COMPETENCE-BASED APPROACH IN HIGHER LANGUAGE EDUCATION: FROM THEORY TO THE 21ST CENTURY GRADUATE MODEL

Abstract

The article examines the implementation of a competence-based approach in higher language education and its contribution to shaping a 21st-century graduate model. It focuses on the empirical evaluation of a competence-based instructional syllabus designed and implemented by English language lecturers of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages (KazUIR & WL) for students of non-linguistic faculties. The study is grounded in a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design with experimental (N = 52) and control (N = 49) groups within compulsory English for specific purposes courses. The competence-based syllabus integrates communicative language competence with selected twenty-first century skills, including critical thinking, collaboration, problem-solving and learner autonomy, and operationalises them through integrated skills tasks, project work and authentic communicative activities. Data were collected through a communicative competence test battery aligned with CEFR descriptors, a self-report questionnaire on transversal skills, and qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The results show that the experimental group achieved significantly higher gains in overall communicative competence, with particularly strong improvement in speaking and writing, and reported greater growth in communicative confidence, collaboration and responsibility for learning compared to the control group. Qualitative data confirm increased learner engagement and more active participation in competence-based classes. The findings support the effectiveness of a competence-based approach as a means of aligning higher language education with labour market demands and societal expectations, and provide an empirically grounded basis for formulating a graduate model that combines communicative language competence with core 21st-century skills. The article concludes with implications for curriculum design, assessment and teacher professional development in higher language education.