Teaching culture in the Russian as a world language classroom: the place of the concept of the русский мир

The complex concept of “culture,” especially as it is commonly used in the context of world language education, is the focus of Chapter 12. The chapter begins with an examination of the distinction between the conceptions of aesthetic culture (C) and anthropological culture (c). It identifies some of the major components of anthropological culture, including language, values and beliefs, history, family and kinship systems, foods, traditional art and music, and taboos, and discusses the relationship among culture, language, and identity, especially as this relationship is manifested in the world language classroom. It considers the nature, purposes, and goals of teaching about culture in world language education. It describes what have been labeled the “four Fs” of culture (foods, fairs, folklore, and statistical facts), as well as the “three Ps” of teaching about culture (practices, products, and perspectives) in the world language classroom. The chapter offers an analysis of some of the challenges presented by the essentialization and reification of culture in the context of the world language classroom. It also offers a way to distinguish between cultural diversity and cultural pluralism, and presents a conceptual and historical model identifying different “ideologies of cultural diversity,” with particular focus on how each has been manifested in the US context. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of the central characteristics of multicultural education, and explores the implications of such an approach to educational practice for world language education.

According to the standards of teaching RFL (Russian as a foreign language), students have to acquire the written language in the following way: cursive and printed letters should be mastered simultaneously. It is strongly recommended to start teaching the Cyrillic alphabet from the very first class. However, nowadays the situation is the following: very often students complete the studies of the Russian alphabet having mastered the printed letters only. It is at this stage of language acquisition that the majority of students experience certain serious problems, which result in the fact that the students stop learning the Russian language or their motivation to learn it decreases. More often, according to our research results, the learners are inclined to study the printed letters due to the shortage of a sufficient number of teaching hours and lack of practical necessity for them to learn to write in Russian. The teachers of Russian as a foreign language (RFL) have to adjust to the real situation and the audience: they have to avoid using the cursive letters. Sometimes RFL teachers have to exclude the use of the Cyrillic alphabet at all. Globalization, commercialism, the language policy have led to the activization of the tendency to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet and pass on to transliteration. At present there are many variants of transliteration. In the language classroom, maximum attention is paid to the teaching of listening and speaking skills at the expense of developing written skills. In our view, this causes the further levelling of the role of the Cyrillic alphabet in the Russian as a foreign language classroom, which results in setting new methodological tasks to RFL teachers. Undoubtedly, it is worth remembering that the Cyrillic alphabet is an invaluable national heritage of the Russian people, the stem of the Russian culture and a part of a cultural-educational space. Therefore, we consider any infringement on the Russian alphabet as unlawful and intolerable. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.7.2

According to the standards of teaching RFL (Russian as a foreign language), students have to acquire the written language in the following way: cursive and printed letters should be mastered simultaneously. It is strongly recommended to start teaching the Cyrillic alphabet from the very first class. However, nowadays the situation is the following: very often students complete the studies of the Russian alphabet having mastered the printed letters only. It is at this stage of language acquisition that the majority of students experience certain serious problems, which result in the fact that the students stop learning the Russian language or their motivation to learn it decreases. More often, according to our research results, the learners are inclined to study the printed letters due to the shortage of a sufficient number of teaching hours and lack of practical necessity for them to learn to write in Russian. The teachers of Russian as a foreign language (RFL) have to adjust to the real situation and the audience: they have to avoid using the cursive letters. Sometimes RFL teachers have to exclude the use of the Cyrillic alphabet at all. Globalization, commercialism, the language policy have led to the activization of the tendency to abandon the Cyrillic alphabet and pass on to transliteration. At present there are many variants of transliteration. In the language classroom, maximum attention is paid to the teaching of listening and speaking skills at the expense of developing written skills. In our view, this causes the further levelling of the role of the Cyrillic alphabet in the Russian as a foreign language classroom, which results in setting new methodological tasks to RFL teachers. Undoubtedly, it is worth remembering that the Cyrillic alphabet is an invaluable national heritage of the Russian people, the stem of the Russian culture and a part of a cultural-educational space. Therefore, we consider any infringement on the Russian alphabet as unlawful and intolerable. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.7.2

