STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN-LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE AMONG UNDERGRADUATE LAW STUDENTS IN PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

Abstract

Summary. Ukraine’s integration into the global multicultural landscape places high demands on the development of foreign-language communication skills among law students in higher education institutions. This is emphasized in regulatory documents, particularly the Law of Ukraine “On the Use of the English Language in Ukraine” (2024).

The purpose of this article is to examine the stages of developing foreign language communicative competence among law students during their professional training at institutions of higher education, using National University «Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic» as an example.

To achieve this goal, the following research methods were employed: theoretical methods (analysis, systematization, generalization, abstraction), which made it possible to justify the relevance of the study, examine its representation in the scientific literature, and formulate general conclusions; a pedagogical experiment, which encompassed a wide range of empirical methods (questionnaires, surveys, diagnostic interviews, testing, observation, etc.); the prognostic method contributed understanding of the prospects for further research on the issue.

As a result of the experiment, the names and characteristics of the three stages in the development of foreign-language communicative competence among law undergraduates were identified and substantiated: the motivational-introductory stage (2023–2024); epistemological-communicative (2024–2025); and integrative-practical (2025–2026). Each stage presents methodological approaches, objectives, and tasks, and highlights key aspects.

The scientific novelty of the study’s findings lies in the systematization of the professionally oriented content component of each stage, the specification of its tasks in accordance with the objectives and structure of the phenomenon under study, as well as in the development of a logical framework for organizing the process of developing foreign-language communicative competence among law students.

The author’s conclusions and specific recommendations. Thus, 1) professionally oriented content was prioritized throughout the three stages; 2) communicative, integrative, and practice-oriented approaches were implemented, contributing to the effective development of foreign language communicative competence among future specialists; 3) the instructional time for the educational component “Foreign Language for Professional Purposes” through the integration of a) the content of general and professionally oriented foreign language training for students within a single academic discipline, and b) the content of foreign language and professional training as a whole through the introduction of foreign language content into professional disciplines.

We see potential for further research in the analysis of the pedagogical conditions for developing foreign-language communicative competence among law students.