THE INITIAL STAGE OF LEARNING RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN A MULTICULTURAL GROUP: A NATIONALLY ORIENTED APPROACH

Abstract

The task of the article is to summarize nationally specific, psychological, and ethnosocial characteristics of foreign students from far-abroad countries (Asia-Pacific region, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Arab countries of the Middle East) as part of the initial stage of study with the aim of identifying similar or converging features. The following are identified as similar ethnopsychological features: fear of “making a mistake”, unwillingness to have a direct dialogue with the teacher, not always high motivation and fatigue. Based on the established similar ethnopsychological features, a few recommendations are given for working in a multicultural group, concerning the types of tasks, the nature of the presentation of educational material, and the specifics of the teacher’s interaction with students. As the most effective and productive techniques for working in a multicultural audience, the article suggests various interactive activities, fragmentation in the presentation of educational material, visualization, gamification, frequent change of activities and an individual approach.