The Practical Aspects of Organising the Independent Work of High School Students in English in the Information and Learning Environment

Today, a large number of researchers talk about the importance of the independent work within the process of learning a foreign language (FL) by high school students. Before considering the process of organising independent work it is important to understand the key aspects of this process. It should be noted that in the methodological and pedagogical literature there are different points of view on the definition of this concept. According to the authors of "Pedagogy and Psychology of Higher School", independent work is a planned activity of students, carried out on the assignment and under the guidance of the teacher, although without his participation [6]. According to V.M. Rogozinskii, it is a planned, cognitive activity of students carried out without the teacher’s help in order to achieve a certain result [8]. G.M. Kojaspirova and A.Yu. Kojaspirova consider the independent work as a learning activity that requires independence at all stages, including problem formulation, control, self-control and correction, and contributes to the formation of the cognitive abilities and orientation towards self-education [4].

In the conditions of the actively developing modern technologies, the teachers of additional foreign language education (AFLE) can offer children to use the authentic widely available materials at their lessons. This approach allows them to learn the foreign language (FL) as it really is, to understand the foreign language culture closer. The interactive methods of learning allow the teacher of additional foreign language education (AFLE) to interest students and motivate them for the fruitful work.

In the words of K.D. Ushinsky, independent work is "the only solid foundation of any fruitful teaching" due to the fact that this format of the activity presupposes an active thought process and the application by students of the previously learnt knowledge in practice.

I. A. Zimnyaya notes that the organisation of the independent work is a difficult and responsible task for a teacher. When learning a foreign language (FL), each student should achieve a high enough level of independence and the activity to cope successfully with a variety of tasks and acquire new knowledge in the process of learning activities [12].

Thus, the activity of students, carried out under the supervision of the teacher, but without his direct participation, called independent work, is an effective type of the activity that allows to develop the skills of independence in students. However, the process of organising independent work also requires certain skills and abilities from the teacher.

In the context of foreign language teachers' work, these aspects are particularly important as objects to be studied. It is thanks to the active development of the modern technologies that teachers today can offer children to use the authentic materials, which are widely available. This approach allows them to learn the language as it really is and to understand the foreign language culture more closely. In addition, the interactive methods of learning allow the teacher to interest students and motivate them to work hard.

It is important to note that the use of ICT in the lessons at the secondary school prepares students for higher education, where the skills of working with online resources, as well as independence, allows students to adapt more quickly to a new educational environment.

The analysis of the recent studies and publication which considered the aspects of this problem and on which the author justifies; highlighting the unresolved parts of the general problem previously.

Scientists, education and psychologists, wrote and are writing about the values of the supplementary education for the students and its developmental prospects, who are reconsidering the importance of this system of education in their research.

The theoretical basis of our article was the works of such scientists as K.D. Ushinsky, I.A. Zimnyaya, P.l. Pidkasisty, L.S. Vygotsky, D.B. Elkonin, A.N. Leontiev and others, who actively studied the psychological and pedagogical aspects of work with high school students, as well as the importance of developing such a skill as independence in schoolchildren.

The analysis of the theoretical sources and the experience of teaching a FL allowed us to identify the contradictions between: the effectiveness of the use of digital technologies in the framework of the organisation of the independent work of high school students in a FL, taking into account the minimisation of their potential negative impact on the learning process.

Methodology

The purpose of the article - is to develop and identify the effective strategies for organising the independent work of high school students using the means of high school students in English in the information and learning environment.

of the digital educational environment in the English language class.

Statement of the task

The article is an attempt to identify the functions and conditions of the digital educational tools in teaching the students' foreign language skills as the essential phenomenon of education, to develop the effective methodology - the lessons of English for teaching the oral speech, identifying the area of difficulties in implementing the requirements for the formation of students' independent work and the improvement of their communication skills.

Methods, techniques and technologies used in the study

During the research we used the following methods: analysis, comparison, systematization, specification and generalization, as well as interviewing, observation and testing.

The following research methods helped us to solve the set tasks: analysing the theoretical literature on the problem under study, reviewing the normative documents. We also observed the learning process in AFLE: we conducted an experiment, the questionnaires, talked to high school students, used the methodology of the qualitative and quantitative study and analysed the obtained data: compared and verified the available results.

