Framing Educational Materials to Develop the Foreign Language Communicative Competence: A Case Study of Contemporary English Textbooks in Ukrainian Higher Education

This study examines how English-language textbooks used in Ukrainian higher education and international EFL/ESL contexts frame learning materials to develop students’ foreign language communicative competence (FLCC). The issue is central to Ukraine’s integration into the European educational space, where communicative and intercultural effectiveness are key outcomes. Despite reforms, most Ukrainian universities still rely on materials dominated by theoretical grammar, lexicology, and stylistics, with limited learner autonomy, multimodality, or authentic interaction. To reveal contrasts between national and international resources, thirty-two textbooks from Kharkiv universities were analysed and compared with international series such as SpeakOut, Headway, and Cutting Edge. The analysis employed the General Framing Index (GFI), a diagnostic tool measuring the balance between cognitive, integrative, and interactional framing through thirteen indicators in four analytical categories (A1–D3). Inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s κ = 0.82) confirmed strong coding consistency. Results show that Ukrainian textbooks are mainly cognitive-dominant (average GFI = 4), single-volume, teacher-centred, and lacking audiovisual support. The collaborative textbook A Way to Success scored 8, representing a transitional or hybrid pattern, whereas international coursebooks reached GFI = 11, indicating interactional dominance with multimodal tasks, online components, and learner-centred methodology. These findings reveal a methodological gap. Ukrainian materials preserve theoretical depth but limit communicative and intercultural practice. International textbooks engage learners through authentic contexts yet often simplify linguistic theory. Textbook modernisation in Ukraine therefore requires cooperation between Ukrainian and English-speaking authors to combine analytical precision with interactive design and align national materials with global communicative standards.