Innovation in Language Learning
Implementing Digital Learning Platform in the Russian as a Foreign Language Classroom: an Instructor’s Perspective
Maria Lebedeva, The Pushkin State Russian Language Institute (Russian Federation)
Abstract
During the last decade, the area of Russian as Foreign Language (RFL) learning has significantly digitalized, that meets the current global trend. It is noticeable by the increased number of open educational resources for RFL learning, the online RFL courses provided by the different language centres, the rising number of the search requests on «learning Russian online», etc.
It is evident that the instructors play a key role in the process of implementing technology in the learning and teaching practice. Despite the number of studies concluding that the teachers are positive towards the integration of computer-assisted and blended language learning in general (most of the studies address the English as Second/Foreign language teaching), the specific RFL context requires separate exploration.
The current study examines challenges and perspectives of the implementation of the digital learning portal for the RFL learners and teachers called the PushkinOnline. The PushkinOnline combines the online RFL courses (e-learning RFL courses with LMS for managing students’ performance), an online school for teachers of RFL (MOOCs with tutor support) and some other services. The study addresses three main questions:
1) What are the instructors’ expectations and preconceptions about using ICT in the RFL teaching?
2) What challenges the instructors face when they use ICT (in the case of the PushkinOnline)?
3) What benefits of using ICT the instructors outline from their experience (in the case of the PushkinOnline)?
In order to answer these questions the study was conducted at the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute. It involved 22 RFL instructors and included the pre-intervention questionnaire on the instructors’ attitude and expectations before using the PushkinOnline in their classroom, the intervention stage and the post-intervention questionnaire detecting the main challenges, benefits and changes in instructors’ attitude after the implementation of the PushkinOnline.
The results of the study will be used as a basis for the teacher training program on implementing ICT in the RFL classroom.
