PHONOLOGICAL COMPETENCE AND DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN TEACHING GERMAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Abstract

The article examines the role of phonological competence in teaching German as a foreign language within digital learning environments. While communicative competence is widely recognized as the primary objective of foreign language education, pronunciation and phonological skills often receive limited attention in classroom practice. At the same time, the rapid development of digital technologies has created new opportunities for enhancing auditory perception, pronunciation accuracy, and oral communication skills. The study aims to investigate the importance of phonological competence for the development of learners’ speaking abilities and to assess the potential of digital learning environments in fostering phonetic and phonological skills. The theoretical framework is based on an integrative approach that combines cognitive-linguistic models of language processing, theories of second language acquisition, and contemporary concepts of foreign language pedagogy. Phonological competence is viewed as a dynamic interaction of auditory perception, articulatory production, and communicative practice. The empirical basis of the study consists of a qualitative analysis of learning processes, including audio recordings of classroom activities, students’ oral presentations, and interaction data from digital learning platforms. The analysis focused on three key dimensions: phonological perception, articulatory production, and communicative intelligibility. The findings indicate that digital learning environments have considerable potential for developing phonological competence. Digital platforms provide repeated access to authentic audio materials, support autonomous learning, and offer automated pronunciation feedback. Opportunities to record, analyze, and compare one’s own speech with reference models contribute to metalinguistic awareness and a deeper understanding of phonetic structures. The study also demonstrates that digital technologies do not replace teachers but rather transform their role by strengthening pedagogical guidance and individualized support. The article concludes that integrating systematic pronunciation training, digital tools, and authentic communication can effectively enhance phonological competence and improve the quality of foreign language learning and teaching.