Educational mobile apps in teaching the Russian foreign language

Nowadays the development of technologies is widely discussed. The demand for emerging educational mobile applications (apps) appeared a long time ago, but only now the applied ones are beginning to enter this sphere tightly. Such apps are now rarely used in education, they mainly exist in the form of drills and are given to students as an additional task. The modern world requires us to introduce these technologies on a larger scale and adapt them to the educational process. This article is devoted to the typology of mobile apps and ways of their implementation in the educational system.

Keywords: mobile application (app), gamification, educational gaming application, educational drills.

Introduction

The relevance of this study is caused by the high rates of development in modern distance-learning practice, the need for analysis and theoretical understanding of new educational practice in the context of linguodidactics. In this regard, the purpose of the research is to analyze the prospects of using mobile educational and gaming applications as a means of consolidating and controlling the assimilation of material, diagnosing language errors. The subject of the research in this paper is the methodology of using mobile educational and gaming applications in teaching the Russian language as a foreign. In this work, a set of methods adequate to the subject of the study was used: the method of direct observation. Empirical methods were also applied: the study and generalization of pedagogical experience, methodological experiment and questionnaire. The study results in an attempt to describe and characterize educational mobile applications in teaching the Russian language. It can be implemented in the design and development of educational and gaming software systems and applications.

Theoretical Part

Mobile applications are a relatively young and dynamically developing segment of the programming and gaming industry. S. V. Titova classifies mobile applications as a separate type of electronic educational resources [Titova 2017: 248, translation — O.A. ]. They can also be viewed as a modern embodiment of the mechanisms described by E. G. Asimov and A. N. Shchukin, as a training machine, a training program, a training algorithm [Asimov, Shchukin 2019: 197, translation — O.A. ].

Computer games, which are based on a model of a three-dimensional world, have been successfully distributed since the end of the XX century.

There are not many linguodidactic applications and programs based on cyberquest technology. One example of the implementation in a cyber quest is the application Learn Japanese To Survive! Hiragana Battle , developed by the studio Sleepy Duck . This application is dedicated to teaching the Japanese language. The main content of the training here is writing (hiragana is the basic system of writing in Japanese), phonetics and vocabulary of the Japanese language. Overcoming the experiences of the virtual world here is connected with the ability to use the language skills that were acquired during the course of the plot [Uther 2019: 33].

Results

The survey conducted showed that there is a demand for educational mobile applications among the school students. Respondents believe that an educational video game in the Russian language should be: interesting — 46 %, entertaining — 20 %, quiz (question-answer) / in the form of a test — 34 %. Some respondents (33 %) cited specific games and related products and services on the Internet as an example: the Agi website. , games «Rebziki», «Excitedly», «Minecraft», «Literacy», etc.

This may be due to two factors:

1. Technological factors (the uniqueness of such products in the digital distribution market due to the technical, financial, administrative, organizational and methodological difficulties of their development);
2. Methodological factors (limited possibilities of using such products as teaching aids due to the difficulties of organizing the educational process at school).

There were two questionnaires which respondents were asked to submit. The first one (01) was filled before the game session and the second one (02) — after. The experiment showed mainly positive dynamics in the correct answers. For example, the number of respondents who chose the correct answers in questionnaire 02 increased in relation to 6 out of 8 correct answers in comparison with questionnaire 01. In 5 variants — by 3–9 people, in one variant — increased by 1 respondent (from 34 to 35), in one variant was 100 % out of 100 % in both questionnaires.

This suggests that in the conditions of «drilling» (repeated attempts to answer a question until the moment when all correct answers are marked by the learner and all incorrect ones are ignored), the learner primarily focuses his memory on fixing correct answers. At the same time, fixing which answers are incorrect is not observed in all students. This means that it does not matter how many times students try to choose the right answer. They will not remember an incorrect answer — only the correct one.

Conclusion

During the current research the most important characteristics of educational mobile apps were submitted. The data showed that the students are ready for these changes and the use of the apps in the format of extracurricular tasks (homework, self–examination and self-control). The popularity of educational mobile applications among students and teachers will grow as modern trends in digitalization in all spheres of public life suggest. Mobile applications will be technologically and methodologically improved. Thus new prospects in education and self-education will be opened, including teaching the Russian language as a foreign.

References:

1. Azimov E. G. Sovremennyj slovar metodicheskych terminov y ponyatiy (teoriya y praktika obucheniya yazykam) [Modern Dictionary of methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of language teaching] / E. G. Azimov, A. N. Schukin. — M.: Russkij yazyk. Kursy, 2019. — p. 496.
2. Bure N. A. Lingvodidacticheskiy trenazher kak forma innovazionnogo obucheniya russkomu yazyku kak inostrannomu [Linguodidactic simulator as a form of innovative teaching of Russian as a foreign language] / Bure N. A. — e-Text // Tezisy Tretej Vserossiyskoj konferencii ‘Kodifikaziya norm sovremennogo russkogo yazyka: rezultaty y problemy’ (December, 7–10, 2011, St. Petersburg). — SPb.: Zlatoust, 2011. — p.12. — URL: http://www.zlat.spb.ru/CatalogImages/File/pdf/themes_2011.pdf. (Date of application: 21.10.2022)
3. Titova S. V. Cyfrovyje technologii v yazykovom obuchenii: teoriya y praktika [Digital technologies in language teaching: theory and practice] / Titova S. V. — M.: Editus, 2017. — p. 248
4. Uther, M. Mobile learning — trends and practices / M. Uther // Educational Sciences. — 2019. — Vol. 9, issue 1. — P. 33. — DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci9010033. (Date of application: 10.11.2022)