Design of a Bilingual Computer Science Textbook

Problem and purpose. Bilingual teaching aids, presented in two languages, are becoming widely used in bilingual education. The design of these aids can significantly impact the learner’s cognitive load and their comfort with learning material. In this regard, the question of what textbook design can influence the quality of bilingual learning for students is of interest. The goal of this study is to identify suitable formats for presenting computer science material in bilingual textbooks that can contribute to improving the quality of bilingual learning for students (by quality, we mean academic performance in computer science and the development of bilingualism among students from Russia’s ethnic regions).

Materials and methods. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: D. Barkhatova’s inversion approach to developing tools and methods for bilingual computer science education; a competency-based approach to designing and processing questionnaire questions; N. Pak’s mental approach to substantiating the need for bilingual education for students living in ethnic regions; and an ethno-pedagogical approach based on the use of the language of a particular ethnic group in the development of bilingual teaching aids. A combination of complementary research methods was also employed: theoretical (analysis of sources on the research problem, data specification, generalization of psychological and pedagogical literature, data comparison, deduction, substantive interpretation, and analysis of results) and empirical (questionnaires, testing, processing, and analysis of the obtained results). 

Results. Suitable formats for presenting computer science educational material in bilingual textbooks that contribute to improving the quality of bilingual education for students were identified using specially developed questionnaires. An analysis of the results of a questionnaire survey of experts and students allowed us to determine the most appropriate format for presenting educational information in bilingual textbooks. Synchronous (63% of experts) and mirror (40% of students) bilingual presentation of information are preferred for presenting theory in flipped textbooks; horizontally sequential (48% of experts and 35% of students) presentation is preferred for the practical block; and mirror (57% of experts) and synchronous (37% of students) formats are preferred for the control block. Thus, the most appropriate formats for presenting computer science educational material in bilingual textbooks have been identified, contributing to the improvement of the quality of bilingual education for students. 

Conclusion. The statistical data from the questionnaire survey of experts and students allowed us to determine the most appropriate format for presenting educational information in bilingual textbooks. Research to determine the appropriate format for presenting educational information in bilingual textbooks has shown that continuous and inverted textbooks are the most suitable and all three formats, we developed, turned out to be preferable in one or another type of educational activity.

Promising areas for further work include research to assess the effectiveness and quality of bilingual education for students, as well as the development of electronic versions of bilingual computer science textbooks, pilot testing at universities and schools, and studying the design of electronic bilingual computer science textbooks.

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