BLOG AS A TOOL FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRAINING OF STUDENTS OF TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC SPECIALTIES

Abstract

The article, based on the analysis of modern research, characterises a blog as a tool for foreign language training of students of technical and economic specialties.
The need for communication in virtual space by involving blogs in order to create an additional environment for virtual interaction with interlocutors has been substantiated.
A blog is presented as a Web 2.0 tool and a form of online communication characterized by: interactivity; initiative; productivity and effectiveness; mobility, efficiency and constant access to information; self-realisation and self-expression.
The advantages of implementing a blog in the educational process of foreign language training of students of technical and economic specialties have been characterised. They include the opportunity for creating conditions for successful socialization of the personality, cooperation and productive interaction; organizing an additional virtual communication and information environment; ensuring a person-oriented approach to students’ foreign language training; using a blog as a tool for organizing a discussion of what has been seen, heard or read in the foreign language on the network in real time; the opportunity for expressing and explaining one’s point of view in an argumentative manner; improving students’ communicative competence and ensuring a positive perception of reading; forming a positive attitude and significantly increasing motivation to study, activating cognitive processes; creating your own content and receiving feedback; increasing students’ levels of independence and responsibility.
The prospects of further scientific research include the search for ways to introduce Web 2.0 tools into the process of foreign language training of students of technical and economic specialties during distance education.