Immersive VR-Technologies in Teaching Business English on the Example of RUDN University named after Patrice Lumumba: Current State and Prospects

Relevance of the article is determined by modern trends in linguistic science and practice, within which the effective development of professionally oriented language competencies is increasingly associated with the need to create a learning environment that is as realistic as possible. Purpose of the study is to analyze the methodological toolkit accumulated to date at RUDN University named after Patrice Lumumba in introducing immersive virtual reality technologies into the process of teaching Business English, as well as to identify on this basis optimal teaching models that contribute to the development of key professional skills and abilities of students. Object of the study is the field of teaching foreign languages, including the use of various modern technological solutions. Subject of the research focuses on training modules and educational methodological complexes of professionally oriented English, elaborated in the specialized structural unit of RUDN (Virtual Reality Laboratory), based on immersive VR technologies (a total of 66 specialized programs for students of various profiles - engineers, ecologists, economists and lawyers, specialists in the hospitality and restaurant business). The study used general scientific and special methods: generalization and classification, deduction and induction, analysis of administrative-regulatory and methodological documents. Practical significance of the article lies in providing other Russian universities planning to introduce immersive virtual reality technologies into programs for teaching English in the business sphere, the opportunity to use the relevant materials and developments of RUDN. Scientific novelty of the study lies in the results of a survey-questionnaire of students regarding both their overall assessment of the VR courses in business English currently operating at RUDN and the degree of influence of this kind of methodological innovations on the effectiveness of the educational process. The study identified optimal models for using immersive environments in teaching English in business, aimed at developing students' language skills, as well as cognitive and communicative abilities. The results obtained will be useful for further study of the long-term impact of VR technologies on students' academic performance, their impact on health and psychophysiological state of students.