Maria A. Shemanaeva

Didactic and methodological research highlights a wide range of issues related to education efficiency. Still, both researchers and teachers note insufficient implementation of research outcomes in the classroom practices. The purpose of the article is to identify and analyze at an empirical level those ideas that have been proposed in university foreign language education studies and their relevance to everyday teaching and learning practices. The authors studied relevant literature on the leading approaches to foreign language education and, based on the method of meaningful integration, singled out the domineering assumptions that must guide teachers in designing their classrooms. Then, university foreign language teachers were questioned. The aim of the questionnaire was to find out if their practical decisions complied with the theoretical trends in the field. The study showed that more than half of the respondents combine coursebooks as the backbone of their curriculum with additional materials and didactic tools. In doing so, they aim at enhancing the efficiency of their classrooms by taking into account their students` characteristics, trying to engage them in classroom communication and thinking. In choosing content and didactic tools, they consider a few guidelines such as providing rational diversity in the classroom (variety of content, of student activities and didactic tools) to culturally amplify the learning environment and expand opportunities for student meaningful foreign language interactions. The study outcomes show that the majority of the university teachers questioned are familiar with the leading ideas of modern foreign language education. They are aware of the need to implement them in their practices. They tend to be autonomous and creative in designing their classrooms, keeping in mind the significance of student motivation and engagement in learning. It is also evident which theoretical assumptions need to be backed up by more detailed practical guidelines and which aspects of theory-classroom practices correlations need more attention in in-service university foreign language teacher education.

The educational potential of a foreign language as a subject is reasonably high, which is confirmed by the target tenets of educational standards. Mastering a foreign language is directly related to the formation of both subject and meta-subject (key) competences. It is impossible to achieve integrated foreign language education goals unless teachers apply a balanced variety of relative didactic tools. Nowadays, foreign language teachers have access to an enormous diversity of such tools. School textbooks reflect the authors` approach to the choice and combinations of these instruments. Based on some theoretical methods (analysis of the definition of the term ”didactic tools” and a system approach to their combinations), the authors suggest a few working models of their classroom application. They also rely on the results of questioning school foreign language teachers to explore which tools and their combination models are commonly chosen or not in their practices. The article describes the results of the study which included two stages. At the first stage 182 school teachers of foreign languages were asked to fill in the questionnaire. The questions covered the experience of school teacher of foreign languages concerning the use of teaching and learning tools. The teachers-participants were divided into 2 groups according to their level of involvement in their professional activity and their professional experience. The study has shown that 89% of the school teachers are not satisfied with the teaching and learning tools offered by the coursebooks they use. At the second stage of the study the authors analyzed a coursebook massively used to teach English at schools. The results of the study have revealed that more experienced teachers are much more active in introducing changes to the coursebook they use as the didactic tools offered by the coursebook under review are poor and repetitive. Teachers` awareness of a variety of didactic tools and the ability to apply them properly in the classroom indicate a high level of their professional competency which can guarantee quality outcomes of foreign language education.

The search for new educational forms, methods and practices is imperative today in the context of modernization and adaptation of education to new socio-economic and technological realities. The article considers the role of further vocational training in general and the role of further language training in particular as a flexible tool of lifelong learning and continuous education. The key peculiarities of further language education courses are regarded. New foreign concepts of education and self-study (heutagogy) are paid attention to. The article analyses the roles of a teacher and a learner in terms of self-study organization. An individual learning path is viewed as an efficient form of self-study. Various definitions of this term are provided as well as the author’s one. The pedagogical model with the use of individual learning path is presented. The model is based on the combination of invariable and variable modules through the employment of the individual learning path. Pedagogical support complex is an additional element of the model. It is designed to accompany and consult the learners. Awareness is seen as a key feature of self-study and its main characteristics are presented in accordance with psychological research. The notions of synchronous and asynchronous learning are presented and analyzed in the framework of self-study. The hypothesis that an individual learning path results in the synergy of synchronous and asynchronous learning is proved by the experiment.

The paper touches upon the issue of professional communicative competence. Further education courses are limited in time which results in the necessity to focus on particular elements of professional communica-tive competence. The article suggests that discourse, strategic and self-study competences can be viewed as the key components of this competence.