Vol 12, No 2 (2023)

The relevance of using artifi cial intelligence (AI) techniques in education has increased signifi cantly during the pandemic and the forced transition to distance learning technologies. It was during this period that there was a breakthrough in the development of digital educational resources based on AI, but methodological support for their eff ective use was not prepared. The mechanisms of leveling the risks associated with possible eff ects of AI on education have not been identifi ed. The objective: to identify the risks and potential of AI techniques in their impact on the organization and outcome of the educational process. Research methods: theoretical analysis and qualitative description of practical examples of the exploiting AI techniques in foreign language teaching. The research is based on the general literature review related to the key concepts of the study: artifi cial intelligence, digital educational resources, foreign language teaching. The results: the most widely used AI techniques are mobile applications and platforms with educational courses; the use of highly intelligent products, such as smart classrooms, is not suffi ciently developed; the risks of implementing AI methods are associated with the quality of technology, with the methodological profi ciency of a teacher, and with individual learning strategies. The conclusions: at the current level of technology development, AI techniques are a supplementary educational component. It is advisable to involve teachers of particular subjects in the further improvement of these technologies. The practical significance of the results obtained is determined by the assessment of the AI technologies impact on the process of FLT and by the proposed methods of eff ective use of AI in teaching.

The aim of the research is to study the features of the social environment as potential conditions for the formation, functioning and evolution of latent social groups. Hypotheses: 1) there are pre-forms of social alliances of people (which can be tentatively called latent social groups); 2) diff erent conditions of a subject’s external and internal environment (including features perceived by a person as subjectively signifi cant for them in relation to certain life goals) might be the reasons why the pre-forms appear. The methods of the research are as follows: theoretical and categorical analysis, the study of literary sources, empirical research (questionnaires), multidimensional methods of parametric statistics. According to the author’s methodology (questionnaire “Dynamics of professional life style” – DPLS), respondents assessed the following variables: the role conditions of the social environment play as “factors of professionalism”, and the dynamics of their professionalism from 20 to 65 years (retrospectively to the current age and prospectively – predicting the dynamics of subsequent evolution); their socio-demographic and offi cial characteristics were also recorded. 482 employees, men and women aged 30 to 50 years (132 civil servants, 129 engineers and heads of departments of manufacturing plants, 221 managers) were interviewed as participants of the study. The total sample was divided into groups several times. As criteria for division, relative characteristics (calculated by the formulas) of “career speed”, “managerial experience”, “family life experience”were used. The results of the empirical study confi rm the working hypotheses. When dividing the sample according to diff erent criteria – both obvious (men / women, specialists / managers, etc.) and relative, the groups diff er signifi cantly in a number of variables (environmental conditions marked as “factors of professionalism”). Conclusion: in one social space-time, diff erent social alliances, structures, to a greater or lesser extent of their expression (manifestation), development, and active functioning as social groups can coexist. There are reasons to single out the phenomenon of latent social groups (LSG) as pre-forms of manifest social groups with subsequent diff erent trajectories of their possible development. LSG are possible alliances of people who are similar to each other in a number of important aspects of life (value orientations, lifestyle, etc.), and who are potentially capable of integration and interaction (to achieve common goals, to establish comfortable interpersonal communication, to maintain typical patterns of behavior, etc.). LGS are the pre-stages of various social structures representing their possible formation and development. Representatives of some latent social groups diff er from others both in terms of their preference and recognition of the role of individual environmental conditions and individual social spaces (parental family, their family, work groups, etc.). There may be some other “deep factors” behind people’s recognition of the subjective signifi cance of diff erent conditions of the social environment for them.

The relevance: The COVID-19 pandemic became an unprecedentedly serious test for many Russian people. This negatively aff ected their psycho-emotional state. Therefore, the search for protective factors that can minimize the negative eff ects of the pandemic has become an urgent psychological task. The objective is to study the correlation between the individual’s creativity and the indicators of the emotional sphere of an adult in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study hypothesizes that personality creativity is connected with the manifestation degree of the stress experienced, of depression and anxiety manifestation in mentally healthy adult respondents in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: 200 respondents aged 19 to 55 (M = 35.83, SD = ±13.16), 55% are men, 45% are women. The study methods (tools). To study the intensity and specifi c features of the respondents’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, the questionnaire “Psychological Experiences in a Pandemic” (by O. V. Rychkova, A. Y. Shmiganovskaya) was used; to determine the level characteristics of anxiety, depression and stress, the “DASS-21” questionnaire (by S. Lovibond and P. Lovibond) was used; to measure the creativity level of the respondents’ personality, the “Creativity Questionnaire” (by D. Johnson) was used. The results. The study allowed us to discover, statistically prove and describe the correlation between the personality creativity and emotional maladjustment indicators (expressed as the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress experienced) which were observed in the conditions of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mentally healthy individuals: adults with a higher level of personality creativity are less susceptible to the negative psychological impact of such a crisis situation as a pandemic. The conclusions. The results obtained made it possible to substantiate the correlation between the personality creativity and the adults’ emotional sphere indicators. More creative people have lower levels of worries, stress, anxiety and depression in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It proves the necessity and relevance to search for and test psychological practices that contribute to the development of the personal creativity during a crisis and periods of high psycho-emotional load. In particular, it is recommended to conduct art therapy in a distance format when working with adults.

The questions of what and how to teach are traditional in education. Since knowledge in modern pedagogical science is concentrated around approaches, familiarity with them should form a meaningful basis for the training of future teachers. Pedagogy in its essence is the science and art of managing the processes of development and formation of an individual’s personality. This prompts us to pay attention primarily to instrumental approaches: personal, situational, activity-based and environmental. Their strength lies in the means to which they “owe” their name. However, while familiarizing themselves with these approaches, students face a number of diffi culties. They are caused by the following facts: the place and significance of each approach in the system of pedagogical knowledge is uncertain; the methodology and theory of approaches are detached from technology and techniques; predisposition and willingness of students to study the content of the approaches in a certain order are neglected; departments have a limited capacity for carrying out training in accordance with the approaches themselves. These reasons make it diffi cult to understand the role of each approach in personal development training. They prevent students from mastering the theory and instrumental base of the approaches. The latter prevents them from starting personal development training. The ideas formulated in this article are the author’s answer to these problems. In addition, the historical precedent given in the article, which later developed and took shape in the doctrine of the environmental approach, is intended to help comprehend the situation with the organization of personal development training in pedagogical universities.