Abstract:

The paper takes an in-depth look into the potential of information and computer technologies (ICT) in teaching English in an online or distant learning format. Digital resources have been known to help to make the learning process more efficient for some time now. Nevertheless, their potential, which seems to be enormous, is still surprisingly largely untapped. The subject under scrutiny is currently of particular relevance due to the urgent need triggered by lockdown not only to underpin theoretically the use of information and communication technologies in EFL teaching but also to find efficient ways of using them for tackling certain methodological problems school teachers face in the online setting that incorporates synchronous and/or asynchronous learning opportunities.

The review of the latest literature on the subject revealed that ICT is gaining popularity as a tool for training students preparing for the Unified State Exam (USE) in English. The paper presents a discussion of opportunities that various digital platforms (such as Learning Apps, for instance) open up for improving the writing skills and strategies of senior school students. The aim of the paper is to explore the use of Learning Apps in teaching writing skills within the scope of the USE in the lockdown context.

With that end in view, it analyses performance descriptors for the ‘personal letter’ section of the USE and lays out a range of approaches to teaching writing skills. Pedagogical methods and technologies aimed at the development of writing proficiency have been debated a lot lately from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The paper extensively dwells upon the ‘sample text’-based approach: successive stages of instruction are presented in terms of the ‘top-down’ method, followed by a description of their objectives and samples of exercises.

The paper further proposes different types of exercises that were created on the basis of the Learning Apps platform for the learning and teaching support package (UMK) used in a lot of schools across Russia.

Having discussed all the issues raised by the research, the authors sum up by pointing out that the use of such digital tools as Learning Apps is feasible, practical, and advisable for the online classroom when it comes to EFL teaching practices in general and mastering the USE format of writing tasks with students at the senior level of secondary school. Furthermore, when teaching students how to write a personal letter through the ‘top-down’ approach the teacher has to take into account the necessary prerequisites for using this strategy which are also set forth in the paper.

Provided that the guidelines and prerequisites for introducing ICT in the daily online classroom routine are met, ICT is claimed to enhance the efficiency of the learning process. For example, ICT was found to contribute to the buildup of motivation among students, and improvements in the universal learning activities.
Thus, these findings demonstrate that the Learning Apps platform could be highly instrumental in teaching senior-level school students to write a personal letter in the USE format and writing skills in general as long as its application is based on the relevant pedagogical principles.

Keywords:

Innovation, technology, research projects, Learning Apps, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), educational process, Unified State Exam (USE).