Ways of teaching university students to effectively understand foreign-language digital text

Context and relevance. The rapid development of information technology in the second half of the 20th century led to the transformation of information arrays, their forms, methods of creation and perception. The linguistic existence of an individual is currently happening in the multimedia space mainly, in the form of a non-linear text with a complex structure. Digitalization has also affected the education sector. Online platforms that are used by universities provide ample opportunities for operating completely new kinds of texts, i.e. hypertexts. However, an unprepared reader may have problems understanding texts of such format. Objective. The goal is to propose methods for teaching students to work with hypertexts, aiming to develop their ability to understand and interpret information more deeply, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods. Hypothesis. Specially organised training in ways of working with hypertext materials promotes deeper understanding and the development of metacognitive skills and abilities in university students. Methods and materials. The study involved 90 students from the 2nd and 3rd years of Pacific National University in Khabarovsk, Russia (46 students formed the experimental group, and 44 students formed the control group). During the study, students were asked to read texts on philosophical and social topics. The authors proposed such indicators of text comprehension as referencing the content of other scientific disciplines; identifying the languages of units that serve to convey the author's intention; the ability to make associative links with the text using images; creating their own poster project and a secondary text to present it. Results. In the course of the forming experiment, the qualitative and quantitative dynamics of the understanding of the digital text in a foreign language and the ability to work with it were recorded. Conclusions. Specially organised training in working with hypertext structures contributes to the development of metacognitive skills of university students, formation of deeper understanding. Students will be able to adapt to the rapidly changing world and become active participants in their educational process by possessing the skills acquired during the training.