Bilingual teaching of customs-related disciplines: necessity and main implementation challenges

The article highlights the legislative framework for bilingual teaching in higher education institutions of Ukraine, which provides the legal basis for implementing the teaching of non-language disciplines in both state and foreign languages, particularly the possibility of teaching one or several disciplines in two or more languages and conducting assessments in English. It has been established that the complementarity of national legislative opportunities for bilingual teaching and the provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement regarding educational and customs cooperation becomes especially significant in the context of implementing the New Computerized Transit System and deepening international interaction. The approaches to interpreting bilingualism in scientific literature have been analyzed, particularly understanding its essence and applying the principle of complementarity. The main ways of developing bilingualism have been presented, which go beyond traditional language learning and are complementary: using two languages from the beginning of teaching non-language disciplines, developing literacy in both native and foreign languages, applying modern technologies for working with information resources in two languages. The main challenges of implementing bilingual teaching of customs-related disciplines have been identified, which concern teaching and learning materials, specifics of teacher training, issues of cross-entry admission, and peculiarities of part-time education. It has been emphasized that the key challenge is the lack of textbooks and teaching manuals for customs-related disciplines in two languages, which is partially compensated through the use of lecture notes, methodological instructions and recommendations, as well as authentic materials in the original language. It has been emphasized that there is a shortage of specialists who combine deep knowledge in the fields of international trade and customs with fluency in English to conduct classes in both languages. This issue is further complicated by the inability of higher education institutions to update their teaching staff in accordance with the needs of bilingual teaching. Attention has been drawn to the challenges of implementing bilingual education in the context of cross-entry admission, as students often lack prior knowledge in international trade and customs, which is typically acquired at the undergraduate level. The specifics of part-time education have also been highlighted, where the limited number of classroom hours and the significant volume of independent work severely restrict the possibilities of applying the full linguistic repertoire.