CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING HOME READING IN TEACHING GERMAN AS A SECOND LANGUAGE: A SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF DIDACTIC APPROACHES, LEARNER OUTCOMES, AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Abstract

Home reading in the contemporary system of teaching German as a major subject is considered a complex integrative component of the educational process, combining the formation of receptive language skills, the development of cognitive strategies for processing textual information, and the establishment of foreign language communicative competence. However, in actual pedagogical practice it is often implemented fragmentarily, without adequate methodological support, systematic text selection, or clearly defined assessment criteria, which leads to decreased learner motivation, superficial comprehension of content, dominance of the translation approach, and insufficient development of reader autonomy. Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive analysis of the didactic, methodological, and psycholinguistic problems of organizing home reading in the study of German as a major subject from the perspective of competence‑based and cognitive‑communicative approaches. It substantiates the necessity of differentiated selection of literary and educational texts, taking into account language proficiency levels, age, and individual learner characteristics.

A model of step‑by‑step text work is proposed, including pre‑reading, while‑reading, and post‑reading stages with the use of strategies of prediction, semantic compression, interpretation, and reflection. Criteria for the effectiveness of home reading as a means of forming lexical, grammatical, discursive, and sociocultural competences are also defined. This allows home reading to be regarded not merely as an auxiliary element of instruction, but as a full‑fledged instrument for developing academic autonomy and intercultural communication in the process of mastering German, highlighting the need for scholarly reflection on the mechanisms of integrating reading into the system of foreign language competence formation and determining the optimal conditions for its implementation in the modern educational environment.