Discussion

The effectiveness and efficiency of the independent work depend not only on its volume, but also on the methods of its organisation and implementation, as well as on the combination with other forms of work at foreign language lessons. That is why it is important to pay attention to not only the content of the work, but also to the way of its organisation, the context.

An important aspect of the organisation of the independent work at the lesson is the readiness of students for this form of the organisation of the educational process. There are different types of learners’ readiness. First of all, motivational (pupils show an interest in the language learning); intellectual (pupils’ basic mental processes are formed): linguistic (pupils know the basic lexico-grammatical material); communicative (pupils are ready to engage in communication); and also the readiness for seif-organisation.

When developing an independent work plan, it is important to take into account three main aspects: the level of complexity of the learning material, students' interests and motivation in the subject, and their level of preparation and the experience in performing such tasks. This requires careful preparation, including the following steps:

• -    the development of skills in planning one's own activities;

• -    the developing skills for the rational fulfilment of homework;

• -    the instruction on how to carry out the tasks;

• -    monitoring the progress, identifying the errors;

• -    encouragement in order to stimulate the pupils' activity in the future [1].

As noted earlier, there are various forms of the independent work when learning a FL in the classroom. They include individual work, based on the use of texts, both printed and audio materials; group work (in pairs), associated with the active oral activity; and collective work (most often within the framework of the project methodology). Students may perform tasks at home and then present their projects in class. The principles of the methodology of the independent work and its organisation come from the active communicative approach to the language learning. The modern methodological problems of FL teaching, such as language learning and use, the conditions and methods of teaching, corresponding to the learning objectives, are reflected in the organisation of the independent work. If the methodology of the independent work is carefully developed, the process of the formation and the development of students' practical skills is accelerated, which contributes to the development of their cognitive abilities.

It should be noted that in our opinion, based on the goals of the independent work we can distinguish such types: formative, improving, consolidating, creative and controlling. Each of the types has its own peculiarities of organisation and carrying out, which we will consider further, taking this into account as well.

The formative type of the independent work. This type of the independent work can be used at the initial stage of learning a new topic as a stimulant of interest in the new information. In addition, pupils learn new information to a certain extent "by personal experience", which allows them to work out those points immediately that may be difficult or incomprehensible for pupils, and also gives the pupils an opportunity to exchange experience. Besides, the teacher can assess the quality of knowledge, gaps and difficulties in learning new things objectively, which will help to correct the imperfections in the organisation of the process of teaching a FL in AFLE and help high school students to understand those topics that cause difficulties. Thus, the main purpose of organising and carrying out the formative type of the independent work in additional education (AE) is to teach, to self-study under the control of a teacher of a FL. This type of work can be organised by a teacher when new material is introduced, provided it is related to the previously studied topics, which will allow children to orientate themselves in new information and work independently. When organising the formative independent work, it is important for the teacher to pay attention to the colourfulness of the material, as this type of the independent work involves the introduction of additional information in the language, so it is important for the teacher to make the process interesting and motivating for the independent study and work.

The advanced type of the independent work is used in the conditions of practising the previously learnt material and attracting new information on the topic under study. Such work implies the independent activity of students and teacher's control with the minimal active participation in the process of learning the language. This allows students to express themselves and their personal qualities, develop the leadership abilities, teamwork skills and self-regulation, which is extremely important both for the interpersonal relations in the class and for the future professional activity of each student. In addition, the results of the independent work show the degree of learning, which makes it possible to adjust the educational process as necessary, as well as to draw the students' attention to their progress in learning the language in the preschool education.

Next, let us consider the consolidating type of the independent work. This type of work is aimed at assessing the quality of the knowledge assimilation.

Here, a teacher of a FL in AFLE may suggest practising the previously learnt grammatical and lexical rules and assessing the quality of their mastering. This type of work is most common in the general education schools, often lacks a creative component, but is extremely effective in the assessing individual educational progress. However, in our opinion, it is not worthwhile to carry out this type of work too often because, unfortunately, it does not arouse as many positive emotions as, for example, work with a creative component. Therefore, for an effective learning process, it is important to use this type of the independent work not too often, giving children the opportunity to try themselves in different formats.

