Culturally Responsive Teaching and Communicative Competence in Ukrainian and English for Professional Learners

The study aims to identify effective and innovative methods of developing communicative competence in students studying Ukrainian and English for professional purposes. The research methodology included experimental training of students at several universities, namely Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, National Academy of Statistics, Accounting and Audit, and Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, using modern interactive methods. The research was conducted from March to April 2024, comparing various methodologies for developing communicative competence. The experimental group, comprising 300 students, was taught using a new methodology focused on cultural context, while the control group followed traditional methods. The experimental group engaged in tasks like cultural reflections, dialogues, and proverbs analysis to enhance cultural communication competence. The main study results demonstrated that the development of communicative competence covers not only linguistic knowledge but also the ability to interact with representatives of different cultures. The students who participated in the learning process have successfully developed the skills of understanding the cultural peculiarities of Ukrainian and English in their professional fields. The results of the study also showed that the introduction of an improved teaching methodology focused on the cultural context significantly improves students’ communication skills in the field of intercultural interaction. Participants in the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher results in all three areas of the study: creating dialogues, analysing cultural expressions and proverbs, and reflecting on cultural values. The use of interactive methods, such as role-playing, discussions and analysis of cultural cases, helped students to better master cultural communication. This contributed to the development of their ability to interact effectively in a globalised world. Based on the results obtained, the article reveals the importance of integrating the analysed methods to improve the Ukrainian system of ESP teaching, which can contribute to improving the quality of teaching and developing students’ communication skills.