INTEGRATING MENTORING AND LANGUAGE COACHING INTO RESEARCH TRAINING: BUILDING REFLECTIVE AND AUTONOMOUS SCHOLARS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/NPU-VOU.2025.4(99).12Keywords:
Mentoring, Language Coaching, Higher Education, Research Training, Academic Autonomy, Postgraduate Education, Ukrainian Universities, Neurolanguage Coaching, Student – centered approach, Teaching EnglishAbstract
This article examines the strategic integration of academic mentoring and specialized language coaching into the research training of master's and doctoral students, championing a hybrid, learnercentered approach. Traditional models of academic supervision often prioritize expert control and prescriptive evaluation, a dynamic that can inadvertently limit student autonomy, reflective practice, and intrinsic motivation—factors critical for developing independent researchers. By contrast, this integrative model adopts a learner-centered paradigm, leveraging the strengths of both structured mentoring and coaching psychology. Mentoring provides foundational guidance on research design and ethical conduct, while Neurolanguage Coaching (NLC) focuses specifically on enhancing critical thinking, self-regulation, and high-stakes academic communication skills (particularly in English). Drawing on core principles from NLC, modern educational mentoring theories, and established European frameworks for postgraduate training, this study explores how personalized guidance substantially enhances both linguistic proficiency and core research competencies. The paper presents compelling evidence, including case studies and practical examples, drawn from implementation within Ukrainian universities. These examples demonstrate the tangible benefits of mentoring-coaching models in cultivating autonomous, reflective, and ethically responsible researchers. Key findings illustrate improvements in students' metacognitive awareness, confidence in presenting complex research in English, and the ability to manage the emotional demands of advanced study. Ultimately, this research argues that such integrative approaches are essential for aligning Ukrainian postgraduate education with contemporary international standards. Furthermore, this model effectively addresses pressing local challenges, including overcoming academic language barriers, boosting academic confidence, and accelerating the development of a professional research identity among emerging scholars. The combination of structured support and neuroscientifically informed language training offers a powerful pathway to fostering a resilient and globally competitive cohort of researchers.
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