Abstract:

In recent years functional-linguistic research into different aspects of the dynamically developing English discourse has gained popularity among linguists. Fast-pacing globalization and necessity to promote harmonious cooperation in politics, economy and culture make it highly important to study very specific problems, concerning changes in the way people interact with each other:
- gradual transformation of classical communicative norms and rules of verbal behaviour;
- functional-pragmatic and structural evolution of modern English discourse;
- new tendencies in rhetoric of British and American public figures.

Specialists in cross-cultural communication, pragmatics, linguosynergetics, cognitive linguistics have noticed that current social processes lead to changes in the so-called linguistic consciousness which is a factor contributing to the formation of an individual personality and national mentality in general, with the conceptual system of native speakers evolving very quickly. Looking into improvement of the existing cross-cultural interaction patterns and international relations has been proved impossible without a detailed analysis of functional peculiarities various types of discourse may have, especially considering deconventionalization of speech and its norms.

For the EFL teachers’ community evolution of communicative norms in various types of modern English discourse poses a number of serious problems, connected with new extra requirements to the scope of professional skills and linguistic competence. What should teachers know and understand about the rhetorical transformations? How should the educational process be modified to cover evolutionary changes in English speech? This paper aims at finding answers to these questions.

Keywords:

Functional linguistics, teaching methodology, communicative norm, rhetoric, EFL.