The creative type of the independent work, on the contrary, is aimed at developing the creative thinking and the creative abilities. Here, a teacher of a language in the preschool education can offer both individual and paired or group work, limit himself to preparing an outline or creating his own project. Moreover, it can be both in-class and extracurricular work in AFLE. The peculiarities of such independent work depend on the goals and objectives of teaching a FL and the capabilities of students and the whole class. It is important to note that, despite the fact that this type of work implies creativity and independence, it is important for the teacher to outline the boundaries of such creativity and set the direction. This is necessary for the work to have the educational benefits beyond creativity and some freedom of action.

The control type of the independent work. This kind of work has the main function of controlling the degree of knowledge acquisition. In order to organise this type of activity, a teacher of AFLE needs to prepare a number of variants with the tasks of the equivalent content and complexity. In some cases, teachers prepare one variant for the whole class. In order to stimulate students' interest, it is important to prepare the tasks in such a way that they give children an opportunity to reveal their potential, demonstrate the acquired skills and abilities. However, such work often lacks a creative part and is created solely for the individual independent work.

In addition, it should be noted that the effectiveness of such a learning tool as the independent work depends a lot on the timely analysis and the control of of high school students in English in the information and learning environment.

the completed work. Thus, the analysis of the completed work should be of an instructional nature, which will allow students to work out the mistakes and avoid them in the future. It is important to pay attention to the quality of the organisation of the independent work, to alternate the types of the independent work in the classes of a FL so that children feel some novelty, which increases an interest in the subject "a foreign language" and the level of motivation. It is important for the teacher of a FL not only to consolidate and practise FL material or to control the degree of its learning, but also to influence the development and the formation of the skills important in the process of foreign language learning and the future professional activity.

Results

It should be noted that the organisation of the independent work of high school students goes through several stages. Further we will consider these stages.

At the first stage, diagnostic, the results of the educational process are analysed, including control, evaluation, forecasting and the identification of the problems. The pedagogical diagnostics allows to make learning more effective, to determine the language level and to reduce the possible errors in the educational process.

The task of the second stage, the motivational stage, is to stimulate the cognitive interest and form a positive motivation for learning.

The third stage, which is the content stage, is the selection of teaching material. The use of various teaching methods contributes to the optimisation of the independent work, personalisation and constant updating of the tasks performed both in the classroom and at home. In the process of the independent work in the classroom, innovative and organisational-action games can be used, which facilitate the transition from the private knowledge about an object to a more comprehensive study of it, the identification of the main contradictions and modelling, rather than just the formation of the decision-making skills.

The fourth stage, which is analytical and corrective (or analytical-corrective), is the evaluation and control of the performance according to the certain criteria. Various methods such as cumulative assessments, ratings, tests and non-traditionai examination procedures are used for this purpose. The suitable control and the evaluation conditions can stimulate the competitiveness and motivate the trainees to the selfdevelopment. In addition, within the framework of control, self-control, where the learner evaluates his/her own performance, and mutual control, where learners exchange notebooks or mutually evaluate their work, are distinguished.

At the last stage, which is the final and summarising (final and summative) stage, the results of the students' independent work are analysed, and they are rewarded for their success in learning and the creative work or sanctioned for the poor results. This may include giving good grades for work handed in early and lowering the grades for the overdue work handed in after the deadline agreed by the teacher. The principle of the competition can be applied in the academic Olympiads, science competitions and other activities.

Conclusion

The modern education process is characterised not only by the desire to train the future specialists, but also by the active introduction of the information technologies and digitalisation. In addition to the need to train students so that they are successful in their future professional activities, modern education is also characterised by digitalisation. In the conditions of the technological progress, a new format of schools has formed, a kind of digital environment. Today, it is not surprising to see the use of computers in class, the use of the interactive whiteboards and online resources, or keeping an electronicjournal and filling in an electronic diary. However, the digitalisation of education is not limited to the use of the personal computers and the storage of learning data in a cloud storage. Today the learning process is becoming broader and more involved with students, offering more effective tools and the models of interaction. Moreover, online resources today are the main source of information for students; it is much easier for students to enter their enquiry into a search box than to flip through a multi-page textbook. Thus, modern education offers the electronic media that allow to find the necessary information quickly from the proposed curriculum.

