Developing Communicative Competence of Future Teachers on the Basis of Ethnic and Cultural Values Intrinsic to Highlanders of the Ukrainian Carpathians

Abstract

The article presents challenges and methods of teacher training activities aimed todevelop communicative competence and prepare teachers for work in mountain area schools in theUkrainian Carpathians. Research shows that specifics of social and cultural environment should betaken into account in the process of teaching native language and developing communicativecompetence of future teachers. Sociocultural approach defines language teaching strategies in thelight of national culture, traditions of ethnic regions and the Ukrainian Carpathians in particular.Teacher training programs should include studies on material, cultural and spiritual values ofhighlanders. Such topics can be incorporated in the main native language course. Study andanalysis of fiction pieces, especially those that reflect the socio-cultural peculiarities of linguisticcommunity of the Ukrainian Carpathians can be of great value in achieving the goal. Small classesin mountain schools also place a demand upon educators to constantly upgrade approaches, formsand methods of teaching.The article offers an integral teacher training system aimed at developing communicativecompetence and preparing teachers to work in the mountain areas schools. A special place in thissystem is given to folk pedagogy, which accumulates the national and regional spiritual values.The author presents the components of communicative and socio-cultural competence of futureteachers. The suggested algorithm for training primary school teachers insures reaching anappropriate level of socio-cultural, historical, linguistic and communicative competenciesnecessary for language teaching at primary schools in mountain regions of the UkrainianCarpathians.