Volume 13 - Issue 75
/ March 2024
167
http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.75.03.14
How to Cite:
Nikitina, V., Rozhdestvenskaya, O.Y., Cherkashina, E.L., Vukolova, E.A., & Dudareva, MA. (2024). Cultural texts and
intercultural competence in Russian as a foreign language lessons for medical-biological students. Amazonia Investiga, 13(75),
167-172. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.75.03.14
Cultural texts and intercultural competence in Russian as a foreign
language lessons for medical-biological students
КУЛЬТУРОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ТЕКСТЫ И МЕЖКУЛЬТУРНАЯ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТЬ НА
УРОКАХ РУССКОГО ЯЗЫКА КАК ИНОСТРАННОГО ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ МЕДИКО-
БИОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ПРОФИЛЯ
Received: February 5, 2024 Accepted: March 18, 2024
Written by:
Vlada V. Nikitina1
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0780-3140
Olga Y. Rozhdestvenskaya2
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6338-4246
Elena L. Cherkashina3
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1613-0147
Elena А. Vukolova4
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7540-7065
Marianna A. Dudareva5
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4950-2322
Abstract
The aim of the research is to demonstrate the
significance of using texts of cultural content in
Russian as a foreign language (RFL) lessons. The
subject of the article is the texts about the Russian
scientists M.V. Lomonosov and I.P. Pavlov,
extracted from basic RFL textbooks for students
of a medical-biological profile in higher
education. The authors of the article focus on the
process of intercultural communication, which
contributes to the formation of linguistic and
cultural competence among foreign students in
RFL lessons. The role of these texts in the
formation of students' sociocultural competence
is analyzed. The methodology of the work
1
Candidate of Philology Senior lecturer Russian Language Department No. 2, the Russian Language and General Education Faculty,
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, Russian Federation. SPIN: 2717-9400
2
Candidate of Philology Senior lecturer, Department of Russian as a Foreign Language for Students of Faculties of Natural Sciences,
the Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation. SPIN: 3153-5650
3
Candidate of Philology, assistant professor Department of Russian as a Foreign Language and General Theoretical Subjects, Russian
State Agrarian University – Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev, Russian Federation. SPIN: 8029-1380
4
Additional education teacher Russian Language Department No. 2, the Russian Language and General Education Faculty, Peoples'
Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, Russian Federation.
5
Candidate of Philology, Doctor of Culturology, Professor of the Department of General and Slavic Philology of the Kosygin
University; Associate Professor of the Departament of Russian literature Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod; Head
of the Literary Studies and Intercultural Communication Department Magazine “Nevecherniy Svet” (St. Petersburg), Russian
Federation. SPIN: 5362-0507
168
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
includes comprehensive hermeneutic analysis of
texts of cultural content dedicated to the activities
of Russian scientists Lomonosov and Pavlov,
using biographical commentary and historical
context. The results of the research show that the
proposed teaching techniques in the context of
intercultural learning contribute to the
effectiveness of language learning.
Keywords: Russian as a foreign language,
sociocultural competence, teaching techniques,
language environment, activities of M. V.
Lomonosov and I. P. Pavlov, Russian culture and
history.
Introduction
The mastery of a foreign language should be
carried out in the context of intercultural
communication, with the student fully immersed
in the national worldview of the country where
they have come to receive higher education and
learn a new profession. Modern linguists rightly
note: "a culturological text allows combining the
process of familiarizing foreign students with
Russian culture with the process of mastering
thematic vocabulary, significant cultural
concepts, and linguistic units with a national
cultural component of meaning" (Tarchimaeva,
2022, p. 107). For these reasons, in this article,
we will address the issue of using culturological
texts in Russian as a foreign language lessons.
The object of the study will be texts of
culturological content dedicated to the lives and
personalities of famous Russian scientists.
The expansion of Russia's economic and cultural
contacts with other countries continues to
stimulate interest in learning the Russian
language among applicants and students from
abroad. In the conditions of globalization and the
transitional nature of the culture of the 21st
century, mass digitalization, which is
increasingly being contemplated by
philosophers, culturologists (Dudareva, 2022),
and linguists, teachers of RFL (Dudareva &
Nikitina, 2023; Bilyalova et al., 2020;
Rozhdestvenskaya, 2022), there are other
requirements for textbooks and teaching
materials for RFL (Shcherbakova, 2013). On the
one hand, we must enter the mainstream of
modern science and philology and think about
our potential recipient, a student interested in
receiving education in Russia. However, we
should not follow the path of least resistance and
abandon traditional culturologically rich texts of
general content for discussion with students at
the first certification level. Intercultural
communication practice remains a priority for
methodologists (Abazova, 2012).
The aim of the research is to demonstrate the
significance of using texts of cultural content in
Russian as a foreign language (RFL) lessons. The
role of these texts in the formation of students'
sociocultural competence is analyzed
The article is organized as follows:
In the first section, the theoretical framework that
supports the study is presented. In the second
section, the research methodology is described.
