From Language Teaching Science to General and Applied Linguistic Science. Reflexive Verbs: Linguistic Educt & Language Teaching Recommended Guideline

This study is to complete the research in the Russian reflexive verbs - first in a series of articles intended to demonstrate how language teaching could correct some points of General Linguistics. This paper capture the lessons learned and gives recommendations on how the complicated phenomenon can be quite simply presented to foreign audiences when teaching the Russian language. Linguistically postfix -sya that marks reflexive verbs is to regulate subject - object balance within utterance in accordance with the speaker’s intention. And thus, voice of verbs is not so much a verbal category as a syntactic one. In terms of teaching, it is proposed to use a continuum scale with extreme points “100% active - 100% passive” based on the idea of “independence” of the subject S1. It is proposed to use the concept of “closed system”, borrowed from physics. There are 3 zones on the scale: an undoubted asset - a “transition zone” - an undoubted liability. This makes the phenomenon of reflexivity simple and understandable and removes a number of difficulties.