This case study looked at the transition of preservice teachers from world language education methods courses at a major U.S. university to a 5‐week field experience in secondary school classrooms. Data included lesson plans and self‐critiques of two lessons implemented during the field experience, world language teaching philosophies the preservice teachers wrote, e‐mail correspondence between the preservice teachers and their supervisor reflecting on the field experience, a final reflection paper, and responses to an open‐ended survey after completion of the field experience. Analysis of the data served to identify three teacher profiles: the communicative (CLT) teacher, the grammar‐translation teacher, and the hybrid teacher (a mix of the two other profiles). The article concludes with discussion of the findings and their implications for university methods courses, field experiences, and professional development.

The use of literature in foreign language teaching has been a subject of heated debate for a long time. The present paper aspires to argue that the use of literature, in particular poetry, can be used as stimulus to motivate students playing the role of the +1 in Krashen’s “input hypothesis” (1982, 1985, 1991), provided that it is appropriately integrated in the teaching along the lines proposed by Savvidou (2004); furthermore, this “integrated approach” becomes an excellent tool in enabling the teacher to familiarize students with the cultural apect of language learning (Shchukin, 2003; Brown, 1986; Fortunatova, 2004). To achieve its purposes the present paper presents a case study of using poetry in a Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) class in Taiwan following the principles of the “integrated approach”. The case study is located in context both through a review of the role of poetry reading in foreign language and through a review of Russian teaching in Taiwan (with special attention paid to the opportunities and limitations of holding this case study in National Taiwan University). Then the paper proceeds to present the nethodology used in integrating the teaching of Pushkin’s poem “To Chaadaev” and Lermontov’s “The Sail” in this particular RFL class, and pays special attention to a problem students faced with enunciating properly the rhythm of the poems (a problem that was not predicted by Savvidou’s “integrated approach”), as well as the steps taken to solve this problem. Finally, the paper presents the evaluation of the progress made by the students and concludes by emphasizing how the “integrated approach” can enhance both the students’ creativity and their ability to engage into autonomous learning. Keywords: Literature Teaching, Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL), Poetry Reading, Integrated Approach http://interface.ntu.edu.tw/

Despite the long history of teaching Russian in China, a unified concept of teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL) in China has not been developed. Methods based on the educational standards of China do not overcome cultural and linguistic barriers, do not have an objective linguistic and cultural potential. In addition, the features of the educational standard in the field of teaching Russian as a foreign language in the PRC determine the features of mastering the Russian language. The authors of the article believe that textbooks on Russian as a foreign language for the PRC should be developed jointly with Chinese colleagues for specific educational institutions, taking into account the peculiarities of the educational traditions of China and Russia, the needs of specific groups of students, and the existence of educational standards in the two countries. To identify topics, difficulties in studying Russian as a foreign language, gender, age and socio-cultural characteristics of students in the PRC, a draft questionnaire is proposed for both students and teachers. Conducted expert interviews with Russian and Chinese teachers of Russian as a foreign language made it possible to identify significant contradictions at the level of goals, objectives and teaching methods.

