The principles of blended teaching of English for Specific Purposes at engineering and pedagogical higher educational institutions

Abstract

The article deals with principles of blended learning in ESP course at engineering and
pedagogical higher educational establishments, namely the scientific principle, the principles of
consciousness, accessibility, activity, systematicness and consistency, the strength of knowledge
and skills acquisition, visibility, the principle of taking into account the individual characteristics
of students, the principle of interactivity, the principle of professional orientation, the principle of
autonomy and the principle of flexibility in teaching English as a foreign language. It is shown that
an ESP curriculum within a blended learning framework should be realized on the basis of active
and autonomous methods of knowledge acquisition and work with information. The course is
considered to be the most efficient within the framework of blended learning based upon both
basic didactic regulations and methodological (general and particular) principles, considering
individual student characteristics, such as age and specialization, ESP course peculiarities as well
as blended learning features. The article aims to address the peculiarities of the given technology
and prospects of its application for the purpose of ESP courses at engineering and pedagogical
higher educational establishments. Taking into account the principles of blended ESP teaching, the
following conditions of its successful application were identified: increase in the level of students’
autonomy; adaptability of the model; reasonable expenditure of classroom time and students’
independent work; individual characteristics of students; use of various means of pedagogical
influence; increase in the amount of educational materials; interactivity; availability of the absolute
access to educational materials.