In the third section, the results of the study are
presented. In the fourth section, the results of the
study are discussed and the conclusions are
presented.
Literature review or theoretical framework
Modern methodologists, teachers of Russian as a
foreign language, select new ways of teaching.
For example, the experience of teachers at a
linguistic school from Kursk is of great interest.
V. M. Chirkova in her new article "Development
of socio-cultural competence of foreign students
in the Russian classes (on the example of the
topic "Museum of Moscow")" addresses the
problem of sociocultural competence, which she
solves in the Russian language lesson. On the
educational material on the sociocultural theme
"Museums of Moscow", the author demonstrates
the value of linguistic and regional material for
the formation of ideas about foreign countries of
the language being studied, its customs,
traditions, and representatives (Chirkova, 2019).
Nikitina, V., Rozhdestvenskaya, O.Y., Cherkashina, E.L., Vukolova, E.A., Dudareva, MA. / Volume 13 - Issue 75: 167-172 /
March, 2024
Volume 13 - Issue 75
/ March 2024
169
http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
Linguists from Volgograd are turning to the
heritage of Russian cinema to develop
sociocultural competence among students from
different countries (Efremova, & Koroleva,
2020). Many researchers note that achievements
in this area are not only language training, but
also sociocultural.
In modern humanities we find the following
definition of sociocultural competence: “the sum
of knowledge about the country of the language
being studied, the national and cultural
characteristics of the social and speech behavior
of speakers language and the ability to use such
knowledge" (Azimov, 2010, p. 286). Modern
linguist N. N. Samchik points to the following
qualities of sociocultural competence: operating
with culturally marked linguistic material;
mastering the skills and abilities necessary for
successful communication in the target language,
taking into account the etiquette, speech and non-
verbal norms that exist in the country of the
language being studied (Samchik, 2019, p. 58).
Studying a foreign language at a high cultural
level is equivalent to a journey into another
national cosmos, characterized by a certain set of
cultural constants, national a priori, codes, which
were extensively written about by the Russian
cultural scientist and philologist G. D. Gachev in
his books about national images of the world (the
theory of national constants, codes that exist in
every culture and country) (Gachev, 2008) and
which are guided by modern methodologists,
teachers of RFL (Dudareva & Nikitina, 2023;
Dudareva et al., 2023). Of course, medical and
biological profile students, to whom this article
is dedicated, namely their understanding of our
culture and language, are unlikely to be
interested in the subtleties of linguistics,
grammar puzzles, and cultural-philosophical
reflections, which are necessary for future
philologists, historians, philosophers. But this
does not cancel the necessity of students' general
awareness in terms of studying Russian science
in the face of outstanding scientists
M. V. Lomonosov, D. I. Mendeleev, I. P. Pavlov
(Shustikova, 2011). For these reasons, textbooks
offer for study texts-"medallions", dedicated to
outstanding domestic scientists who have
influenced the world scientific community. Let's
turn to such a text from the classic textbook
"Russian language - my friend" (basic level)
edited by well-known methodologists in the field
of RFL T. V. Shustikova, V. A. Kulakova, aimed
at studying the personality of M. V. Lomonosov.
Materials and methods
The methodology of the work includes
comprehensive hermeneutic analysis of texts of
cultural content dedicated to the activities of
Russian scientists Lomonosov and Pavlov, using
biographical commentary and historical context.
The research methodology to a holistic
ontohermeneutical analysis aimed at highlighting
the cultural paradigm of these scientific texts,
which allows us to approach the issues of
language learning ontologically. Much attention
is paid to the biography of Russian scientists,
which makes it possible to study the Russian
mentality.
Results and discussion
Having analyzed the work of leading Russian
experts on the language and culture interaction,
intercultural communication, methods of
teaching foreign languages, the authors of the
article determine the role of the development of
sociocultural competence in teaching foreign
languages, identify its main components.
We will conduct a lesson-experiment
"M. V. Lomonosov - a famous Russian scientist".
The teacher's goal is to interest medical students
in the personality of the outstanding figure of
world culture, the founder of national science and
the University of M.V. Lomonosov. The lesson
should start with the demonstration of the
scientist's portrait, which we can also easily find
in the stated textbook. Let's pay attention to the
high forehead of a thinking person, to his
purposeful clear gaze, to the pen in the hands of
the scientist, who, perhaps, is thinking about the
laws of chemistry, mathematics. Here we can talk
about his appearance, choose adjectives to
describe it, expanding ideas about synonymy in
the Russian language, enriching the vocabulary
of a foreign student. Then we should remind
students of the well-known fact: one of the oldest
universities in our country bears the name of a
Russian scientist. We are talking about Moscow
State University (MSU) named after
M.V. Lomonosov. Here you can also show an
illustration with an image of the main university
building. Next, we approach the main part of the
lesson and proceed directly to reading the text
"Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711–1765)"
(Shustikova, 2011, p. 663).