Reviewed by: Transforming World Language Teaching and Teacher Education for Equity and Justice: Pushing Boundaries in US Contexts ed. by Beth Wassell and Cassandra Glynn Diana Ruggiero Wassell, Beth, and Cassandra Glynn, editors. Transforming World Language Teaching and Teacher Education for Equity and Justice: Pushing Boundaries in US Contexts. Multilingual Matters, 2022. Pp. 202. ISBN 978-1-78892-650-8. In Transforming World Language Teaching and Teacher Education, editors Beth Wassell and Cassandra Glynn alongside contributing authors to this edited volume illuminate the ways in which educators are working toward greater social equity and justice in the world language classroom. In the process, they also critically reflect on how the structural and institutional dynamics of the field as well as their own respective backgrounds are complicit in upholding and perpetuating systemic injustice and inequity in world language education. Consciously drawing on a diverse range of perspectives from scholars on the margins of the field, many of them first-time authors, the chapters provide a snapshot of world language education in a state of transformation as scholars rethink the assumptions that inform how educators think about and approach world language teaching today. Introspective, critical, and bold in its honest assessment of and efforts to reform world language education, this book and its conclusions are both timely and relevant for a field in need of such critical reassessment and transformation. The volume consists of ten chapters, including an introduction, and is divided into two main sections. The introduction provides the premise for and approach to the book as well as a brief synopsis of the book’s contents relative to the major arguments. The remainder of the chapters are divided into two equal parts, the first part addressing systemic challenges to equity and social justice in world language programs as well as responses to them by educators, presenting theoretical frameworks and curricular models based on authors experiences and [End Page 164] research along the way. The second part similarly addresses more directly ways in which world language educators on the margins of world language education are addressing curricular reform. For instance, Dorie Conlon Perugini and Manuela Wagner present a model for integrating and foregrounding intercultural citizenship in world language education as a way of moving beyond a focus on vocabulary and grammar and engaging issues of social justice in the classroom. Similarly, Mary Curan and Joan Clifford in their respective chapters discuss the significance of community engagement in redressing issues of social justice in world education; Curran through a presentation of her pre-service Urban Social Justice Teacher Education Program at Rutgers University, and Clifford through the presentation of a curricular model that blends community-based language learning and global health to likewise enact greater equity and social justice in the world language curriculum. Though there are many books and edited volumes now calling for change and transformation in world language education, this book is unique in its call for and focus on critical self-reflection. Indeed, as a framing device for the book’s contents and approach, Wassell and Glynn use the tropes of “calling out” and “calling in.” By “calling out,” they mean looking at how educators themselves may be complicit in the process of maintaining and perpetuating systemic racism and social inequities in the classroom. This could include biases and unquestioned standards and norms in teaching world languages stemming from one’s own privilege (stemming from gender, race, ethnicity, etc.). By “calling in” they mean similarly reflecting on the ways in which the field itself is likewise complicit in perpetuating systemic racism, social inequity, and injustice. This includes an assessment of the field as a whole as well as the curriculum, standards, and approaches at the local, state, and national levels of world language teaching. While this level of critical self-reflection is not new in the field, Wassell and Glynn remind us that a positive first step in redressing these problems begins with recognizing that there is indeed a problem and that we, as educators trained within a field founded and situated within a specific historical context worth examining for its shortcomings, have much to rethink in order to and as we move forward. While the book presents...

Aim. To conduct a comprehensive analysis of the organizational and methodological aspects of teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL) listening skills at the beginner level in Chinese universities. A survey of teachers was conducted in order to identify existing problems and determine promising directions for improving this process.Research methods. This study is based on a comprehensive approach that integrates the principles of communicative and activity-based approaches, while also considering the psycholinguistic and methodological aspects of teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL) listening skills. The principles of a systemic approach and the theory of learning activity were also applied. The methods used included a questionnaire survey of teachers and quantitative and qualitative analysis of the obtained data.Results. The conducted research revealed the predominance of audiovisual methods and combined exercises in the practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL) listening skills in Chinese universities. Furthermore, the study identified problems related to insufficient methodological support, limited resources, students’ weak language proficiency, and the incomplete utilization of extracurricular activities.Theoretical and/or practical significance. The theoretical and practical significance of the study lies in its contribution to the methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL), deepening the understanding of the specifics of teaching listening skills at the beginner level in Chinese universities, and determining the influence of linguistic, methodological, and psychological factors on the effectiveness of this process. The work contributes to the development of the concept of an integrated approach to teaching, emphasizing the importance of integrating modern technologies, multimedia and authentic resources, as well as the active use of extracurricular work. The research expands the theoretical base of linguodidactics, supplementing its provisions on the influence of a foreign language environment, the necessity of using authentic materials, and the implementation of modern interactive methods. The practical significance lies in the possibility of applying the data obtained to develop methodological recommendations, adapt educational materials, create a resource base, optimize the educational process, and provide methodological support for teachers, contributing to improving the quality of RFL listening skills instruction in the Chinese foreign language environment.Conclusions. The results emphasize the need for creating a resource and extra tasks library, implementing modern technologies, and enhancing teacher training to ensure effective RFL listening skills instruction. To address the identified problems, a comprehensive approach is necessary, combining modern teaching methods and authentic materials.

