Vol 15, No 2 (2018)

It’s possible to distinguish two opposite streams within distance language learning and Russian as a foreign language particularly (RFL). On the one hand there had been created net platforms where a student can study foreign language on his own without a contact to a teacher. One the other hand weblessons, or skype lessons grow increasingly popular. They are full-bodied traditional lessons which occur online by modern programs, providing reliable video-contact. Nevertheless it’s quite obvious that both variants are not optimal, their disadvantages are quite prominent. Thus an idea of balanced juxtaposing of both approaches is a live issue. The aim of the present article is a description if linguodidactic bases for a distance learning RFL course for beginners which combines in the best possible way self-study activities and learning activities in contact with teacher. The main principles of the course elaboration are stated in the article.

The purpose of this research is to identify the dynamics of the process of foreign students’ adaptation to the conditions of life and education in Russia. The authors state that there is the need for complex and multidimensional study of this process, while the importance of a close connection of sociopsychological problems with the ethno-linguistic characteristics of the subjects is emphasized. The method of questioning/surveying of foreign students - representatives of different regions - was used for the research at three aspects: everyday, academic, sociocultural. As a result of the analysis of the obtained data, similarities and differences in the course of adaptation among the representatives of different regions were revealed, and also the main factors influencing the duration and success of the adaptation process, such as: the degree of closeness of the native culture to the Russian culture, its open/closed nature; sociability of a specific ethnotype; priority of spiritual/material in the national mentality; typological features of native language/intermediate language; degree of motivation to study; interest in the culture and traditions of the country of residence (Russia), etc. The study can serve as the foundation for a holistic scientific concept of adaptation in conditions of a non-native cultural and linguistic environment. Its results can find practical application in the development of specific methodological recommendations for professionals whose activity involves communicating with foreign students - representatives of different ethnic groups, carriers of different cultures.

Kazakhstan is a multilingual country where dominant languages are Kazakh, the state language, and Russian, which is the language of communication between different ethnic groups. Due to a number of extra-linguistic factors most Kazakhs are bilinguals, with natural, productive and coordinative bilingualism. In our opinion bilingualism with such characteristics is a sustainable basis for developing competencies of translation from both languages. The aim of the article is to consider existing system of translator training and suggest recommendations on use of the advantages of language situation in Kazakhstan. Survey among employers, translation and tourist agencies as well as representatives of such companies as DHL, Turkish Airlines, AirAstana, Hamle, shows their interest in translators able to work both with English-Russian and English-Kazakh languagepairs. Notwithstanding the fact that language situation in Kazakhstan allows to trainspecialists in both languages, there are no educational programs for trainingtranslation students translate from both Kazakh and Russian. This brings up the question of developing special educational program for training bilingual translators.

The article dwells on factors of the “presence” of English in the cognate languages of the Scandinavian region where a common translingual situation has evolved. The “presence” of English is argued to be a case of translingualism resulting from interaction of English and Scandinavian languages superficially visible through the processes of borrowing and code shifting. The data collected from internet interviews of Nordic speakers is claimed to demonstrate that abundance of anglicisms and code shifts in their translingual communication testifies for the vitality of Scandinavian languages.

This article is about the language situation that has developed in Kosh-Agach district of the Republic of Altay, where Altaians, Kazakhs and Russians coexist. In everyday life, residents of this district use Altai, Kazakh and Russian words, which does not limit their comfortable communication. The above-mentioned situations demonstrate a tolerant attitude towards different cultures. The study substantiates the thesis that stereotyped situations are manifested at the level of ordinary consciousness in each of the languages functioning in the district. Thus, propositional structures that direct a speaker’s thought are realized in verbalizedjudgments using familiar words from Russian, Kazakh and Altaic languages. Analysis of everyday speech material can be used in teaching Russian. Such an approach will make it possible to understand the causes of the use of words from different languages, to reveal the specificity of inflectional and agglutinative languages, as well as to realize the uniqueness of the language situation in the district of Kosh-Agach.

The paperdeals with some aspects related to the history and present state of bilingualism as the phenomenon of literary creation. Nowadays it is often connected with the process of globalization. The latter really has a great influence on the said phenomenon. But at the same time, it has quite a rich history and was already known in antiquity. Naturally, in each period literary bilingualism is characterized with specific features, defined by the historical and cultural context. This context in its turn depends on different factor (linguistic, political, religious, etc.). One of the problems of literary bilingualism is also the question of the balance between the use of two languages, especially of its probable role as the stimulant of the process known in sociolinguistics as the language shift.

The article presents a narratologic analysis of the narrative features of A. Kim’s prose, a modern Russian-speaking writer of Russia and Kazakhstan, whose narrative practices provide rich material for narrative research of the multicultural space of his artistic texts, in particular, narrator problems. For the analysis the stories “Nightingale Echo”, “Onion Field” and “Lotus” have been selected. This material allowed us to test the theoretical positions of narratology and supplement them with empirical data. A specific, typical for A. Kim’s narration - the polyphony of narratorial voices and a complex model of communicative pairs that create a unique narrative structure of the writer’s works - are found. We have also made an attempt to classify the types of narrators-recipients identified in A. Kim’s prosein their interaction with types of narrators-addressees of artistic information. Particular attention is paid to the concept of an ideal recipient as a participant of text-mediated communication between the author and the reader.

The article is devoted to the evaluation of the activities of the Hellenic Cultural Center in Russia in recent years. The authors point out that the Center has become the center of the proliferation of the Greek language and culture inRussia. Annually the HCC hosts differentevents of the most diverse subjects, including the international level of cultural cooperation, which makes an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian-Greek relations and serves the high goal of strengthening the friendship between Russia and Greece.