Research Article
Lera A. Kamalova, Makhabbat Zh. Umbetova, Narine S. Putulyan
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 13, Issue 1, Article No: ep288
ABSTRACT
The aim of this work is to determine the most effective technologies and practices for the linguistic and sociocultural adaptation of foreign students studying in Russian and foreign universities, the use of which will help foreign students overcome barriers in academic performance, mastery of the Russian language, psychological and sociocultural adaptation in the host country. The fundamental basis of this study is the experimental work carried out at the Institute of Psychology and Education of Kazan Federal University, Arkalyk State Pedagogical Institute named after Y. Altynsarin, St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. Sociocultural and linguistic adaptation of foreign students is organized on the basis of an integrated approach, which is a combination of intercultural, humanistic, personality-oriented, activity-based approaches to learning. Education and training of foreign students should be organized on the basis of modern technologies and practices (authoring online simulators in Russian, interactive whiteboard, case method, brainstorming, role-playing game, discussion) contributes to effective language, socio-cultural adaptation of students. An effective tool to promote the sociocultural and linguistic adaptation of foreign students is a specially organized tolerant developing educational environment of the university, organized taking into account the specifics of social problems and the psychological state of migrants, contributing to the leveling of emerging problems of socio-cultural adaptation, the integration of foreign students in the host community. In this study, the most effective diagnostics were identified that affect the mechanisms of linguistic and sociocultural adaptation of foreign students studying in Russian and foreign universities: diagnostics of the level of social isolation of a person, determination of the level of depression, methods for determining sociocultural identity, adaptation of a person to a new sociocultural environment, methodology for determining level of knowledge of Russian as a foreign language. The scientific novelty of this study is to determine the most effective technologies and practices of linguistic and sociocultural adaptation of foreign students in the context of globalization and the Eurasian integration of sociocultural and educational space.
Keywords: foreign students, migrants, adaptation, linguistic, sociocultural, technology, pedagogical, learning, Russian
Research Article
Bradley E. Wiggins
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 30-49
ABSTRACT
This article presents the results from a post-test only experiment conducted in 2011 with undergraduate and graduate students (N=67) from individualist and collectivist cultures. Demographic information was collected through questions appearing at the end of a post-test administered to subjects after completing the e-learning module. Each person was randomly assigned to one of three e-learning modules which all shared identical instructional content: time travel. However, the modules differed in design. Specifically, while the control module was designed according to the coherence principle, one experimental module was designed with non-essential background music and the other was designed with non-essential background images. The coherence principle of multimedia instruction stipulates that the addition of extraneous audio, images, or text impairs learning. Nevertheless, one normative standard of multimedia design does not apply to a group of culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Among the findings from this study, a flexible coherence principle is proposed and it suggests that the multimedia designer must consider one’s own cultural and linguistic composition as well as that of the intended audience. A concluding discussion suggests that cultural variation may be related to cognitive variation.
Keywords: E-learning, Linguistic relativism, Cognitive Load Theory, Coherence principle, Collectivist - Individualist, Multimedia design