Digital educational media in foreign language teaching and learning

Abstract

The article considers the ways of exploiting digital educational media in foreign language teaching at Kuban State University. The authors propose a comprehensive definition of digital educational media, which is an umbrella term for Internet-based media, computer-based media and mobile media used for educational purposes. The digital educational media exploited in foreign language teaching are classified into narrative, interactive, adaptive, communicative and productive according to the function they fulfil and the learning experience they support. The article outlines effective ways of incorporating podcasting, multimedia presentations, digital storytelling and other Internet-based media in foreign language teaching. The authors demonstrate that the ways modern media are applied in teaching English are determined by the teacher and depend on the learning objectives. The findings indicate that modern media can be effectively exploited for curricular purposes and assist in developing both foreign language skills and general learning skills. The research done shows that integration of media education and foreign language teaching proves to be the most promising innovative educational technology employed in modern universities today.