USING INTERNET RESOURCES AS A METHOD TO DEVELOP STUDENTS’ ENGLISH SKILLS

ABSTRACT

In today's digital era, the integration of internet resources into educational frameworks presents a promising avenue for fostering students' English language proficiency. This article explores the efficacy of utilizing internet resources as a method to develop students' English skills, focusing on various digital tools, platforms, and methodologies. Drawing on empirical studies and practical insights, the article mentions how incorporating internet resources can enhance language acquisition, communication skills, vocabulary expansion, and overall linguistic competency. This article advocates for the strategic utilization of internet resources to optimize students' English language development in contemporary educational settings.

Keywords: internet resource, English language, methods, communication, team work, interactive method, platforms, integration, online.

In recent years, the issue of using new information technologies in schools in teaching an English language has been increasingly raised. These are not only new technical means, but also new forms and methods of teaching, a new approach to the learning process. The main goal of teaching foreign languages is the formation and development of students’ communicative culture, training in practical mastery of a foreign language [1, p. 47].

The teacher’s task is to create conditions for practical language acquisition for each student, to choose teaching methods that would allow each student to show their activity and creativity. The teacher’s task is to activate the student’s cognitive activity in the process of teaching foreign languages. Modern pedagogical technologies such as collaborative learning, project-based methods, the use of new information technologies, Internet resources help to implement a student-centered approach to learning, ensure individualization and differentiation of learning, taking into account students’ abilities, inclinations, etc.

Forms of working with computer training programs in English language lessons include:

• learning vocabulary;

• practicing pronunciation;

• training in dialogical and monologue speech;

• teaching writing;

• practicing grammatical phenomena [1, p. 56].

The possibilities for using Internet resources are enormous. The global Internet creates conditions for obtaining any necessary information for students and teachers anywhere in the world: regional studies material, news from the lives of young people, articles from newspapers and magazines, necessary literature, etc.

This work sets a goal: to bring the methodology of teaching English to school in line with the development of modern information technologies. In English lessons using the Internet, you can solve a number of didactic tasks [2, p. 77]:

• develop reading skills and abilities using materials from the global network;
• improve writing skills and expand vocabulary;
• to form stable motivation to learn English.

In addition, the work is aimed at studying the possibilities of Internet technologies to broaden the horizons of students and establish contacts with their peers in English-speaking countries. Students can take part in tests, quizzes, competitions, competitions held over the Internet, correspond with peers from other countries, participate in chats, video conferences, etc. Of course, taking into account all security measures for using the Internet and social networks.

Currently, priority is given to communication, interactivity, authenticity of communication, language learning in a cultural context, autonomy and humanization of learning. These principles make it possible to develop intercultural competence as a component of communicative ability [3, p. 32].

The ultimate goal of teaching foreign languages is to teach free navigation in a foreign language environment and the ability to respond adequately in various situations, that is, communication. New views on learning outcomes contributed to the emergence of new technologies and the abandonment of outdated ones. Today, new methods using Internet resources are opposed to traditional teaching of foreign languages. The concept traditional is associated primarily with learning rules and performing language exercises, that is, “talking about the language instead of communicating IN the language.” Many teachers still believe that “vocabulary + necessary structures = language” and this is at the core of the learning process. But language is not mathematics (although linguistic structures are nothing more than formulas necessary for memorization) and not just an intellectual substance [3, p. 89].

The intellect will not come into action without a certain motivation and rarely functions without an element of emotion; it is these components that are often lacking in methodological material. To teach communication in a foreign language, you need to create real, real life situations (i.e., what is called the principle of authenticity of communication), which will stimulate the study of the material and develop adequate behavior. New technologies, in particular the Internet, are trying to correct this mistake.

As you know, what a person learns, he strives to use in future activities. It is also known that the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities is based on transfer, and transfer depends, first of all, on how adequate the learning conditions are to the conditions in which this knowledge, skills, and abilities are supposed to be used.

Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a student to participate in the process of foreign language communication in the conditions of foreign language communication created in the classroom. This determines the essence of communicative learning, which lies in the fact that the learning process is a model of the communication process.

The use of the Internet in the communicative approach could not be better motivated: its goal is to interest students in learning a foreign language by accumulating and expanding their knowledge and experience. Students must be ready to use the language for real communication outside of class, for example, during visits to the country of the language being studied, while receiving foreign guests at home, during correspondence, when exchanging audio and video tapes, assignment results, etc. However, the term communicativeness does not must be understood narrowly, purely pragmatically.

Communicative skills cannot be reduced only to establishing social contacts through speech and mastering the tourist language. This is the introduction of the individual to the spiritual values of other cultures - through personal communication and through reading. This web-based approach engages learners by focusing on topics of interest and allowing them to select texts and tasks to achieve program goals. Learners' communication skills are developed through the Internet by engaging them in a wide range of meaningful, realistic, meaningful and achievable tasks, the successful completion of which brings satisfaction and increases their self-confidence [4, p. 101].

