THE DIDACTICS OF MULTILINGUALISM AS A METHODOLOGICAL BASIS OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the conceptual foundations of foreign language teaching in the multilingual environment of modern European society. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of priorities of Europe language policy and trends of foreign language education in European countries aimed at the formation of the multilingual identity of their citizens. The analysis of research data, carried out with the support from the European Commission, has shown the inconsistency between the current state of competence in foreign languages by the citizens of Europe to the declared goals of EU language policy, which include the competence of at least two foreign languages.The study of the scientific literature on the stated problems has allowed to establish the reasons for this situation lying first of all in the obsolescence of certain concepts of the theory of foreign language education and the lack of effectiveness of traditional methods of teaching foreign languages. Based on the analysis of the works of famous foreign scientists, there have been identified and analyzed a number of new conceptual ideas on the teaching of foreign languages integrated in the framework of the socalled didactics of multilingualism that proclaims the methodological paradigm of modern foreign language education. It has been found that the initial position of this concept is the interpretation of multilingualism as a single communicative competence of the individual, holistic and integrated system of linguistic and sociocultural knowledge and skills that expands and deepens with the development of each new language. The article reveals the key principles of multilingualism didactics, among which the issues of individual’s "language biography", the existing linguistic and communicative knowledge, abilities and skills, the individual needs in language learning and rational use of previous experience of learning foreign languages are taken into account. It has been clarified that the mentioned provision in multilingualism didactics have gained direct practical implementation in the framework of EuroCom project, the purpose of which is to ensure the conditions for simultaneous development of several related foreign languages on the basis of communication and mutual inclusions between them. It reveals the specificity of training and methodological support of the learning process of foreign languages in the framework of the mentioned project and clarifies the first results of its practical approbation.