Developing prospective English teachers’ written discourse competence in a digital learning environment

Abstract

This article examines the theoretical and methodological foundations for developing prospective English language teachers’ written discourse competence in a digital learning environment. Written discourse competence is interpreted through thematic unity, global and local coherence, cohesion, logical relations, genre appropriacy, and the management of writer-reader interaction. The study reviews Uzbek and international scholarship on foreign language teaching methodology, pedagogical technologies, digital competence, and academic writing in order to clarify the didactic potential of digital tools. A five-stage methodological model is proposed, based on the purposeful use of electronic learning resources, collaborative digital documents, corpus and information-search tools, automated writing feedback systems, AI-assisted tools, and e-portfolios. The model integrates discourse orientation, digital planning, text construction, multi-source feedback, revision, and reflection within a recursive writing process. The article further argues that academic integrity, authorial responsibility, critical evaluation of automated feedback, and sustained teacher mediation should remain essential methodological conditions when digital technologies are incorporated into writing instruction.