UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' INDEPENDENT WORK IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN AN ERA OF DIGITAL SOCIETY

The priority role of modern information technologies in the field of teaching foreign languages with elements of distance learning based on the principles of individualized learning is considered. The relevance of the study is due to the acute demand for new approaches to the sources of self-development, characterized by a set of properties that allow continuous updating of knowledge. Students are becoming more aware of themselves as the subject of educational process. The concept of independent learning embraces various forms of material presentation, making e-learning not only mobile, but also adapted to the pace of everyday life. The student's involvement in the digital environment makes scientific research focus on the ability to work independently with a large amount of information, and, therefore, the subject of this study is independent work based on the principles of distance digital learning. The main objective is to summarize the methodology developed and tested by the authors in several Russian universities concerning the organization of students' independent work, which increases the regulation of self-education in the field of foreign languages. The methodological basis of the study was the works by A. McAuley, B. Stewart, G. Siemens, D. Cormier and others, devoted to the development of technological components of self-study training, which is provided by open interfaces, modularity, cloud storage of training materials. It is revealed that with the absolutization of information technology, there is a risk of succumbing to the illusion of smart intelligence as a decisive one. The assumption that if a person has access to technologies, he actively uses them, is not valid. The study has shown that a fairly large number of students of different ages are consciously not using distance technologies, being fully aware of their functions. The results of the study also show constantly changing multidimensional vision, the dominance of visualization. The conclusion is made about the emerging digital culture as a continuously moving space of visual flows, in which electronic courses significantly expand the teacher's opportunities, giving free rein to students in the creative implementation of selflearning methods.