Content and structure of the lexical-grammatical component of language competence of higher education students in the process of learning English

Abstract

The article examines the content and structure of the lexical-grammatical component of language competence of higher education students in the process of learning English. The relevance of the problem is determined by current requirements for foreign language training of future specialists, which is focused not only on mastering the system of language knowledge but, above all, on the ability to use English effectively in academic, professional, and intercultural communication. The theoretical basis of the study is formed by the provisions of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment – Companion Volume (2020), particularly the action-oriented approach, the focus on "can do" descriptors, and the expanded understanding of receptive, productive, interactional, and mediation activities. Recent international studies of 2023–2024 devoted to the development of lexical and collocational competence, the role of repeated exposure, distributed practice, retrieval practice, and multimodal input of language material are analysed. The principles of Ukrainian methodology of foreign language teaching concerning the professionally oriented nature of foreign language training of higher education students and the gradual development of lexical-grammatical skills are generalised. The article proposes an author's definition of the lexical-grammatical component of language competence of higher education students as an integrated structural-functional formation encompassing interconnected lexical, grammatical, and lexical-grammatical knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for reception, production, interaction, and mediation in English in accordance with academic, professional, and sociocultural needs. The structure of the component is substantiated as comprising lexical-semantic, lexical-collocational, grammatical-structural, integrative, functional-communicative, receptive, productive, interactional, and mediation components. The methodological implications of the proposed model are identified: integration of vocabulary and grammar, contextualisation of language material, systematic work with collocations, repeated exposure to language units, the use of academic and professionally oriented content, the combination of receptive and productive activities, and the application of digital and multimodal resources. The model may also be used to organise instruction, develop exercise systems, and formulate assessment criteria. It is demonstrated that the lexical-grammatical component should be viewed as a bridge between linguistic knowledge and students' actual communicative activity.