Possibilities of Distance Learning as a Means of Foreign Language Learning Motivation among Students of Economics

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to examine global trends in higher education. A focused examination of the distance learning facilities as a means of raising academic motivation facilitates the identification of some of the issues confronting the process of training economists in Russia in general, and foreign language proficiency in particular. Motivation plays a vital role in learning. It helps to energize the behavior of the individual, to acquire knowledge, to direct the activity of a student towards specific goals; to develop socially important abilities and qualities, to improve performance, and to form a sense of discipline. Defining distance learning as a way of providing learning opportunities that is characterized by the separation of teacher and learner in time or place, or both time and place, the author points out the use of a variety of media; interactive communication; the possibility of occasional face-to-face meetings; and a specialized division of labour in the production and delivery of courses. The aim of the article is to find out how the advantages of distance learning (freedom from constraint, freedom of space, medium access; flexibility, job-related goals and improvement of social status and others) could conduce enhancing students’ motivation to learn.