E-GAMES IN ACADEMIC TEACHING ON BULGARIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES

The study presents new ideas for using e-games in programmed teaching of Bulgarian as a foreign language at a medical university. The working hypothesis proves the possibility of developing scientific competence through language teaching by e-games focused on medical terminology, anatomy and some of the main clinical disciplines. The authors have classified the types of e-games from a didactical point of view and have given some examples of successful tasks from their teaching practice

TRAINING OF FACULTY FOR WORK IN ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT

Helping the improvement of digital competences and more widespread usage of technologies in education are prioritized aims of European commission for 2018 as well. Each next action in support of improvement of those skills would improve the academic teaching and the quality of educational services. This article presents the organization of the conducted training with teachers about working with electronical resources for education in Medical University `Prof. Dr Paraskev Stoyanov` - Varna. The trainings were with intention to increase the knowledge of academic teachers about functional opportunities in the platform `Blackboard Learn+` for the purposes of electronical teaching and her more profound usage like helpful technology in education

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE IN SINGING AND GRAMMAR ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Growing evidence has demonstrated the relationship between music and language and its influence on different aspects of language learning, such as, auditory perception, pronunciation, reading, writing, verbal memory and grammar. Many studies point to the evidence that learners with musically trained ears have an advantage of a better discrimination, recognition and imitation of foreign speech sounds, as well as an increased verbal memory in foreign language. However, there are very few studies contributing to the relationship and influence of music, and particularly, of singing on grammar achievement. Acknowledging this gap in language acquisition research, the aim of the current study is to test the relationship between musical experience in singing and English language learning, particularly in the aspect of grammar achievement. Fifty adult Spanish learners of English were involved in the study. The English grammar achievement was assessed by an initial grammar pre-test, a validated Cambridge English (B1 level) grammar post-test, and three questionnaires examining the demographic, linguistic and music background in singing of the learners. A close relationship between musical experience in singing and English language learning was established. The current study opens new directions for further studies to additionally determine the influence of musical experience on the grammar achievement in the course of foreign language acquisition

Aprendiendo inglés con objetivos médicos en un ambiente educativo a distancia. Un enfoque conceptual. Una aproximación conceptual

Learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has become widely available through a variety of online tools and e-learning platforms. In many cases the e-learning courses provide an electronic replication of in-presence courses focusing largely and only on developing lexical and grammatical knowledge, as well as receptive skills. Research shows the importance of Virtual Teams (VT) for fostering deeper learning and developing critical thinking, yet insufficient number of studies has researched the implementation of VT in learning English for Specific Purposes in the field of Medicine. The current study aims at developing a conceptual approach for enhancing English for Medical Purposes (EMP) e-learning programmes focused on the development of communicative skills, critical thinking, intercultural cooperation, lifelong learning and motivation through the use of Virtual Teams. The conceptual approach includes a set of problem solving tasks associated with actual medical cases organised entirely in a technology-mediated environment. Through problem-based learning, participants and tutors organized in Virtual Teams will be expected to reach solutions to outlined medical cases and problems. The proposed conceptual approach will develop foreign language proficiency for medical purposes, team working skills and critical thinking in recurring social interactions and collaboration in an online setting.El aprendizaje de inglés para fines específicos (English for Specific Purposes) ha estado ampliamente disponible a través de una variedad de herramientas en línea y plataformas de aprendizaje electrónicas. Frequentemente, los cursos de aprendizaje electrónico ofrecen una réplica electrónica de los cursos presenciales que se centran principalmente en el desarrollo del conocimiento léxico y gramatical, así como en el desarrollo de habilidades receptivas. Estudios han mostrado la importancia de los equipos virtuales (Virtual Teams) para fomentar un aprendizaje más profundo y desarrollar el pensamiento crítico del estudiante; sin embargo, pocos estudios han investigado la implementación de los equipos virtuales en el aprendizaje del inglés para fines específicos en el campo médico. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo desarrollar un enfoque conceptual para mejorar los programas de aprendizaje electrónico del inglés con fines médicos (English for Medical Purposes) centrándose principalmente en el desarrollo de las habilidades comunicativas, el pensamiento crítico, la cooperación intercultural, el aprendizaje permanente y la motivación mediante el uso de equipos virtuales. El enfoque conceptual incluye un conjunto de tareas de resolución de problemas asociados con casos médicos reales organizados completamente en un entorno completamente mediado por la tecnología. A través del aprendizaje basado en problemas (problem-based learning), se espera que los participantes y los tutores organizados en equipos virtuales alcanzarán soluciones a los casos y los problemas médicos descritos. El enfoque conceptual propuesto desarrollará el dominio del idioma extranjero para fines médicos, así como también elaborará las habilidades de trabajo en equipo, el pensamiento crítico en interacciones sociales recurrentes y la colaboración en un entorno en línea