Методологійні основи української як іноземної / Methodological foundations of Ukrainian as a foreign language

The article is dedicated to the comprehensive substantiation of the methodological principles for teaching Ukrainian as a Foreign Language (UFL). The research is grounded in a comparative-typological analysis, arguing for the necessity of transitioning from classical methods to a complex approach that integrates communicative-cultural, historical-ethnocultural, and contrastive-typological principles, emphasizing the special significance of the functional-communicative aspect. This aspect is underpinned by the nominative-existential linguoparadigm. The functional-communicative approach is aimed at communication and the performance of real communicative actions, as it involves forming the ability in the linguopersonality to use language as a communication tool and to be an active communicant in various discursive practices. This dimension ensures the development of all components of communicative competence: linguistic (lexical, grammatical, phonetic), speech-activity (listening, speaking, reading, writing), socio-cultural (knowledge, understanding, and interpretation of behavioural norms, etiquette, and cultural peculiarities of Ukraine), and strategic/tactical (the ability to overcome communicative difficulties). The work substantiates the polyfunctionality of language units (with the isolation of grammaticalized formations) and develops a contrastive model focused on predicting interference errors and utilizing positive knowledge transfer depending on the native language of the linguopersonality. A core issue is the integration of authentic materials from digital discourse (including institutional and non-institutional communication) to form the linguopersonality’s current socio-pragmatic competence. New criteria for the effectiveness of educational material structuring, based on functional frequency, discursive adequacy, and cultural appropriateness, are formulated and substantiated. The results may serve as a theoretical basis for creating innovative differentiated Ukrainian as a Foreign Language teaching manuals.