The Importance of the Russian Language as a Foreign Language in Intercultural Dialogue Summary The article analyzes the importance of teaching Russian as a foreign language in the process of intercultural dialogue. Russian as a foreign language is considered as a means of not only language training, but also cultural mediation, promoting mutual understanding, developing intercultural competence and preserving historical ties between Azerbaijan and the Russian-speaking space. The article describes the forms and methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language in Azerbaijani schools, language centers and online platforms, emphasizing the importance of authentic materials and project activities. It also discusses current challenges of teaching in a multicultural environment and prospects for further development of Russian as a foreign language in the context of globalization and humanitarian cooperation. Keywords: Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL), dialogue of cultures, bilingualism, intercultural communication, identity, multilingualism

Grammar is the primary focus of Chapter 10. The chapter begins with a discussion of the difference between descriptive and prescriptive approaches to the study of grammar. It is suggested that grammar can best be seen as a dynamic set of skills rather than as a static unchanging collection of rules governing language use. The distinctions between implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge, grammaticality and acceptability, and grammar and syntax are discussed, as is the concept and implications of “pedagogical grammar” for the world language classroom. The historical controversies about the formal and explicit teaching of grammar are examines, and the chapter discusses some of the factors that can assist the classroom teacher in predicting which grammatical elements of the target language will be more or less difficult for students to master. Both deductive and inductive approaches to the teaching of grammar in world language education are described, and both the strengths and weaknesses of each are identified. Next, the chapter provides answers to the questions of why we should teacher grammar in the world language classroom, and how we should teach grammar in the world language classroom, as well as which grammatical elements should be taught in the world language classroom. Finally, the chapter considers the role and place of critical pedagogy in the teaching of grammar in the world language classroom.

This paper presents a new experimental intercultural theoretical and operative model for RFL (Russian as a Foreign Language) teaching at European level: the RETEACH model. As a descriptive–normative didactic model, RETEACH builds on the intercultural approach, seeking to foster the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among students. RETEACH promotes respect, understanding, and solidarity among individuals and encourages critical awareness of various issues, such as multiple identities, fuzzy cultural borders, power-related intercultural dynamics, and avoidance of stereotyped representations. The model is grounded in three specific concepts and areas within the foreign language and RFL fields: 1) the use of authentic texts, 2) the role of literature, and 3) textbook theory. The model was tested through two case studies, which investigated the place of culture in RFL classes in Lithuania and Italy (Case Study 1) and in RFL textbooks employed in Italy (Case Study 2). Three different research methods were employed: action research, classroom observation, and comparative content analysis. The findings indicate that the proposed model can boost the development of ICC in RFL learners, thus addressing some general issues with RFL teaching in the European context. There are several theoretical and practical implications of the RETEACH model: 1) combining RFL theory and practice, 2) improving the intercultural approach due to the use of authentic materials, 3) enabling the use of Russian literature to develop ICC, and 4) promoting a complex and critical image of Russia.

The article describes one of the Ural Federal University’s (UrFU) large-scale international projects aimed at implementing double-degree educational programmes for the students of North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power (NCWU, China) in terms of their language preparation. With Russian being the language of instruction in the third and fourth years of the programmes, the students are supposed to acquire B1 level of Russian by the end of their second course. However, when they arrive in Russia to complete their education, the level of their language competence proves to be unsatisfactory, which impedes their academic progress, hence the need to improve the teaching standards of Russian as a foreign language (RFL).In view of this urgent necessity, the current situation of teaching RFL to Chinese students was thoroughly analysed revealing one factor that might have played the role of critical importance in the ineffectiveness of teaching and learning. A considerable difference in the professional background of the RFL teachers as well as in their understanding of the RFL course aims appeared to be one of the major reasons for the insufficient learning outcomes. To address this issue a Teacher Training course for the RFL teachers was designed on the basis of the successful UrFU experience of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL).Prior to the coming academic year, the RFL teachers who are planning to work on the UrFU international project in China will participate in this course with a view to developing unanimous criteria for RFL teaching and increasing the effectiveness of their work. For this purpose, a methodological manual on teaching RFL has been created aiming to help teachers use the communicative methodology and course designers do research to find out whether this methodology applies to and is equally effective in teaching RFL as it is in teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). The authors intend to report the results of this research in further publications.

