The use of linguistic strategies of empathy in the professional communication of a foreign language teacher

Abstract

The article examines linguistic strategies of empathy in the professional communication of a foreign language teacher. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that foreign language learning involves constant overcoming of speech difficulties, work with errors, intercultural comparison, and the need to maintain a psychologically safe educational environment. The purpose of the article is to identify the functions of linguistic empathy strategies and to determine their methodological significance in organizing educational interaction. Based on the analysis of research literature on pedagogical communication, language teaching methodology, emotional intelligence, and intercultural communication, the article identifies the main strategies of empathic speech behavior used by a teacher: recognition of difficulty, tactful error correction, use of inclusive speech forms, empathic clarifying questions, specific evaluative feedback, prospective support, intercultural mitigation, and emotional neutralization of organizational remarks. It is shown that these strategies do not imply lowering academic requirements; rather, they serve as a tool for more precise organization of classroom communication. The article concludes that the empathic component of a foreign language teacher’s speech helps reduce unproductive anxiety, preserve learners’ communicative initiative, and support the development of foreign language communicative competence.