3.1.3. Efficiency of the Learning Model from Students' Perspective

The survey on the efficiency of the learning model consisted of 5 statements and was given to the experimental group of students. In this part, the students were asked to rate statements according to the following scale: 1-strongly disagree, 2-disagree, 3-unsure, 4-agree and 5-strongly agree. The results are shown in Table 4.



Results of the survey showed that students perceived the proposed learning model as effective and more productive in comparison to traditional learning models. What is more, from their perspective it helps to develop multilingual competency and give more advantages rather than disadvantages to their academic achievements.

In addition, students from the experimental group were asked to participate in interviews. 11 people agreed to the interview and the subsequent processing of this data. Among these were students with different academic performance. For a reasonable assessment, 8 students were selected from the volunteers:


This choice of students is justified by the need to get feedback from an equal number of students with each level of academic performance. Each student was asked to answer five questions related to their assessment of learning according to the proposed model:


It should be noted that students with poor academic performance gave more negative feedback than students who excelled. Since students with poor results are used to looking for a cause among external factors, they pointed out the shortcomings of the educational model. However, special attention should be paid to the reasons for this attitude among students. All students noted that it became much more difficult to study according to the new model. This is due to several factors:


As a result, five out of eight students expressed satisfaction with the passed course. Two students remained indifferent. One student spoke negatively: "The idea of studying international business in Spanish without knowing Spanish is a bad idea."

Among the advantages of the educational model, students noted:


The disadvantages were also noted:


The use of multilingual education was very popular among interviewed students. The respondents noted that at the beginning of the course they could not get used to the constant switching between languages, since in the last two years Spanish was the most common language used in the classroom. By the end of the course, however, the students appreciated the idea of using multiple languages and noted that it helped them to understand the rules of the Spanish language, as there was a comparison with their native language and with the English language.

An important aspect that the respondents drew attention to was the advantage of the multilingual approach in the study of professional discipline. Since students study according to an international program, all theoretical knowledge is accordingly exchanged exclusively in English. The proposed learning model allowed them to look at professional content differently, from the perspective of a different language, which expanded their knowledge and immersion.

#### **4. Discussion**

After analyzing the results of the experiment, we can draw conclusions about the positive experience of implementing the proposed educational model, thus confirming our hypothesis.

As a result of training according to this model, the Spanish language outcomes in the experimental group were better than in the control group. Consequently, the application of this model contributes to the study of the Spanish language. It is worth noting that the results of the experimental group showed that writing skills developed to a lesser extent than others. This difference in the development of writing skills is explained by the fact that in the CLIL group more attention was paid to the development of communicative oral skills and group interaction. In the traditional teaching model, more emphasis was placed on writing. In further work on the educational model, it is necessary to take this into account and think over additional activities for better progress in writing skills.

The study of professional discipline in the Spanish language class has become a controversial point in discussion with students. Some students responded negatively. However, according to the results of testing students in the course of international business (professional discipline), the control group coped better than the experimental group. It is important to emphasize that the difference in the results of the control and experimental groups turned out to be insignificant. Thus, the application of the educational model under consideration contributes to the study of professional content, albeit insignificantly. With the further development of the design of the model under consideration, it is worth taking this into account and finalizing the block of professional discipline for its greater efficiency.

As a result of the survey (*N* = 24), as well as interviews (*N* = 8) with students, it was revealed that students evaluate this model as effective. The development of multilingualism and switching between languages was especially noted. The students also noted the increased motivation to study and the emerging opportunity to use the Spanish language in business communication. However, some students also noted the following negative aspects: excessive complexity, unfamiliarity and insufficient knowledge of the Spanish language for effective study.

It is important to note that this study has limitations. The study involved only one experimental group of students. This is due to the fact that the proposed educational model is very new; we have not found research that introduces the approved model into the educational process. Thus, the result of the experiment was impossible to predict, which carried risks for the effectiveness of the educational process.

An important difference between our study and other works listed in the literature review is the simultaneous introduction of CLIL and the multilingual approach into one educational model. Thus, the students studied the Spanish language and the professional discipline (International Business), while using multilingualism and their mother tongue (i.e., English and Spanish).

#### **5. Conclusions**

In connection with the tightening requirements for university graduates from the business side, there are changes in programs and teaching methods in higher educational institutions. The graduate must have a whole pool of professional competencies, knowledge and skills. In addition, the modernized education of the 21st century is based on humanism and openness towards the outside world. Multilingual education focused on the harmonization of different cultural spaces is a necessary part of a modern vision of the world. There is a gradual introduction of the student to a fully-fledged existence in the conditions of a modern multilingual and heterogeneous society (including the world of modern communications, social networks, e-mail, etc.)

Earlier studies [8,11,13,16,28] presented in the literature review indicate the feasibility of using both subject-language integrated learning and multilingual learning. A distinctive feature of our study was an attempt to combine these two increasingly popular types of education. It is also worth noting that the study was conducted in Russia, where multilingual practices are not common.

Despite the growing popularity all over the world of CLIL, and its assignment by the European Union, the status of one of the leading effective means of implementing the international language policy of multilingualism, namely, the mechanisms and forms of organizing such training, have not yet found proper understanding among some representatives of teaching staff in Russian higher education, which is largely associated with national characteristics and traditions. Nevertheless, in the globalizing world space, CLIL didactics is becoming a promising area of higher education and an effective way of acquiring and improving linguistic and communicative competencies, ensuring the further successful professionalization of students and facilitating their career advancement in their chosen field of activity.

In the current study, we assessed the efficiency of the learning model based on CLIL methodology from the students' perspective, as well as analyzing the impact of such a model on students' Spanish language improvement and professional discipline knowledge.

According to the results, students from the experimental group succeeded in Spanish language learning and scored highly in final testing on professional discipline (the difference between the results of both groups—experimental and control—was not significant). The results confirmed the efficiency of the proposed learning model for both foreign language and professional discipline learning. The survey on the efficiency of the learning model from students' perspective also showed positive results. Students assessed the learning model as more beneficial and prosperous as it has many advantages, develops multilingual competence and provides them with different learning styles.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, T.B. and A.K.; data curation, E.T.; formal analysis, A.K. and E.T.; investigation, A.K. and E.T.; methodology, E.T.; project administration, T.B. and D.M.; resources, E.T.; supervision, T.B. and D.M.; validation, A.K. and E.T.; writing—original draft, A.K. and E.T.; writing—review and editing, T.B. and A.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


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