THE ESSENCE AND FEATURES OF CLIL, ESP AND EMI AS MEANS FOR
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE
AT HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS OF TRADE AND ECONOMICS

Kateryna HILDEBRANT

Chernivtsi Institute of Trade and Economics of SUTE, Chernivtsi

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5806-757X

Maryna STUPAK

Chernivtsi Educational and Scientific Law Institute of

the National University “Odesa Law Academy”, Chernivtsi

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9873-201X

DOI: http://doi.org/10.34025/2310-8185-2026-1.101.17

Keywords: foreign language communicative competence, ESP, CLIL, EMI, economic education.

Summary

In the contemporary context of globalization, educational internationalization, increasing demands for professional mobility, the level of foreign language proficiency of higher education graduates has become particularly significant. For students majoring in Economics, English serves as a key instrument for international cooperation and access to up-to-date academic and professional resources. Despite the growing demand for a high English language proficiency, the actual outcomes of foreign language training among students of non-philological majors remain insufficient. The limited number of contact hours allotted to studying English for Specific Purposes (ESP) necessitates a search for alternative and/or supplementary approaches in order to develop and further enhance students’ foreign language competence. The purpose of the study is to provide a theoretical analysis of the didactic approaches like ESP, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) as means of enhancing the foreign language communicative competence of students majoring in Economics. The study is based on the analysis of scholarly sources and employs methods of comparative analysis of pedagogical approaches, synthesis of European educational experience, and theoretical modelling of the possibilities for integrating these approaches into the educational process of Ukrainian higher educational institutions. The research identifies conceptual differences between ESP, CLIL, and EMI with regard to the role of language in the learning process, instructional objectives set, as well as methodological tools applied. It emphasizes the importance of applying diverse methods and techniques of foreign language learning to ensure continuity of foreign language education, ongoing improvement of learners’ foreign language communicative competence in professional setting, enhancement of academic literacy, development of cognitive skills as well as interdisciplinary thinking. The findings of the study can be used in the curricula design, development of integrated courses, strategies for implementing CLIL in higher educational establishments of Trade and Economics. Further research should focus on the empirical investigation of CLIL effectiveness in training future economists, as well as on the development of models for practical collaboration between subject-matter instructors and foreign language teachers.

Biographies of authors:

Kateryna HILDEBRANT,

Chernivtsi Institute of Trade and Economics of SUTE

Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor,

Associate Professor Department of Management, Marketing and Logistics

Maryna STUPAK,

Chernivtsi Educational and Scientific Law Institute of

the National University “Odesa Law Academy”

Assistant, Assistant Professor of the Department of General Theoretical Jurisprudence and Human Rights

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