COUNTRY STUDY TEXTS IN THE CLASSES OF THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Abstract. The article is dedicated to a topical issue: the study of the Ukrainian language in a foreign language environment based on local lore texts about Christmas and Easter; the focus is made on the role of songs and colloquialisms that help students adapt to the country of residence and its realities. Approaches to work with New Year's songs ("Shchedryk") and lyrical songs ("Hutsulka Ksenia") are demonstrated. A number of methodical developments on e-platforms are proposed: open4ukrainian.education/gutsulka-ksenya/; http://bit.ly/rizdvyani-pisni-kolyadki, the advantages of working with online tools are proved: Wizer.me (https://wizer.me/), Learningapps (https://learningapps.org). The objective of the article is to analyze the country study material; to draw the attention of the scientific and pedagogical community to the need of selecting texts and didactic materials with consideration of the feasibility and practical application of information and the development of communicative competence; to prove the relevance of a variety of tasks and examples; to share the experience of teaching foreigners the Ukrainian language. The ideas presented in the article are illustrated by examples taken from the experience of teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language at Ternopil Ivan Puluj National Technical University. Current studies and publications are thoroughly analyzed. The focus is on hermeneutic, communicative, personaloriented, cultural, level methods, the importance of visualization of pre-text and post-text exercises, various questions, descriptive interpretation of rare vocabulary, extended vocabulary. The methodological basis of this study is the work of Anna Shvets. During the discussion of texts about traditions, holidays, events, etc., focuses were made on the appropriateness of asking questions, as questions help not only assess students and find out how well they understand the material, but also help them develop their speech. In addition, the role of post-text comments is traced. The aspect analyzed and described in the article is the content of texts that promote Ukraine in the world, contribute to the formation of linguistic knowledge about Ukraine, help foreign students adapt to the language environment.