While reading the text, foreign students trace the
fate of the great scientist: at the age of 14, the
growing up Mikhail was eager to gain
knowledge, wanted to learn to read, study
170
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
science, but there were no books in his home and
village where he lived, so at the age of 19, the
young man walked to Moscow. Here it is worth
focusing on the spiritual and physical feat of the
scientist, who very much wanted to study. The
text also reports on how quickly our compatriot
became a real scientist and a great teacher,
studying various subjects in Russia and abroad.
After reading the text, the teacher asks the
students: "What can you tell about the great
scientist M.V. Lomonosov?" A student can
answer the teacher: "About this great scientist
one can say very briefly: Lomonosov created the
first Russian university." The dialogue continues,
and the teacher asks again: "What subjects did
M.V. Lomonosov study?" The student must list
from the text: chemistry, philosophy, foreign
languages. Next, a few more questions should be
asked to identify the degree of understanding of
the text: "At what age did Lomonosov start
studying, get acquainted with arithmetic and
grammar?", "Where did he study?" The answers
to these questions allow us to judge whether the
students really understood the main information
from the text. After the oral part, it is necessary
to move on to the written task, which can be
performed on the board. Let's suggest students,
following the authors of the textbook, to write the
following sentences using the verb "to be":
1) M.V. Lomonosov is a great Russian scientist;
2) M.V. Lomonosov is the founder of many
modern natural sciences (Shustikova, 2011,
p. 669).
However, we not only teach students
grammatical skills, but also teach them to work
with texts of general cultural content. In this
regard, the concluding part of working with this
text could be a Russian poet's reflection on the
scientist. Foreign citizens may be interested in
the opinion of the great Russian poet A.S.
Pushkin about the scientist, who metaphorically
called M.V. Lomonosov the first university:
"Lomonosov was a great man. He created the
first Russian university. He, one could say, was
our first university himself" (Shustikova, 2011,
p. 664). In this context, we can also refer to the
personalities of the chemist Butlerov, the doctor
Botkin, the writer and doctor Chekhov, who
studied at Moscow State University. As a
homework assignment, to continue independent
familiarization with the figure of the outstanding
scientist, we can suggest reading the text about
Moscow State University named after
M.V. Lomonosov from the same textbook. And
this is far from all the cultural background that
we can expand thanks to turning to these texts.
Special attention deserves the personality of the
physiologist I. P. Pavlov, who is the greatest
scientist of another period of history, namely the
turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Medical students
will be interested to get acquainted with the
culture of the New Time, learn about the
activities of a scientist who made a great
contribution to the development of world
physiology, studied the nervous system of the
body. Socio-cultural competence is formed here
through reading the text about a scientist who had
a difficult fate, a difficult material situation, but
who, despite this, became a great scientist and
organized the physiology department at the
Institute of Experimental Medicine in 1891. The
text about this scientist is also proposed for joint
reading with the teacher in the class. The text
"Ivan Petrovich Pavlov" can be found in the
modern textbook "Russian language for you"
(Shustikova, 2009). After the text, it is proposed
to answer questions related to understanding the
main content: "What education did Pavlov
receive?", "Why did Pavlov choose physiology
as his specialty?", "What can you say about
Pavlov's character?" (Shustikova, 2009, p. 122).
Students should also complete a number of
grammar tasks related to different voices of
participles and repetition of the category of time.
The authors are convinced of the high
effectiveness of complex work on the text, which
involves the use of a large number of vocabulary
and grammar exercises aimed at achieving
grammatical correctness of statements, as well as
communication-oriented exercises aimed at
understanding the text. As the main treating
methodology for creating social cultural
environment while teaching Russian as a foreign
language the authors propose to use culture study
content. A comprehensive analysis of texts
devoted to the biography of famous Russian
scientists is carried out, which allows medical
students to get acquainted with Russian science
and culture. The concept of "socio-cultural
competence" is analyzed as a multidimensional
social, cultural, psychologic and pedagogic
phenomena, connected with different
communicative arrangements and influencing
the process of a foreign student's personal
development and his successful interaction with
university in Russia.
Conclusion
Every country has its own history and cultural
values and for these reasons such educational
texts of a cultural nature are used by all
experienced Russian as a Foreign Language
(RFL) methodologists with the aim of making
RFL learning more interesting, culturally rich,
Volume 13 - Issue 75
/ March 2024
171
http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
establish intercultural communication and
develop sociocultural competence, diversify the
general cultural background of students and
potentially give the opportunity to immerse
oneself in the language, as in existence, in the
national image of the world. Medical and
biological profile students, who are educated in
leading Russian universities, despite their non-
humanitarian profile, should not be deprived of
attention in this aspect, as well as are obliged to
study Russian culture and science through the
activities of great scientists, chemists,
physiologists, mathematicians, historians, like
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov and Ivan
Petrovich Pavlov were.
