EN
The article discusses the role of simple functional texts such as circulars, manuals, press notes, advertising texts, recipes and CVs in the syllabus of the university course of applied linguistics. The practical analysis of such texts supports the development of linguistic reflection concerning the text structure, communicative, pragmatic and socio-cultural conditions, and the appropriate choice of linguistic means. Moreover, this kind of reflection helps to develop translatoric and text competence which is an important element of professional equipment of would-be authors and translators of functional (and other) texts.