Teaching a Second Foreign Language in the Russian School

Abstract

Development of international cooperation which led to the inclusion of the second foreign language into the compulsory discipline list, according to the Federal Standards of Basic Education of the Russian Federation, raises the questions of radical changes, directions and conditions of teaching foreign languages which influence the formation of multilingual personality. The paper is aimed at looking into the peculiarities and problems of teaching a second foreign language in the Russian school in terms of goal-setting and the organization of educational process. The study is based on the experience of 22 schools in the Republic of Tatarstan, having been realized through investigating academic papers, official documents, contemplation of the educational process, etc. The results of the study reflect the organizational and methodological issues of foreign language teaching in the Republic (starting time of studying, duration of learning a foreign language, teaching staff, means of teaching, methodological basis, etc.) as well as the demand for learning European and oriental languages. The authors point out the relevance of better conditions for teaching a second foreign language (creating of organizational models, definition of the course length, etc.) and defining the objectives, connected with the contents of the academic discipline, efficiency of teaching a foreign language and the professional qualities of the teacher, his competence.