The main purpose of the presented study is to theoretically justify the necessity of having a new-generation multilingual coursebook, as well as the procedure of making it up and using it as the main tool of shaping students’ professional identity in the sphere of higher education. For this reason, the paper investigates the theoretical underpinnings and possible practical outcomes of developing a coursebook (course package) that would shape students' multilingual professional identity along with their sense of global citizenship. Taking into account the complexity of the matter in question, the research focuses on each consecutive theoretical aspect (professional identity formation, multilingualism, global citizenship) and puts forward all the necessary evaluation features essential for further materials development. The results show that the development of a multilingual professional identity in the light of global citizenship requires the use of materials evaluation to set a scene for further materials production; the use of authentic materials to stimulate more cerebral functions and whole-brain processing; the use of conceptual linguistic engineering of professional identity as a holistic method of language materials segmentation and categorization; the use of methodological divergence of multilingual learning/teaching to help students form their professional identities through the enhancement of their cognitive, axiological, pragmatic and habitual functions; the use of proper materials adaptation to make them more appealing to potential students; simultaneous and balanced use of both electronic materials and ‘live’ coursebooks. The current research lays foundations for the following stage of actual development and design of a next-generation multilingual course package.

multilingualism, global citizenship, materials development, methodological divergence