Innovation in Language Learning

The article contains the analysis of current trends in education that should be taken into account when teaching ESP students. In particular, the author underlines the necessity to develop students’ discursive competence as well as their ability to present the results of their research in a foreign language. The existing learning materials in form of textbooks often become outdated rather quickly. What is more, the majority of them often overlook developing students' public speaking skills.  For these ends, on-line TED conferences can be employed. In the course of working with TED talks students learn to analyze authentic video clips and make up their own presentations and lectures in accordance with the speech patterns they have learned. They develop the skill of impromptu speaking skills on a variety of professional subjects they major in. The work with TED talks in a classroom, though, requires  a thorough preparation and a careful planning on behalf of the teacher. Successful integration of talks into an ESP course, on the other hand, will provide students with a readily available updates in their areas of expertise as well as entertaining and motivational learning material.

Keywords: Public speaking skills, ESP classes, Ted Talks, impromptu speech;

References: 
[1] TED Tasks: A collection of tasks for working with TED.com / Alieva T., Efremova U. MGIMO University, 2015. – 82p.
[2] Foreign Language for Specific Purposes/ Kravtsova O. Yastrebova E., MGIMO University, 2016.  P. 53-61.