Implementing a Program on Poly- / Multiculturalism for Future Teachers of Foreign Languages: Practice-Oriented Approach

The article considers the key aspects for implementation of a university program on poly- / multiculturalism for future teachers of foreign languages (FL), teachers / instructor of languages for specific purposes (LSP), lecturers and teachers of translation, aiming at the practical value. The two concepts ‘polycultural education’ and ‘multicultural education’ are differentiated; it is substantiated that more research is required and the clarifications are to be introduced among academics locally and globally as the mentioned concepts and relevant labels in terminology are misused / confused in the research works laid out in Ukrainian and Russian. Next, the course “Poly- / multiculturalism for future teachers of foreign languages” aims at mastering pedagogical innovations in the field of poly- / multicultural education, development of students' ethno-cultural competence and pedagogical creativity, respectively. The purpose of the optional / specially designed is to form students' ideas about cultural pluralism as an objective social reality and nurture such ideas in support for everyday communication inside and outside the classroom. It is found relevant to single out the following course objectives: 1) to develop poly- / multicultural and ethno-pedagogical competences of students who are training to become FL teachers / instructors, LSP teachers / instructors, translation lecturers, philologists, translators, etc.; 2) to form the students’ ability in future to conduct professional activities in a poly- / multicultural environment, taking into account the peculiarities of the socio-cultural situation of development; 3) to keep developing the students’ ability to use in professional activities the basic development laws of the modern social and cultural environment. It is specified that the course designs the cornerstones by highlighting the relevance in the modern global and educational environment; aim and objectives; the contents; the structure; and the methodology of the course. It is concluded that the research findings contribute to good practices of designing and developing university curricula from a practice-oriented perspective and help bring quality change to the modern educational space