Features of designing and conducting an online course in business English for adult learners

Foreign language communication skills are crucial for today’s business professionals, as they provide opportunities for advancing their career and conducting efficient communication with partners world-wide. The present article and the underlying research explore the implementation of andragogical principles in an online course for Business English. One of the most important principles entails providing conditions for comfortable learning, including, above all, the format of interaction, which ultimately affects its efficiency and organization. The relevance of distance learning is confirmed by current national laws, as well as by social studies that indicate a demand for online classes in Russia. The use of digital technology for the development of adult learners’ foreign language communication allows them to be educated in a setting that simulates their working environment. This would suggest that when organizing adult education, it is recommended to rely on the learners’ professional experience, offer practice-oriented tasks, encourage autonomy and offer authentic, problem-oriented materials in order to facilitate interaction and set off discussions. With all the advantages of the distance learning format, adult learners may, however, encounter difficulties which are to be taken into account. This article presents an online course for Business English, taking into consideration the identified principles of andragogy, specific properties of workplace interaction and particular features of the distance learning format. The research findings may be of practical value for designing and organizing a course in Business English with its methodology based on adult learning theory principles.

1. Kazakova, O. P. (2014). Delovoi inostrannyi yazyk kak raznovidnost' yazyka dlya spetsial'nykh tselei [Business Foreign Language as a Kind of Language for Special Purposes]. O. P. Kazakova. Professional'no-orientirovannoe obuchenie inostrannym iazykam. T. 8, pp. 66–69. Ekaterinburg. (In Russian)

2. Komarova, A. I. (2010). Funktsional'naya stilistika: nauchnaya rech' [Functional Stylistics: Academic Speech]. Yazyk dlya spetsial'nykh tselei (LSP). Izd. 3-e. 192 p. Moscow, izdatel'stvo LKI. (In Russian)

3. Zagan-Zelter, D., Zagan-Zelter, S. (2010). Teaching Business English - a Challenge Both for Students and Academics. Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 245–250. (In English)

4. Gromkova, M. T. (2005). Andragogika: teoriya i praktika obrazovaniya vzroslykh [Andragogy: Theory and Practice of Adult Education]. Uchebnoe posobie dlya sistemy dopolnitel'nogo professional'nogo obrazovaniya: dlya studentov vuzov, obuchayushchikhsya po ped. spets. 495 p. Moscow, YuNITIDANA. (In Russian)

5. Zmeev, S. I. (2000). Stanovlenie andragogiki: Razvitie teorii i tekhnologii obucheniia vzroslykh: dis. ...d-ra ped. nauk [The Formation of Andragogy: The Development of the Theory and Technology of Adult Education: Doctoral Thesis]. 179 p. Moscow. (In Russian)

6. Merriam, S. B. (2007). Adult Learning Theory: Evolution and Future Directions. PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, Vol. 26, pp. 21–37. (In English)

7. Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide (3rd ed.). 560 p. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. (In English)

8. Kovačević, E. (2021). Teaching Adult Language Learners: Enhancing Personal Methodologies. 211 p. Sarayevo: Internatsionalni univerzitet u Saraevu. (In English)

9. Dudley-Evans, T., St John, M. (1998). Developments in ESP: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. 320 p. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. (In English)

10. Presnukhina, I. A. (2017). Prepodavanie angliiskogo yazyka delovogo obshcheniya v neyazykovom vuze [Teaching Business English in a Non-Linguistic University]. Sovremennye metody obucheniya inostrannomu yazyku v neyazykovom vuze: kollektivnaya monografiya. M-vo obrazovaniya i nauki RF, Moskovskii politekhnicheskii universitet. 92 p. Tambov, OOO “Konsaltingovaya kompaniya Yukom”. (In Russian)

11. Nazarenko, A. L. (2010). K voprosu ob informatizatsii lingvisticheskogo obrazovaniya [On the Issue of Informatization of Linguistic Education]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 19. Lingvistika i mezhkul'turnaya kommunikatsiya. No. 1. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/k-voprosu-ob-informatizatsii-lingvisticheskogo-obrazovaniya-1 (accessed: 05.04.2022). (In Russian)