Communicative language teaching via the Internet emphasizes the importance of developing students' ability and their desire to accurately and appropriately use the foreign language they are learning for the purposes of effective communication. Primary importance is given to understanding, conveying content and expressing meaning, and learning the structure and vocabulary of a foreign language serves this purpose.

One of the new requirements for teaching foreign languages using Internet resources is the creation of interaction in the lesson, which is usually called interactivity in the methodology. This principle is not new, but there is still no uniform definition of this approach. According to the definition of Russian Researcher R. P. Milrud, interactivity is “the unification, coordination and complementarity of efforts for a communicative goal and result by speech means.” According to this definition, we can conclude that the interactive approach in virtual space serves as one of the means of achieving the communicative goal in the lesson [4, p. 111]. It differs from the principle of communicativeness by the presence of true cooperation, non-assignment, where the main emphasis is on the development of communication skills and group work, while for a communicative task this is not a mandatory goal (after all, one of the most common types of communicative tasks is a monologue).

By teaching authentic language, the Internet helps develop speaking skills and habits, as well as teaching vocabulary and grammar, ensuring genuine engagement and therefore effectiveness. Moreover, the Internet develops skills that are important not only for a foreign language. This is, first of all, associated with mental operations: analysis, synthesis, abstraction, identification, comparison, juxtaposition, verbal and semantic forecasting and anticipation, etc. Thus, the skills and abilities formed with the help of Internet technologies go beyond foreign language competence even within the “language” aspect. The Internet develops the social and psychological qualities of students: their self-confidence and their ability to work in a team; creates an atmosphere conducive to learning, acting as a means of an interactive approach.

Interactivity not only creates real life situations, but also forces students to adequately respond to them through a foreign language. And when this begins to work out, we can talk about language competence. Even if there are errors.

Undoubtedly, the Internet can be used as an effective application for developing grammatical, lexical skills and abilities, and testing knowledge. This includes all kinds of training vocabulary, grammar, phonetic exercises, reading tests, grammar tests, IQ tests, etc. Teachers or schoolchildren themselves can find such sites on the WWW. The World Wide Web, with a huge number of sites and home pages providing information for all tastes, is an endless field of activity in terms of use in a foreign language lesson to develop intercultural competence [5, p. 49].

A big advantage of using Internet resources is the development of intercultural competence, i.e., getting to know different cultures, determining the ways of their interaction and interpenetration into each other, the formation of cultural universals necessary to achieve mutual understanding and fruitful cooperation in direct communication.

The site “Virtual Reality” http://www.flash.net/~cssmithl/vr.htm) is a collection of linguistic and non-linguistic authentic materials collected on a web server. Its significance and motivation lies in the fact that it directly brings pieces of the true culture of the target language country into the classroom. In addition, the lessons are not tied to a specific city or place that the teacher was lucky enough to once visit, but are based on materials from different places, received from different people with different interests. Students are given the opportunity to interact directly with these materials rather than having to rely on someone else's interpretation and analysis of them.

The use of the Internet and adaptation of original materials in the classroom is now gaining momentum. Thus, while traveling on the Internet, the student will certainly encounter a lot of printed information that he would never have collected during a visit to the country [5, p. 57]. In fact, it is erasing geographic boundaries that once served as barriers to acquiring information. In Virtual Reality, it is possible to stop at a small café off the beaten path, find yourself at a train station and find out the train schedule for the weekend, go to the supermarket like a native of that city, and then bring your collected collection to class and use it in class without ever leaving home or school.

In conclusion, the integration of internet resources stands as a dynamic and effective approach to enhance students' English language skills in modern educational contexts. Through a synthesis of empirical evidence and practical insights, this article has underscored the significant benefits of leveraging digital tools and online platforms for language acquisition, communication proficiency, vocabulary enrichment, and overall linguistic competency. By providing interactive learning experiences, personalized instruction, and authentic language contexts, internet resources cater to diverse learning styles and preferences, fostering a more engaging and effective learning environment.

However, it is essential to acknowledge the challenges associated with internet-based English language learning, including digital literacy barriers, accessibility concerns, and the need for pedagogical integration. Addressing these challenges requires a concerted effort from educators, policymakers, and technology developers to ensure equitable access and meaningful integration of internet resources into language learning curricula.

Moving forward, continued research and innovation in this field are imperative to optimize the potential of internet resources in advancing students' English language proficiency. By embracing emerging technologies, adapting pedagogical practices, and promoting digital literacy skills, educators can empower learners to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and language-diverse world. Ultimately, the strategic utilization of internet resources holds immense promise in fostering a generation of proficient English language users equipped to navigate the complexities of global communication and collaboration.

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