USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS WHEN TEACHING READING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES FOR PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of using authentic materials in teaching reading skills in a foreign language to students of non-linguistic specialties, in particular future veterinarians. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing need to train highly qualified professionals capable of functioning effectively in a globalized academic and professional environment. The use of authentic sources – newspaper and magazine articles, scientific publications, and reports of international organizations – allows students to immerse themselves in a real linguistic context, contributing to the development of not only linguistic but also sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competences. The aim of the article is to analyze the effectiveness of authentic materials in the educational process, to identify their benefits and challenges, and to provide methodological recommendations for teachers. A combination of theoretical and empirical methods was applied: the analysis of scientific and methodological literature as well as the implementation of practical tasks during classes with students of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the State Biotechnological University (Kharkiv). The proposed system of classroom work is structured into three stages: pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities. Each stage involves a set of effective techniques (activation of prior knowledge, predicting content, scanning for specific information, text analysis, discussions, creative tasks, etc.). Special emphasis is placed on professionoriented content: from analyzing authentic articles on animal infectious diseases and epizootic surveillance to studying ecological reports on the impact of domestic and wild animals on biodiversity. A case study of a practical class based on an El País article demonstrates the effectiveness of these methodological strategies. The findings confirm that authentic materials increase student motivation, expand vocabulary, foster critical thinking, and ensure the integration of language skills into professional practice. At the same time, certain difficulties are highlighted, including the complexity of texts, cultural differences, and the need for careful material selection. Prospective research areas include identifying optimal strategies for adapting authentic resources to different language proficiency levels, developing innovative tasks with the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and exploring the role of culture-specific authentic sources in shaping intercultural communicative competence in the context of distance learning.