KEY ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE TRAINING FOR STUDENTS MAJORING IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS: COMPARATIVE EXPERIENCE OF UKRAINE AND EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of the language training of students majoring in Applied Linguistics at universities of Ukraine and Europe. The author identifies its common and distinctive features, as well as experiences that can be used to optimize such training in Ukraine. The study systematizes academic disciplines within Applied linguistics curricula and outlines pedagogical approaches and teaching methods that enhance the effectiveness of linguistic training in higher education.

Applied Linguistics programs were analyzed at five universities of Ukraine (the National University of Ostroh Academy, Uzhhorod National University, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, and Khmelnytskyi National University). It was found that providing high-quality linguistic training at these institutions is complicated by a number of problems, which can be broadly divided into structural, educational, personnel, and technological. In order to address these issues and optimize the professional training of applied linguists at Ukrainian universities, the relevant experience of European universities (the University of Hildesheim (Germany), the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the University of Europa Atlantica (Spain), Swansea University (England), and  Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland) was analyzed. The general characteristics of students’ linguistic training within such programs were identified. They include interdisciplinarity; development of research and methodological skills; professional orientation of linguistic training; multilingual focus; applied nature of linguistic training; intercultural competence; practical orientation of instruction.

European bachelor degree programs in Applied Linguistics include three interrelated modules: 1) theoretical linguistics; 2) applied linguistic disciplines; 3) language and professional practice. The advantages of linguistic training for students in European higher education institutions include greater interdisciplinarity, a focus on research and access to resources; internationalization and mobility; ensuring professional integration and employment; the use of European standards and frameworks.

The organizational and methodological foundations of linguistic disciplines in Europe, as well as teaching methods and tools, were analyzed. Based on this, recommendations for modernizing Applied Linguistics programs in Ukraine were outlined (conceptual reorientation; redesign of linguistic disciplines; integration of empirical and corpus-based methods; strengthening of multilingual and comparative components; practice-oriented teaching and assessment).