Theoretical Foundations for Developing the Communicative Competence of Future Teachers on The Basis of Communicative Grammar

Abstract

The present paper examines the theoretical foundations for developing the communicative competence of future teachers on the basis of communicative grammar in higher pedagogical education. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the growing need to prepare teachers who are able not only to master grammatical knowledge, but also to use language effectively in pedagogical interaction, academic discourse, and professional communication. The paper argues that grammar should be interpreted not as a closed system of rules to be memorized, but as a functional resource for creating meaning in concrete communicative situations. Within this perspective, communicative competence is understood as an integrative quality combining grammatical accuracy, discourse coherence, sociolinguistic appropriateness, strategic flexibility, and pedagogical sensitivity. The study is based on theoretical analysis, comparison, and synthesis of linguistic, pedagogical, and methodological sources devoted to communicative competence, communicative language teaching, functional grammar, and teacher education. The results demonstrate that communicative grammar provides an effective theoretical basis for the formation of future teachers’ communicative competence because it connects language form with meaning, context, intention, and interaction. The paper identifies the most important conceptual principles of this process, including the competence-based approach, the communicative-activity approach, contextualization of grammatical material, integration of receptive and productive speech activity, and reflection-oriented pedagogical practice. It is concluded that the development of communicative competence in future teachers becomes more effective when grammar instruction is organized as purposeful speech activity linked with professional communication, classroom discourse, and real pedagogical situations.