In conclusion, this study has shown that
culturological texts are a valuable tool for
teaching RFL.
Culturological texts can help students develop
intercultural competence, diversify their general
cultural environment, and immerse themselves in
the language and culture of the country where it
is spoken.
Students of a medical and biological profile
should also have the opportunity to study Russian
culture and science through the activities of great
scientists. This study has some limitations, such
as the small sample size and the qualitative
nature of the study. Future research is
recommended to confirm these findings with
larger samples and using quantitative methods. It
is also recommended to investigate how
culturological texts can be used more effectively
to develop intercultural competence in RFL
students.
Reading cultural texts allows students from
different countries to establish intercultural
communication, become more tolerant of each
other and raise the general sociocultural
background of development, which today is
axiologically necessary in the conditions of
globalization and the transitional nature of our
century's culture.
Bibliographic references
Abazova, L. M. (2012). Teaching Foreign
Students Skills of Working with Texts of
Culturological Content in RFL Classes.
Science and Modernity, 100-109.
https://acortar.link/9C2YqQ
Azimov, E.G. (2010). New dictionary of
methodological terms and concepts (theory
and practice of language teaching). M.:
IKAR. 448 p. (In Russian) ISBN:
5797402076, 9785797402077
Bilyalova, A. A., Ibragimova, E. R., &
Rozhdestvenskaya, O. Y. (2020). Language
animation as a method of foreign students
communicative adaptation. Media Watch,
11(4), 699-708. https://acortar.link/fhmBj3
Chirkova, V. M. (2019). Development of socio-
cultural competence of foreign students in the
Russian classes (on the example of the topic
"Museum of Moscow"). Karelian scientific
journal, 4(29), 87-90.
https://acortar.link/UP1zqJ
Dudareva, M. A. (2022). Digital turn in art and
the problem of entelechy of modern poetry.
Amazonia Investiga, 11(53), 348-352.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.53.05.34
Dudareva, M. A., & Nikitina, V. V. (2023).
Working with a Song at the Initial Stage of
RFL Teaching: Online Lessons. Kazan
Science, (9), 34-36.
https://repository.rudn.ru/ru/records/article/r
ecord/105335/
Dudareva, M. A., Nikitina, V. V., Aripova, D. A.,
& Vukolova, E. A. (2023)/ Using the folklore
and poetry by Sergei Yesenin in Russian as a
foreign language lessons: an online class.
Amazonia Investiga, 12(68), 195-198.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.68.08.18
Efremova, M., & Koroleva, I. A. (2020).
Cartoons at lessons of Russian language as a
foreign language as a means of the
development of foreign sociocultural and
communicative competence. News of
Volgograd State Pedagogical University,
9(151), 25-29. https://acortar.link/39TCtg
Gachev, G. D. (2008). Mentalities of the World's
Peoples. Moscow: Algorithm; Eksmo, 544 p.
https://www.rulit.me/books/mentalnosti-
narodov-mira-download-551454.html
Rozhdestvenskaya, O. Y. (2022). Use of
PowerPoint Presentations and Interactive
Online Resources in the Process of RFL
Teaching. Russian Cultural Space - Real and
Virtual: Collection of Materials of the XXI
International Scientific-Practical Conference
(Moscow, December 3, 2020). Moscow:
Moscow University Publishing House,
pp. 170-173.
https://istina.msu.ru/publications/article/478
088500/
Samchik, N. N. (2019). Development of socio-
cultural competence during teaching the
Russian language to foreign students.
Karelian scientific journal, 3(28), 57-59.
https://doi.org/10.26140/knz4-2019-0803-
0016
172
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
Shustikova, T.V., Gordienko, I.V., &
Atabekova, A.A. (2009). Russian Language
for You. First Certification Level. Textbook
of Russian Language for Foreign Students.
Moscow: RUDN, 319 p.
https://acortar.link/JTQTe6
Shustikova, T.V., & Kulakova, V.A. (2011).
Russian Language - My Friend. Basic Level:
Textbook of Russian Language for Foreign
Students. Moscow: RUDN, 851 p.
https://archive.org/details/2011_20191018
Shcherbakova, O. M. (2013). Textbook of
Russian Language for Foreign Medical
Students (I Certification Level of RFL
Proficiency). Bulletin of RUDN, Series
Education Issues: Languages and Specialty,
1, 135-140. https://acortar.link/DTwU0N
Tarchimaeva, L. Ts. (2022). Techniques of
Working with Culturological Text in Russian
as a Foreign Language Classes. Modern
Pedagogical Education, 6, 107-110.
https://acortar.link/jP0u3h