Toward implementing communicative curricula in Russian universities and the role of the professional community

The article addresses the issue of communicative education in Russia, where the situation is described as paradoxical. While on the one hand, there is a strong need in today’s society for communicatively competent professionals, the current university curricula do not meet this need in that they do not provide enough programs focused on the development of practical communication skills and competencies. The author illustrates this insufficiency by a recent survey’s data and sets forth a list of suggestions for the academic community on how to implement changes. A particular emphasis is put on the need of introducing communicative programs as a separate area of education.