INSTAGRAM AS A PLATFORM FOR DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILLS OF STUDENTS IN A PRACTICAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSE

Abstract. In the modern world, there is a comprehensive mass introduction of information technologies in education. To actively address the issues of updating the forms and methods of educational activities, taking into account the development trends of modern society, educational organizations are increasingly turning to the possibilities of various information technologies, including social networks.

The survey aims to develop speaking skills with the help of social networks such as Instagram. The theoretical framework of the study was based on the analysis of various literature such as articles, books, and research papers. The possibilities of Instagram for the development of speaking skills were studied experimentally. The article examines the theoretical aspects of the influence of the social network Instagram on educational activities.

The study investigates the main features of this social network, highlighting the advantages of its use and its possible disadvantages. The features and convenience of the interface of this platform are considered. This article also provides a rationale for the effectiveness of developing speaking skills using a social network like Instagram. The motivating factors of this social network are to influence the educational process, stimulating the development of the mental activity, creative abilities, and intercultural communication skills of students. The authors selected the development of speaking skills since the main aim of Instagram is to gain the attention of an audience; that is why the speaker should sound confident, grammatically correct and clear to make the message known.

This article discusses various ways to involve educational activities in the daily life of students using the capabilities of Instagram. Therefore, this research takes a closer look at the impact of the Instagram platform and social media on the teaching process. The solutions to many pedagogical problems of new teaching standards, requiring radically new methods of organizing educational activities, are presented. The possibility of direct interaction between a teacher and students for group and individual forms of work is considered.

The research results were developed and tested on the Institute of Foreign Languages of the RUDN University students. The article is based on the research methods: synthesis method, experiment and observation method.

Keywords: social networks, Instagram, speaking skills