LANGUAGE TRAINING OF MILITARY PERSONNEL IN THE CONTEXT OF ACADEMIC MILITARY COOPERATION

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of improving language training in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, particularly the issue of increasing the level of military personnel’s proficiency in foreign languages. The relevance of the study is due to new challenges in military education that have arisen before Ukrainian society in the conditions of a full-scale invasion of the enemy, as well as the need for a profound transformation in its structure and content. The emphasis is on the ways of implementing Euro-Atlantic standards to achieve interoperability with the armed forces of NATO member states and partners. Purpose. The scientific research aims to generalize the innovative experience of language training of military personnel at the Military Institute of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Methods. A comprehensive approach to studying innovative processes in the country’s higher military education was applied with a set of general scientific and special methods (in particular, analysis and synthesis, generalization, classification, comparative analysis and descriptive method). Results. The formation of a modern model of military education compatible with NATO countries is actively underway at the MIKNU, a powerful tool for which is the Defense Education Enhancement Program in matters of language training. Proficiency in foreign languages by Ukrainian military personnel is one of the priority tasks of cooperation with foreign partners and its mandatory condition. It is this principle that underlies the training of MIKNU graduates. Conclusions. Language training of military specialists is implemented in three main areas outlined by the “Roadmap for Improving Language Training in the Armed Forces of Ukraine”: 1) teaching of academic disciplines in English; 2) the level of English proficiency of the teaching staff and improving their language training; 3) testing of graduates on the level of knowledge of a foreign language. The issue of the quality of language training at MIKNU should be considered in the context of the system for ensuring the quality of educational activities and higher education as one of the main priorities. All innovations initiated as a result of the cooperation with NATO contribute to creating a positive educational environment that allows the training of highly qualified military personnel, effective in a modern multicultural society.