The article aims at investigating the specifics of the modern practice of training foreign authors of Russian as a foreign language (RFL) textbooks and identifying the prospects for the formation of a professional thesaurus of this group on the basis of modern educational technologies. This issue is really relevant, since, as it is shown in the article, there are currently almost no methodological studies and manuals addressed to this group of trainees. At the same time, practice shows that foreign colleagues are in urgent need of diverse methodological support from Russian methodologists. The paper shows that in 1970-1980-s, when such support was purposefully implemented, modern textbooks on RFL were created in foreign countries, which contributed to the Russian language spreading in Europe, Asia and Africa. The research materials were textbooks on the Russian language for foreigners, which marked a certain stage in teaching methods of RFL development. The authors of the article rely on general scientific theoretical research methods: comparative analysis of available sources of information, comparative analysis of the conceptual system of the topic under research, synthesis of their own points of view (or positions), based on the analysis of various ways of solving the problem. The article resulted in the proposed topic of training and consulting materials for potential foreign authors of RFL textbooks, which are supposed to be based on the developed electronic platform, as well as the introduction of materials of the round table Designing a communicative textbook of RFL into the system of professional training and advanced training. The authors concluded that potential foreign authors of RFL textbooks are currently in urgent need of systematic scientific and methodological support. In this regard, it is recommended to intensify work with this contingent, using the potential of domestic methodological research, both classic and modern.

The article is devoted to the topical problem of modern principles of developing tests of Russian as a foreign language (RFL), taking into account the world experience. The purpose of the article is to summarize the modern principles of language test development and to show how they are implemented in the new tests of Russian as a foreign language. The materials of the article include the research papers of Russian and foreign authors in the sphere of methodology over the past 20 years, as well as modern formats of testing in foreign languages. At the first stage of the study, general scientific methods of generalization, systematization and structuring were used. At the second phase, a new format of the RFL test Reading and Use of Language (B2) was modelled, combining language and communication competence testing. At the third stage, an experiment was conducted to test the new format. 48 foreign master students studying the program Russian Language and Russian Culture in the Aspect of Russian as a Foreign Language in Saint Petersburg State University took part in the experiment. It was concluded that the modern language test, in accordance with the basic cognitive and communicative principle of learning and control, should be based on the following principles: testing skills in different types of speech activities mainly on the text material; interdependence between the type of the task and the speech genre of the text being created/used in the task; basing on a linguistic and didactic description of the communicative competence level; integrative approach; using different types of test tasks within one subtest; the principle of increasing complexity of tasks; taking into account the complexity of each task in its assessment; task feasibility according to students educational level; taking into account the values of the multicultural world; taking into account international experience; basing on reliability and validity criteria of test tasks. These principles implemented in the new TORFL-II subtest format Reading and Use of Language are presented in the article. The implementation of modern test principles should ensure that all speech control facilities are systematically allocated to the appropriate level and parameters for their assessment. The above-mentioned principles of test creation and the example of their implementation can be taken as the basis of a full-fledged system of control and measurement materials based on linguistic and didactical descriptions of each level.

The aim of the study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the grammatical systems of the Russian and French languages to identify significant differences that must be taken into account when studying Russian as a foreign language (RFL), and to offer a series of exercises aimed at preventing important errors in students’ speech from a communicative point of view. Comparing the systems, we compiled a list of grammatical features of the French language that affect the productive mastery of the Russian language, and offered examples of exercises aimed at preventing mistakes. A study of the effectiveness of the use of exercises was held at the Omsk Tank-Automotive Engineering Institute from 2016 to 2019 (in total, 50 students took part in the experiment). The learning outcomes allow us to talk about the prospects of considering the characteristics of the native language of cadets in teaching Russian as a foreign language.
 Keywords: Francophones, French speakers, Russian as a foreign language, methods of RFL, technology of national language orientation, lingua franca