IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETENCY-BASED APPROACH IN TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN HIGHER SCHOOL

Economic changes not only in the country, but also in the global labor market explain the increasing requirements to young specialists. There are new requirements to the model and quality of the graduate, new approaches to their competitiveness and efficiency. XXI century universities must graduate prepared specialists, who are able to adapt to the labor market and are ready for new changes, for self-education, which in turn determines the meaning and function of higher education not «for life», but «during the whole life». The given article deals with the role and place of competency-based approach in teaching foreign languages and such notions as "competency-based approach", «competence», «competency», «foreign language communicative competence» are analyzed. Competency-based approach in education is well-known to the educators and scientists all over the world, and today it is discussed from different angles and is being viewed from different perspectives. First of all, it is due to the definition of the terms «competence» and «competency». So, competence is defined as «the ability to do something well or effectively, correspondence with the demands for a job: the ability to perform specific work functions». Competence is a «person's ability to carry out any activity on the basis of life experience and the acquired knowledge and skills». In contrast to the competence, competency means properties, personality traits, determining its ability to perform any activities on the basis of the acquired knowledge and the developed skills and abilities. The most frequently mentioned competences or components were identified, such as: the ability to communicate in native language, the ability to communicate in foreign languages, mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology, digital competence, the ability to learn, social and civic competence, the ability for initiative and entrepreneurship, cultural competence. The article characterizes components of foreign communicative competence, such as functional, language (linguistic), communicative and sociocultural competencies and some important aspects of implementing the competency-based approach in the formation of foreign language communicative competence are also examined. Competency-based approach entails the putting together of all the knowledge, know-how and attitudes required for the solution of real life problems or situations. Put simplistically and with reference to language learning, using all the grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and pronunciation to communicate effectively in real time listening, speaking, reading and writing situations. Furthermore, it consists of knowing what to do, where, when and with whom; or, being linguistically, communicatively and sociolinguistically competent with the learned language.