MOODLE PLATFORM AS A SUPPLEMENTARY RESOURCE IN TEACHING MINOR FOREIGN LANGUAGES

The given article explores effectiveness of electronic courses as an additional tool to traditional learning in high school. The authors carried out experimental training with the view to comparing the self-progress of students learning foreign languages as minor subjects. Nowadays e-learning is commonly seen as an alternative to traditional classroom teaching. The authors of the present paper, however, concentrated on the use of MOODLE platform as a supplementary resource. The paper describes the experimental training of second-year students at RUDN University. The students were encouraged to use electronic courses as an additional resource for preparing home work. For two years the authors observed and assessed the students' progress in developing different skills and improving the level of language proficiency. The experimental training, its results and conclusions have demonstrated that electronic courses on MOODLE platform proved to be a valuable resource which showed its effectiveness in teaching foreign languages as minor subjects. Analysis of results indicates that the students who actively used e-courses as supplementary material, in general, achieved greater progress in personal standard of achievement ("Self-level") than those who did not. The experimental training revealed another strong point of e-learning: it contributed greatly to developing students' autonomous learning, self-discipline and responsibility.