PEDAGOGICAL AND LINGUISTIC INTERPRETATION OF THE CONCEPT OF PROFESSION-ORIENTED COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE

Abstract

Profession-oriented communicative competence (POCC) is increasingly treated as a core learning outcome in higher education because it links language proficiency with the ability to perform professional tasks through interaction. This article clarifies the concept of POCC through a combined pedagogical and linguistic lens. From pedagogy, POCC is interpreted as an integrative educational result that connects learning objectives, instructional design, and assessment with the communicative demands of a future profession. From linguistics, POCC is viewed as a functional system of language resources and discourse practices that enable goal-directed participation in professional communities. Using conceptual analysis and comparative synthesis of key competence-based and ESP frameworks, the paper proposes an operational definition and a componential model suitable for curriculum planning. The results show that POCC should be specified through professional situations, genres, and roles, and assessed via performance evidence rather than decontextualized language tests. The discussion highlights implications for English for Specific Purposes courses and suggests design principles for aligning content, interaction, and evaluation.