The Stages of Developing a Discourse-Oriented Virtual Learning Environment Model

The article aims at describing the stages of developing a model of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for teaching English professionally-oriented discourse. To achieve this goal, the author systematizes the existing approaches to developing various distance learning models. As a result, the most extensive didactic approach to creating a VLE was detected and chosen for further adaptation to the discourse-oriented language instruction. Next, each stage of developing a VLE model was refined based on the key methodological implications of the discourse approach in Linguodidactics. Finally, the example of the Discourse-Oriented VLE (DO-VLE) model for training IT specialists in professionally-oriented English discourse is provided as the result of following the suggested VLE development stages. Thus, the study describes the discursive approach to developing a VLE and exemplifies this process by tackling specific IT discourse. In addition, the methodological approach to DO-VLE creation, lying within the synergetic scope of Digital Didactics and the discourse approach in Linguodidactics, can be applied in developing various distance learning activities. The scientific value of the study, therefore, consists in describing the stages of developing a DO-VLE as well as in outlining some theoretical grounds for a shift from VLE to DO-VLE concepts in Linguodidactics.