TANDEM TECHNOLOGIES AS MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

Introduction. Under the conditions of the intensive development of the modern society, when globalization has become an inseparable part of all spheres of human life, one of the most essential social demands to people and every person to themselves is learning foreign languages. Moreover, speaking one foreign language is now considered to be not enough for successful career and self-development. Consequently, more and more scholars, educators and foreign language teachers start using methods and learning technologies that help to master foreign languages faster and more qualitatively. In our opinion, one of such technologies is tandem technology that involves communicating with a native speaker. The purpose of the article is to determine the place of tandem technologies among other pedagogical technologies and foreign language and culture learning technologies, to analyze the peculiarities of the abovementioned technologies application in the process of forming future teachers' foreign language communicative competence. Results. In methodological and pedagogical literature tandem method is treated as an intensive foreign language learning method since it involves immediate immersion in the language in the process of communication with a native speaker. Tandem method is defined as a way of independent foreign language learning in the course of pair work by two partners with different mother tongues. Nowadays attention to tandem technologies is connected with fast development of information and communication technologies that allow virtual foreign language communication wherever and whenever we like, and thus make foreign language learning easy, natural and exciting. Tandem technologies in foreign language and culture learning are learning technologies based on independent (autonomous) mastering of foreign language and culture by two partners (ideally each learner is a native speaker in the language the proponent wants to learn) who work in pairs. Methodology of teaching foreign languages and cultures specifies the types of pedagogical technologies and suggests their methodological classification that defines the type «tandem technologies» in teaching foreign languages and cultures and its kinds: with technological support, without technological support in the process of online communication. Tandem technologies greatly influence the educational process as a subsidiary method in teaching foreign languages in higher pedagogical educational establishments because they encourage effective formation of future teachers' foreign language communicative competence. In general, tandem technologies provide creative and individual approach. Benefits of this learning technique go far beyond learning a particular topic, or even a subject, it develops the social skills which will come in handy to students – future teachers. Conclusion. In the course of the research it was found out that tandem technologies are characterized by certain peculiarities: social-individual character, each interlocutor acts as «language expert», in partners' relations asymmetry is usually observed, while in tandem these roles are interchangeable. Besides, in the process of tandem technologies realization natural motivation mechanism gets activated, depending on which tandem participants can get only that they are ready to give themselves. Participants' internal autonomy increase as well, it is aimed at learning a foreign language in the interaction with others. The tandem principle dispels the stereotype that learning process is a mechanical process of knowledge transfer which is possible only with the participation of a professional instructor. It is important that tandem technologies provide the opportunity to get satisfaction form intercultural communication.