It is also important to note the new role of the language teacher. As it was mentioned earlier, the teacher today is not a camier or a source of information. He/she is more of a guide, someone who directs and controls, but the emphasis in the education process is on students' independence. That is why it is important to teach the skills of independent work, the most relevant type of the activity today both in learning and in the life of students, in their future professional activities.

Thus, in the conditions of the digitalisation and taking into account the importance of forming the skills of independence, the teachers of a FL in AFLE more and more often organise independent work using the information and communication technology (ICT). Thanks to this application, students not only solve the learning task, but also acquire the computer skills necessary in the modern world [11]. In its turn, the activity of this method is determined, first of all, by the goal, which in the independent activity is realised by the student, becomes relevant and significant for him/her, and the motives of the activity appear:

• -    the need to expand their knowledge, to learn new things;

• -    to master the skills of working with a computer;

• -    willingness to be independent, to complete a task without help;

• -    the need to test their knowledge;

• -    the opportunity to present the results of their activities publicly.

Note that each of these motives is extremely important. As the independent realisation of these aspects by the student is especially valuable due to the fact that in the future, in the professional activity and in personal life, the ability to understand and voice their needs, desires and opportunities is not only important in terms of the professional skills, but also in terms of the quality of life in general. This is due to the fact that understanding one's wants and needs, striving to master new skills - all this is a characteristic of a psychologically mature person who understands himself/her-self and his/her peculiarities, which makes him/her stronger as a professional and happier as a person.

In addition, it is important to note the most important advantage of using ICT in classes of AFLE, in particular, in organising the independent work - increasing the level of the motivation and interest of high school students. This aspect is sometimes overlooked by teachers. This is due to the fact that some teachers believe that the process of creating something special that could interest and motivate students is long and complicated and they simply cannot find the energy and time in their busy schedules to do it. However, this is a big misconception. Today, there is a huge number of websites that offer to create the interactive exercises in a matter of minutes, which would meet the learning objectives, but at the same time would be interesting for children in terms of colourful and interactive forms. Therefore, it is only a mistaken judgement about the difficulty of creating such the interactive materials in the language due to the lack of awareness in the field of modern information technologies.

Our research was based on the following hypothesis: it was supposed to increase the effectiveness of the process of the independent work of high school students in connection with the use of the information technologies.

Taking into account the chosen topic of the hypothesis we tried to solve the following tasks:

• -    to study the theoretical basis of the application of the independent work in the English lessons of high school students and the influence of digital educational environment on this process;

• -    to conduct a survey and develop the recommendations on the organisation of the independent work of high school students in the English class in the conditions of the digital educational environment.

As a result of our research we made the following conclusions:

• 1.    The introduction of the independent work in the process of learning English increases the level of the development of the skills of independence in high school students significantly.

• 2.    The application of the digital information technologies entails an increase in the interest and motivation for learning English among schoolchildren.

• 3.    Conducting the independent work in the English lessons, including the use of the information technology, promotes the development of students' creative abilities, which is extremely important for the personal development of high school students.

Thus, the effective organisation of the independent work plays a crucial role in teaching a FL, contributing to the development of students as the active and independent participants in the educational process.

However, in addition to the reasons for the importance of applying independent work, it is important

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of high school students in English in the information and learning environment.

to mention the organisation of this process in an information and learning environment.

It should be noted that in today's world, where digital technologies are becoming an integral part of the educational process, the effective organisation of the independent work should take into account the use of various information resources and online tools. This includes the creation of the accessible and structured electronic materials, the use of the educational platforms for learning and testing knowledge, as well as supporting students in mastering the digital competences. In addition, it is important to take into account the possibility of individualising learning in an information and learning environment by allowing the learners to choose the materials and working methods according to their interests, needs and background. This approach helps to adapt better the learning process to the individual characteristics of each student and increases motivation for learning.