Formation of Ukrainian-Language Communicative Competence of Learners in the Context of Digital Transformation of the Educational Environment

Abstract

The article aims to theoretically substantiate and empirically diagnose the conditions for developing Ukrainian-language communicative competence of learners in a digitally transformed educational environment and to design an evidence-based model integrating linguistic, discourse-pragmatic, digital-multimodal, media-critical, and mediation-reflective dimensions. The study employs secondary quantitative analysis combined with theoretical synthesis. The empirical base includes the Ukrainian national monitoring of Grade 6 and Grade 8 learning outcomes in the Ukrainian language conducted in 2023–2025, the 2024/2025 monitoring of the functioning of the state language in general secondary education, data from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment, and evidence from the United Nations Children’s Fund concerning distance learning and learning losses. The results reveal uneven dynamics. The mean Ukrainian-language test score of Grade 6 students increased from 32.25 in 2023 to 34.86 in 2025, an absolute gain of 2.61 points and a relative increase of approximately 8.1%. By contrast, the Grade 8 mean remained almost unchanged: 50.09 points in 2023 and 50.19 in 2025. At the same time, Ukrainian-language self-identification became stronger, whereas the proportion of students consuming Ukrainian-language internet content decreased from 71% in 2022/2023 to 54% in 2024/2025. This discrepancy is interpreted as a digital-language continuity gap between an institutionally supported Ukrainian-language educational environment and learners’ everyday digital practices. The scientific novelty lies in the proposed continuity model, which treats the digital environment not merely as a technical channel for instruction but as a distinct space of language socialisation, online interaction, mediation, multimodal meaning-making, and critical engagement with information. The model includes five interrelated components and a pedagogical cycle consisting of diagnosis, communicative task design, independent production, interaction and mediation, formative feedback and revision, and reflection through an e-portfolio. The practical significance of the study is associated with the possibility of using the model to design Ukrainian-language lessons and courses, authentic digital communication tasks, multimodal projects, assessment rubrics, and responsible scenarios for generative artificial intelligence. It is concluded that the effectiveness of digital transformation in language education should be assessed not by the number of technological tools introduced but by the expansion of meaningful Ukrainian-language interaction, the quality and independence of learner-generated language products, and learners’ ability to act critically, ethically, and appropriately in a multimodal information environment.