Магистрант Әліпхан Г.М., к.п.н. Тургинбаева Л.В.

Региональный социально-инновационный университет, Казахстан

Южно-Казахстанский государственный педагогический институт, Казахстан

THE INFLUENCE OF WEBQUEST ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Modernization of Kazakhstani system of education, based on new information technologies, involves the formation of new models of learning activities using information and communication medium of instruction.

Domestic schools are in the process of finding the optimal forms and methods of teaching. Formation of new models of learning activities, with extensive use of information and communication training aids are a major component of the modernization of education.

Anyone who has attempted to learn a new language knows that language learning takes a relatively long time, and a learner may not want to, or be able to enroll in a teaching program for such a long duration. Likewise, for institutions, it means learning can take place without having a teacher physically present in all instances of learning [1]. Many learners come to the language class from a background of authoritative teaching. Their previous learning experience may well have conditioned them to be heavily reliant on the teacher for approval, direction, instruction, organization and learning strategies. People have sometimes been surprised at the amount of support we give to, and contact we have with, our students — who are «supposed to be autonomous». Teachers have to assume that few students who come to us do not need any help (although there are some).The majority have not been accustomed to making choices and taking responsibility in their education so far. Teachers feel they benefit from our awareness sessions, from the counseling, and from the other support that is available. They aim to offer choice, and we recognize that the process of adaptation is not necessarily easy or fast [1].

Learner autonomy is a new trend in education which emphasizes students’ engagement in their own learning. Kazakhstan is a country in transition and many changes are needed to improve its system of education. One of main challenges that language teachers face is helping learners move toward becoming responsible for their own learning. This article examines the techniques that can promote learner autonomy in Kazakhstani system of education.

According to S. Swift the key benefit of learner autonomy is that autonomous learners “will take more responsibility for learning and are likely to be more effective than learners who are overly-reliant on the teacher” [2].

This is largely dependent on how independent you expect your students to become. Initially teachers can develop skills that students need in order to find access and use resources; such as internet sites or online journals, supported by activities that are completed as homework tasks. Eventually this leads to students developing their own skills for setting objectives, planning their self-study, and even self-assessment.

It’s important to acknowledge that autonomy is a matter of degree, not “either/or”. How deep the learner is able to develop this process depends on the teacher, the learner and the resources available [2].

WebQuest as an educational technology may provide the setting based on this approach to learning, which takes place during the construction of the new. According to this approach, the teacher becomes consultant, organizer and coordinator of problem-oriented research, teaching and learning activities of students.

Teacher creates conditions for self-intellectual, creative activities of students and supported their initiative. In turn, the students are equal “partners” of the learning process, sharing with the teacher responsibility for the process and learning outcomes.

During the procedure the following objectives are realized over the WebQuest:

Educational - the involvement of each student in an active learning process.

Developing - development of interest in the subject, student`s imagination, creative abilities of students; the skills of research work, public speaking skills of independent work with literature and Internet - resources; broaden their horizons, learning.

Upbringing - upbringing of tolerance, personal responsibility for the performance of the chosen work [3].

Working on WebQuest, the students are full of motivation to meet, get acquainted with authentic material, which allows students to explore, discuss and consciously build new concepts and relations in the context of real-world problems by creating projects that have practical significance.

Specificity of WebQuest proves its broad capabilities in relation to a foreign language learning. According to many teachers (E. Lowry), successfully implementing WebQuest in the learning process, this technology provides three basic components of productive autonomous language learning: problematical, authenticity and interactivity, which is a leading factor in learning a foreign language. WebQuests allow students to receive information orally and in writing (reading web pages or participate in a discussion in a target language). All this contributes to the development of fluency, accuracy in the use of language and at the same time develop learners’ autonomous skills [3].

Литература:

1. Krzanowzki M., Successful Learner Autonomy and Learner Independence in Self-Directed Learning, 2007 [Дата обращения – 07.01.2017] http://www.slideshare.net/markkski1/successful-learner-autonomy-and-learner-independence-in-selfdirected-learning

2. Swift S., Autonomy. [Дата обращения – 11.01.2017] http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sueswift-124056-Autonomy-Learner-Humanistic-Education-Moving-towards-AutonomyFrom-ppt-powerpoint/

3. Lowry E., Approaches to Learner Autonomy in Language Learning. [Дата обращения – 07.01.2017] http://www.slideshare.net/irwyn12/approaches-to-learner-autonomy-in-language-learning-presentation-786825