The Role of Virtual Educational Environment in English for Specific Learning Purposes

The article concerns the role of the virtual educational environment as one of the valuable factors in Master students' of non-linguistic major English for Specific Purposes Course effective learning. The paper considers the results of Computer Engineering graduate students' foreign language professional communicative competence development in English for Specific Purposes learning through the use of the Internet Educational Platform. The research, conducted at Southern Federal University, Russia, was based on the carried out testing, surveys in the form of a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations. The importance of the formation of foreign language professional communicative competence in the process of English for Specific Purposes learning is analyzed. The impact of Edmodo Learning Management System as a part of English for Specific Purposes department-based integrated Courseware is discussed. The definitions of the terms "Virtual Educational Environment," "Learning Management System," "English for Specific Purposes," "foreign language professional communicative competence" are viewed.