Irina Shykina

Recently, there has been a search for ways to optimize language education in connection with the demand for using a foreign language as a means of communication in various subject areas, not only in linguistic sphere. In this regard, the idea of integration and implementation of interdisciplinary links with other disciplines in the practice of teaching becomes especially relevant. Content and language integrated learning is an innovative technology that allows us to simultaneously develop foreign language communicative competence, expand knowledge and improve skills in the chosen subject area. The article presents a variant of integrated teaching of English using history and culture-related materials with a focus on the implementation of this teaching in high school as part of extracurricular activities, electives, etc. The emphasis on working with high school students is made, firstly, because of their sufficient level of language proficiency to understand authentic historical texts, and secondly, because of the relevance of general cultural competence and interdisciplinary skills that will be especially needed in the future professional education for this particular age group. Thus, the purpose of the study is to substantiate the introduction of an integrated English language teaching course using history and culture-related materials to optimize the formation and development of interdisciplinary skills and to systematize the potentials for implementing this process. The leading approaches underlying the study are integrated-skills approach, competence-based, personality-oriented and activity-centered approaches. The main results presented in the article include the interdisciplinary skills singled out for this study that will be developed through the integration of two or more disciplines, in our case the humanities, as well as the description of the conceptual foundations of integrated English and history learning. The theoretical significance of the article is to justify the introduction of content and language integrated learning into school practice based on correlation with the results of the main educational program, namely personal, meta-subject and subject results, indicated in the federal state standards of school education. The practical significance is reflected in the description of the potentials of using integrated teaching of English and history in high school.

The article is devoted to the use of blended learning format in the course of English language methodology for future English language teachers. The actual character of the research topic is explained by digitalization of modern education on the whole, and precisely the pre-service teacher training system, where the Information and Communication Technology competence of teachers has been focused on recently. Moreover, the combination of traditional lectures and seminars with distance learning online enables to use time for students’ self-studies more effectively thanks to considering an individual tempo and strategy of tasks completion, quick feedback and learning more about international pedagogical experience. The aim of the research is to choose and describe results of implementing concrete ways of blended learning format application to the course of English language teaching in the pedagogical university. The research was conducted with future teachers of English who were studying the course of English methodology during the semester at the pedagogical university. Judging by the generalization of advanced pedagogical experience, observation, survey, tests, using statistical methods of results analysis, we singled out the following actual ways of implementing blended learning, such as students’ taking part in some modules of the international English language teaching online course, participation in webinars, creating online tests for schoolchildren and their work in the specially designed university course in Moodle. The theoretical importance of the article is in proving the necessity to combine such ways of students’ self-studies online with traditional lectures and seminars in the classroom using the example of English language teaching course for future teachers. The practical importance of the research is realized in the possibilities to apply the above mentioned ways of blended instruction to other different educational contexts in the system of professional education.