Approaches to Developing Communicative and Pragmatic Competencies of Higher Education Students in the Course «Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes»

Abstract

A high level of professional communicative competence is a key prerequisite for the successful activity of a specialist in any field. Therefore, the course «Ukrainian Language for Professional Purposes» is a mandatory educational component in the training of non-philological higher education students. It is aimed at developing a linguistic identity capable of using language competently and appropriately for information exchange and for establishing and maintaining communication. The models of this course presented in the scholarly literature highlight the priority of several approaches to its teaching, including the competency-based, functional-stylistic, communicative-pragmatic, and sociocultural approaches. These approaches view language not merely as a system of rules, but as a tool for communication, influence, and speaker self-expression. The aim. To justify the relevance of reorienting the teaching methodology of the Ukrainian language toward a communicative-pragmatic approach for non-philological students of higher education institutions, within the context of the anthropocentric paradigm of modern science, the multi-paradigmatic nature of linguistics, and the globalization trends of the information society. Results. An analysis of philologists’ teaching practices and insights from disciplines such as sociolinguistics, pragmalinguistics, communicative linguistics, and ecolinguistics enabled the design of situational and creative tasks. These tasks activate the motivational resources of students, foster their communicative-pragmatic skills, and enhance their information literacy. Conclusions. The methodological competence of a language instructor lies in choosing a developmental trajectory – from orthographic and punctuation literacy to communicative optimality – focused on equipping non-philological students with communicative-pragmatic skills that enable rational use of language in professional contexts. Proficiency in the state language not only determines a specialist’s place in society and their identification with a specific ethnic group, but also contributes to strengthening the foundations of national security.