12. Fadeeva, V. A. (2019). Integratsiya IKT v protsess prepodavaniya inostrannogo (angliiskogo) yazyka na tret'ei stupeni vysshego obrazovaniya (opyt FIIaR MGU im. M. V. Lomonosova) [Integration of ICT in Teaching a Foreign (English) Language at the Third Stage of Higher Education (Experience of FIYAR Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov)]. Aktual'nye problemy lingvistiki i lingvodidaktiki v neyazykovom vuze: 3-ia Mezhdunarodnaya nauchno-prakticheskaya konferentsiya. Moscow, izd-vo MGTU im. N. E. Baumana, pp. 214–217. (In Russian)

13. Ukaz Prezidenta RF ot 09.05.2017 N 203 “O Strategii razvitiya informatsionnogo obshchestva v Rossiiskoi Federatsii na 2017–2030 gody” [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 9, 2017 N 203 “On the Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Russian Federation for 2017–2030”]. URL: http://base.garant.ru/71670570/ (accessed: 27.03.2022). (In Russian)

14. Federal'nyi zakon “Ob obrazovanii v Rossiiskoi Federatsii” ot 29.12.2012 №273-FZ [Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” dated December 29, 2012 No. 273-FZ]. URL: http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_140174/ (accessed: 27.03.2022). (In Russian)

15. Issledovanie rossiiskogo rynka onlain-obrazovaniya [Research on the Russian Online Education Market]. URL: https://netology.ru/edtech_research_2022 (accessed: 15.06.2022). (In Russian)

16. Sokolova, A. S. (2012). Ispol'zovanie modeli smeshannogo obucheniya v prepodavanii nemetskogo yazyka na osnove platformy Moodle (na primere kursa Stranovedenie: Germaniya, Avstriya, Shveitsariya dlya srednei shkoly) [Using a Blended Learning Model in Teaching German based on the Moodle Platform (based on the course in Regional Studies: Germany, Austria, Switzerland for secondary school)]. A. S. Sokolova. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 19: Lingvistika i mezhkul'turnaia kommunikatsiya, No. 1, pp. 185–191. (In Russian)

17. Verderber, R., Verderber, K. (2003). Psikhologiya obshcheniya [Psychology of Communication]. 320 p. St. Petersburg, PRAIM-EVROZNAK. (In Russian)

18. Penina, M. (2003). The Seven E-learning Barriers Facing Employees. Final Report. University of Louisville. URL: https://www.academia.edu/8420360/The_7_ELearning_Barriers_facing_Employees_-_Penina_Mungania (accessed: 27.05.2022). (In English)

19. Tennant, M., Pogson, P. (1995). Learning and Change in the Adult Years. A Developmental Perspective. 240 p. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. (In English)

20. Blondy, L. C. (2007). Evaluation and Application of Andragogical Assumptions to the Adult Online Learning Environment. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, Vol. 6, pp. 116–130. (In English)

21. Pickett, M. (2009). Overcoming Technology Barriers in Adult Online Learning Environments with Modular Instructional Design. Proceedings of ASBBS, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 1–7. URL: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.567.164&rep=rep1&type=pdf (accessed: 02.04.2022). (In English)

22. Donavant, B. W. (2009). The New, Modern Practice of Adult Education: Online Instruction in a Continuing Professional Education Setting. Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 227–245. (In English)

23. Titova, S. V. (2011). Informatsionno-kommunikatsionnaya kompetentsiya pedagogov i novye obrazovatel'nye standarty vysshei shkoly [Information and Communication Competence of Teachers and New Educational Standards of Higher Education]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 19. Lingvistika i mezhkul'turnaya kommunikatsiya, No. 3. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/informatsionno-kommunikatsionnaya-kompetentsiya-pedagogov-i-novye-obrazovatelnye-standarty-vysshey-shkoly (accessed: 11.04.2022). (In Russian)

