Abstract:

The globalization of the world educational space is primarily aimed at the exchange of best learning practices of different countries. One important aspect is the use of online courses technologies, which have become an integral part of the global education system and our reality. In this regard, the study of a foreign language through online courses is seen as the most promising direction. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats inherent in online courses offering the study of foreign languages, using the method of SWOT analysis and Hofstede’s six-dimension model to determine cultural preferences and habits in Russia. SWOT analysis showed effectiveness of introducing online courses for successful foreign language acquisition though Hofstede's model demonstrated learning of foreign languages through online courses has both strengths (accessibility, comfort, flexibility, integration with traditional methods) and weaknesses. Moreover, there is still a lot of potential that has not been fully realized. However, according to Geert Hofstede's theory, Russians mostly treat online courses with distrust due to high index of collectivism, power distribution inequality and uncertainty avoidance. These findings can be extrapolated to countries having similar indices and cultural and value systems as well as countries located nearby Russia.

Keywords:

Russia, online course, foreign language acquisition, SWOT analysis, Hofstede’s model, cultural preferences, educational innovations.