Keyword: «microcontent»
ART 241209
The relevance of microlearning research is determined by the increasing level of digitalization of society, which leads to a change in the way people communicate, especially in the context of the popularity of social networks, the creation and obtaining information. All of this creates conditions for transforming learning formats and intensifying the trend of lifelong learning. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic also prompted the teaching community to revise teaching methods, as leading positions were given to online learning. In these conditions, the practice of teaching English in non-linguistic universities also underwent changes, making it relevant to use messengers, social networks, and applications in the learning process. In addition, the microlearning format meets the needs of modern Generation Z students, who have short attention span, and it also allows to reduce cognitive load for students in non-linguistic universities, where programs require the acquisition of a large volume of knowledge, skills and abilities in general English language and professional language. The purpose of this article is to describe the possibilities of integrating the principles of microlearning into the practice of teaching English in a non-linguistic university. The study is carried out within the framework of the leading learning theories: John Sweller's cognitive load theory, Richard Mayer's multimedia learning theory, and the connectivism theory of George Siemens and Stephen Downes. The study of the leading trends in the development of the concept of microlearning has allowed to formulate a number of principles of this format for English teaching: the use of a multimedia environment; presentation of the learning material as microcontent; formation of microskills through the setting of specific goals; a focus on collocations and chunks as one of the objects of study in the context of the development of lexical skills. The theoretical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of expanding scientific views on the internalization of bite-sized material in a short period of time. The practical significance of the article lies in the fact that the highlighted principles of microlearning allow us to diversify the teaching methods and streamline the learning process with the help of digital technologies.