Volotivska I. The Content Development of Foreign Language Teacher’s Professional Training in Pedagogical Educational Institutions in Ukraine (late 20th – early 21st century)

The thesis is devoted to theoretical study of the content development of foreign language teacher’s professional training in pedagogical educational institutions in Ukraine in late 20th – early 21st century. The topicality of the research is determined by the development of the European and global integration in which the knowledge of a foreign language and its teaching is considered one of the priority trends of the state educational policy. The success of compulsory foreign language learning greatly depends on the level of teacher’s qualification and special training for efficient language teaching. One way to bring the prospective teachers’ special training closer to the needs of the school is to increase the level of professionalization of the process of acquiring by them different knowledge and skills provided by the higher educational programme. As a result of the analysis of a wide range of scientific resources, the term «professional foreign language teacher’s training» is formulated; the set of educational disciplines that form the content of professional training of a foreign language teacher is clarified. The previous historic background that predetermined the development of foreign language teacher’s professional training in Ukraine in the second half of the 20th century is described. The chosen criteria (the peculiarities of the development of school foreign language education during the researched period; legislative documents regulating the activities of higher pedagogical institutions; changes in the content and process of professional foreign language teacher’s training) resulted in the author's periodization of the process of developing the content of professional training of foreign language teachers in the second half of the XX - the beginning of the XXI century in Ukraine. Five stages are highlighted with the main characteristics and tendencies of foreign language teacher’s professional training within the chronology; historical-pedagogical analysis demonstrates the peculiarities of the development of the contents, forms and approaches of the professional training. The scientific novelty and theoretical value of the research results are that: - the experience of pedagogical educational institutions of Ukraine concerning foreign language teacher’s professional training is interpreted; the periodization of professional foreign language education in higher educational institutions in Ukraine in late 20th – early 21st century is suggested; tendencies of the development of foreign language teachers’ professional training in these chronological boundaries are determined; - historical-pedagogical knowledge of foreign language teacher’s professional training in pedagogical educational institutions of Ukraine in the late 20th – early 21st century, as well as definition of some key terms of the topic is enriched; - published and unpublished materials concerning the contents of foreign language teacher’s professional training are systematized and analyzed; further prospects of creative usage of the experience of foreign language education in higher educational institutions of Ukraine are developed.