Diagnostics of vocational (vocational and technical) education institutions’ curricula content regarding their potential in forming students' language and speech competence

Abstract

Increasing requirements for competencies and the complexity of the production and social environments necessitate the formation of language and communicative competence as the main element of professional training for future specialists, ensuring effective interaction in the production environment, social adaptation, and the competitiveness of graduates in the labor market. The purpose of the study is to assess the theoretical and practical aspects of integrating language and communicative components into professional modules of vocational education programs and to identify factors that affect the effectiveness of competence development in students. Methods. To achieve the goal, a content analysis of the educational programs of three vocational education institutions was conducted, enabling the identification of patterns and gaps in approaches to the development of students' communicative skills. The results obtained demonstrate that language and communicative components are mainly presented in general education disciplines declaratively, without clear indicators of competence attainment, and that there is no systematic progression from basic language skills to professional communicative actions. The main limiting factors are identified: regulatory, methodological, personnel and organizational, resource and traditional educational practices. It is proven that effective competence formation is ensured by the use of practice-oriented teaching methods, in particular training, business and professional communication, case methods, role-playing games, interactive simulations, communicative projects and public presentations, which contribute to the development of oral and written professional speech, team interaction and soft skills. The conclusions emphasize that the comprehensive use of practice-oriented methods contributes to the integration of language and communicative and professional training, forms professional mobility and adaptability, and increases the relevance of soft skills and the competitiveness of graduates. The obtained provisions can be used to improve the content and organization of language and communicative training in vocational education institutions.