DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS A PREREQUISITE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Ukraine is undergoing a number of transformations, implementing reforms in various spheres, including education. According to the Concept of the New Ukrainian School, foreign language lessons should be focused on the formation of foreign language communicative competence in students, which in the future would enable everyone, including students with special educational needs, to interact effectively in today's global multinational space. Since foreign language learning starts in primary school, it is an essential stage for the sufficient and further development of communicative skills. Therefore, it is important that during this period the psycholinguistic foundations of foreign language communicative competence formation are laid. An important means of effective formation of foreign language communication is the development of emotional intelligence, which helps to respond appropriately to different situations, make new acquaintances, build friendships, and more. The aim of the article is to reveal the features of the development of emotional intelligence as a prerequisite for the formation of foreign language communicative competence in inclusive primary school classes for children with autism, as their number in Ukraine grows by 30 percent every year. The research is based on the methods of theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific data to identify the theoretical foundations of the problem. The psychological characteristics of children with autism have been analysed; the essence of the concept of «emotional intelligence» has been revealed, as well as the peculiarities of its development and its impact on the formation of English language communicative competence; examples of exercises that promote the development of emotional intelligence and the formation of communication skills in English lessons have been given.