Abstract
The article describes the concept of an electronic textbook on Biology in English, developed for the purpose of implementing multilingual education in the secondary schools of the Republic of Kazakhstan with Russian as a language of instruction.The described type of the electronic textbook is a closed one; its advantages over the open type are revealed.The advantages of the electronic textbook compared with a conventional one (paper) are explained, in particular, its didactic possibilities concerning polyperceptual impact on a student's perception, control over the assimilation of knowledge and skills, interactive process of assimilation and control.Basic methodological principles of the electronic textbook are determined: teaching a subject through the English language; modular and thematic principle of the textbook content; minimizing the theoretical text material, the emphasis on voicing and visualization of the content; technical accessibility for main users -subject teachers and students.The structure of the textbook, which consists of three main components, is presented in detail: presentation, training and supervision.Adobe Flash CS4 is chosen as a lookup programme for the textbook.The programme has wide interactive and animation capabilities that are sufficiently technically available for the main users -subject teachers and students.The article also deals with the problems of translation of biological terminology into English.