24. Korchemkina, Yu. V., Uvarina, N. V. (2023). Osobennosti virtual'noi obrazovatel'noi sredy dlya formirovaniya informatsionno-analiticheskikh umenii studentov [Features of the Virtual Educational Environment for the Formation of Information and Analytical Skills of Students]. Uchenye zapiski universiteta Lesgafta, T. 216, No. 2. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osobennosti-virtualnoy-obrazovatelnoy-sredy-dlya-formirovaniya-informatsionno-analiticheskih-umeniy-studentov (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In Russian)

25. Internet i sotsseti v nachale 2023 goda — glavnye tsifry Global Digital 2023 [Internet and Social Networks at the Beginning of 2023 - the Main Figures of Global Digital 2023]. URL: https://vc.ru/marketing/596126-internet-i-socseti-v-nachale-2023-goda-glavnye-cifry-global-digital-2023 (accessed: 01.06.2023).

26. Tyukina, L. A. (2020). Informatsionno-kommunikatsionnye tekhnologii v iazykovom obuchenii v neiazykovom vuze [Information and Communication Technologies in Language Teaching at a Non-Linguistic University]. Lingvodidaktika v neyazykovom vuze: traditsionnye i innovatsionnye podkhody. Sbornik nauchnykh trudov po materialam II-i Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii. Yaroslavl', izd-vo YaGTU. (In Russian)

27. Kibrik, A. A. (2010). Mul'timodal'naya lingvistika [Multimodal Linguistics]. A. A. Kibrik . Kognitivnye issledovaniia: sbornik nauchnykh trudov. T. 4. Moscow, izdatel'stvo “Institut psikhologii RAN”, pp. 135–152. (In Russian)

28. Shevaldysheva, E. Z. (2019). Mul'timodal'nye teksty v obuchenii inostrannomu yazyku [Multimodal Texts in Teaching a Foreign Language]. Academy. T. 4. No. 43. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/multimodalnye-teksty-v-obuchenii-inostrannomu-yazyku (accessed: 11.06.2022). (In Russian)

29. Padlet. URL: https://padlet.com/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

30. Google Sites. URL: https://sites.google.com/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

31. Conrad, R. M., Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaging the Online Learner. Activities and Resources for Creative Instruction. 160 p. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. (In English)

32. Titova, S. V. (2017). Tsifrovye tekhnologii v yazykovom obuchenii: teoriya i praktika [Digital Technologies in Language Teaching: Theory and Practice]. 248 p. Moscow, Editus. (In Russian)

33. LeNoue, M., Hall, T., Eighmy, M. A. (2011). Adult Education and the Social Media Revolution. Adult Learning, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 4–12. (In English)

34. Palloff, R. M., Pratt, K. (2003). The Virtual Student. A Profile and Guide to Working with Online Learners. 216 p. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. (In English)

35. Miro. URL: https://miro.com/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

36. Google Jamboard. URL: https://jamboard.google.com/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

37. Zoom. URL: https://zoom.us/ru (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

38. LearningApps. URL: https://learningapps.org/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

39. Wordwall. URL: https://wordwall.net/ru (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

40. GetLocus. URL: https://getlocus.io/ru (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

41. Scholten, C. (2006). The Use of Learning Styles in Adult Learning: Evaluating the Use of Adult Learning Styles in Two Courses of a Masters’ Program at the University of South Australia. Unit Systems Engineering & Evaluation Centre. URL: https://essay.utwente.nl/55961/ (accessed 27.05.2022). (In English)

42. Meleshko, D. I. (2016). Ispol'zovanie obrazovatel'noi strategii “Zigzag” v kommunikativno-orientirovannom obuchenii chteniyu na urokakh inostrannogo yazyka [Using the “Zigzag” Educational Strategy in Communication-Oriented Teaching Reading in Foreign Language Lessons]. Lichnost', sem'ya i obshchestvo: voprosy pedagogiki i psikhologii, T. 59, No. 2. (In Russian)

43. Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. URL: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)

44. Cambridge Dictionary. URL: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ (accessed: 01.06.2023). (In English)