http://doi.org/10.31174/SEND-PP2018-163VI67-11

Abstract. The concept of the competence-based approach as one of the basic approaches in the methodology of modern education that has  significant  pedagogical  potential  for  the  further  development  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  a  foreign  language  teaching  in  non- linguistic institutions of higher education is disclosed. Interest towards the competence-based approach is explained by the fact that at present it personifies the innovation process in the  system of professional higher education. It is believed that the  competence-based approach has become the basis of the state educational standards and model programs that require increased attention to the problem of determining the specifics of its implementation in relation to various academic subjects. There is an alternative to a competent-based view on the content of foreign language education objectives, their theoretical and  methodological correction from the standpoint  of developmental learning and the principles of cultural appropriateness, which has a much deeper philosophical and pedagogical basis. This is the concept of communicative foreign language education and the development of individuality in the dialogue of cultures. The traditional power of the idea of the duality of educational aims in the domestic education system is revealed, which manifests itself in the desire to distinguish between the concepts of “competence” and “competency”. It is proved that the introduction of the competence- based approach has significantly expanded the scope of the basic “content lines” of this methodical category: competence-based models have replaced the algorithmic assimilation of content. Activity parameters of the content of a foreign language teaching are emphasized. It is confirmed that the activity character of the content of a foreign language teaching did not receive sufficient didactic interpretation, although the scientific understanding of it has been formed both in pedagogical theory and in educational practice. The conclusion is made that the competence-based approach influenced the selection of the subject content of a  foreign language teaching.  It has been practically proved that the problematic presentation of communicatively meaningful units of the content of a foreign language teaching forms the basis of its methodical organization and has proved itself in the practice of a foreign language teaching. It is discovered that the aims and content are the main, but not the only components of the educational system, which have undergone correction in the context of the competence-based approach. It is substantiated that traditional knowledge technologies are still relevant, since they contribute to the reliable  fixation of educational  material in memory and are aimed at mastering lexico-grammatical means in various types of speech activity. It is proved that for the formation of activity-based competence with the help of modern pedagogical technologies, it is necessary to shift the emphasis from the volume and breadth of mastering knowledge to the parallel assimilation of activity and thinking. The competence-based approach is considered as a productive way of modeling the final results of language learning as a strategic direction for the development of the main components: aims, content, process and feedback. The transformation related to its implementation in this framework is described. It fills them with new meanings: aims – professional communicative orientation, content – ways of communicative interaction, methodology – productive experience of practical application of knowledge, control and evaluation activity – verifi- cation of forms with inclusion of creative problem-solving situations that form the experience of professional communication. The advantage of the competence-based approach is that it draws the language training at the universities and the requirements of specialists to be closer together, makes them more rational, goal-directed and purposive. At the same time, caution is expressed in connection with lending the competence-based approach the hypertrophied status in scientific grounding of modern conception of education.