Digital Learning Tools in the Development of Foreign Language Skills among Students in Higher Education

Abstract

In the context of the digital transformation of education, interactive foreign language teaching is particularly relevant, as it can ensure high student motivation, development of professional communicative competence, and adaptation to the changing educational environment. The growing need for specialists able to communicate effectively in a foreign language in the context of intercultural interaction actualizes the search for innovative methods of foreign language training.  The study aimed to investigate the impact of interactive digital technologies on the formation of foreign language communicative competence of higher education students; the object was the process of professionally oriented foreign language teaching in higher education. The methodology of the study included pedagogical observation, analysis of educational practices, comprehensive assessment of the level of competence formation according to four criteria, and testing of the author's interactive learning program. The experiment was conducted at the Academy of Labor, Social Relations, and Tourism and Cherkasy State Business College with the participation of students majoring in Vocational Education. Digital Technologies" and “Vocational Education. Economics”. The results showed a significant increase in the proportion of students with high (from 11.9% to 35.7%) and sufficient (from 14.3% to 23.8%) levels of foreign language communicative competence, as well as a decrease in the proportion of participants with low levels (from 35.7% to 9.5%). The most effective were educational chatbots, VR scenarios, and simulation and role-playing games, which provided language autonomy, flexibility of communication, and immersion in a professional context. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of scaling the interactive model to different educational programs, developing typical scenarios of digital interaction, and improving the methodological training of teachers to work in a mixed environment. The results obtained confirm the feasibility of integrating digital tools into the system of foreign language education to form flexible, professionally competent specialists.