The paper demonstrates the results of the experimental research conducted during the first semester of the academic year 2020/21, including the remote learning period due to the Covid19 pandemic situation, at the lessons of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (with students of Specialties 208 “Agrarian Engineering” and 141 “Electrical Engineering and Energy”) at the State Agrarian and Engineering University in Podilia, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine. The research basically analyses how TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Talks impact university students’ listening comprehension and speaking skills. Online study support for ESP was personally created by the educators as a four-credit course due to ECTS in the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) with the application of TED Talks, which was used for study purposes on the B1 level. The research sample is represented by 50 students majoring in Agrarian Engineering and 50 students majoring in Electrical Engineering and Energy, all of them enrolled in the mandatory subject of ESP. The subjects (students) were divided into the experimental and control groups. At the beginning of the course, the students wrote the pre-test, for their start level to be evaluated, and at the end of the semester - the post-test was done to check the achievements and probable benefits of TED Talks. The experiment results demonstrated the improvement of both groups while it was proved statistically that the experimental group showed better outcomes both in listening comprehension and speaking skills respectively. The questionnaires, distributed among the students, consisted of 5 questions, where they expressed their personal opinions about the e-learning process, and according to which the TED Talks influence on their listening and speaking skills was evaluated. The feedback of the questionnaires proved that the students mostly had a positive attitude concerning engaging TED Talks into the learning process, especially those who were involved in the experiment.

Rapid changes in society, caused by the development of information and communication technologies (ICT), and the challenges provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic, present the education system with the task of forming a new educational environment to ensure the quality training of modern specialists. Currently, for Ukraine, the virtual education space has acquired additional significance, since after the start of the Russian military aggression, unprecedented for the 21st century, the use of distance education technologies has become relevant. The purpose of the article is to analyze digital distance learning platforms, determine their effectiveness, and define perspective strategies for effective communication in the educational environment in wartime. The study uses general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, and deduction). The paper is based on the principles of generalization, concretization, and abstraction. The study also used the axiomatic method, which involves the ascent from theoretical positions (axioms) to specific conclusions, and the statistical method Student’s t-test. The conducted survey revealed the benefits of Google applications for both virtual and in-person education spaces. The conclusions defined that blended learning is more productive and preferable for students, as it leaves more time for students to improve themselves and implement their projects, and for teachers to do scientific work. It is essential to apply digital technologies for remote and blended education in Ukraine, as it leads to budgetary funds savings, assuring the maximum implication of all participants of the educational process, including the virtual one.