impossible to take into account the individuality of each student, his psychophysical features, capabilities and opportunities for the development of training material and programs.

One way to solve the current problem is to use blended learning. Today domestic education is undergoing initial stage of formation and development of blended learning, which is also referred to as integrated, combined or hybrid.

The concept of blended learning suggests that in modern conditions of transformation the education system can optimally combine the “strong” side of the traditional advantages of distance learning technologies. Blended learning provides practical answers to one of the major problems of modern traditional education that is development and implementation of the full potential abilities of each student.

Teaching a foreign language is connected with the development of both thinking and emotions and other spheres of a person. Mastering of the language in artificial conditions i.e. out of the surroundings, demands creation of blended learning to stimulate an independent communication via the foreign language.

Process of studying a foreign language promotes the formation of blended learning independence as there is a possibility of using blended learning tasks and exercises within the limits of the given subject which demands blended work from pupils.

There are some recommendations for English teachers to implement blended learning in English teaching:

1. Establish a framework that supports the development of blended learning programmes from validation through to programme delivery and reflects the necessary modifications to the existing dominant based model (Pedagogy, curriculum design and development).

2. Prioritize investment in the development; distribution; access; evaluation and research of learning resources that support blended learning (Learning resources and networked learning in secondary schools and universities).

3. Develop effective and sustainable support systems to ensure that students gain the relevant technical and academic skills needed to engage with blended learning environments (Student support, progression and collaboration).

4. Establish an effective and ongoing staff development programme to ensure all staff have the relevant skills to engage with, develop and support blended learning programmes (Strategic management, human resources and capacity development).

5. Establish comprehensive quality assurance procedures for the development, delivery and evaluation of blended learning programmes and supporting learning materials in line with emerging standards (Quality).

6. Develop a research action plan that contributes to the institution’s research strategy (Research).

7. Develop closer working relationships with learning and information services to ensure that the infrastructure is responsive to and supports emerging e-learning pedagogies (Infrastructure and technical standards).

In conclusion, teaching process in the form of blended learning provides language teachers and learners with an effective method multiplying the time allocated to individual work and independent learning, trying out real life scenarios, and even building self-confidence in speaking a foreign language. Modern technologies offer a combination of advantages supporting students’ blended learning language competence skills which make it a very desirable, and not easily replaceable, tool of language teaching.