Determining a lexical minimum for the country-specific teaching of the Russian language

In this article the authors examine how to compile a lexical minimum for Russian as a foreign language in a case study of the Russian language learning by Indian students. They further show the results of comparison of the following: (1) vocabulary in Russian textbooks used in Jawaharlal Nehru for teaching Russian as a foreign language at the First Certification Level, (2) a textbook by K. Verma produced at the Center of Russian Studies, JNU, and (3) the Lexical Minimum recommended by the RF Ministry of Education and Science. The authors then find out factors considered while selecting the vocabulary and factors causing the incongruence between the lists. The following questions are answered: Is it necessary for the teaching of Russian as a foreign language in centers in India to be based on the Lexical Minimum recommended by the RF Ministry of Education and Science (LM RFMES); if yes, to what extent? How much do the lexical minimums of the textbooks used for teaching the Russian language in India and the LM RFMES coincide? Which criteria of vocabulary selection cause the incongruence between the content of these lexical minimums? How do these differences affect the learning of the Russian language by Indian students? Is the vocabulary size of the LM RFMES enough for learning Russian as a foreign language in other countries, specifically, in India? In answering the above questions it was found that the lexical minimum (vocabulary content) in different textbooks differs considerably, e.g., in the textbook by K. Verma almost 50 % of the first 2,300 most frequent words did not coincide with those of the LM RFMES. Factors considered while selecting the vocabulary for the textbooks and factors causing the incongruence between the various lexical minimums were also found. It was found that the principles of stylistic neutrality and word-formation productivity were far more used when forming the LM RFMES, than when forming textbooks published in Russia. Considerable attention was given to the analysis of the principle of frequency when compiling the lexical minimums. It was shown that the semantic value of the word, and not its frequency in speech, is the factor that becomes the basis of difference in lexical minimums on which the learning of Russian as a foreign language in India is based. It was concluded that it iss advisable to use the LM RFMES as the basis for the vocabulary content when designing the Russian language course in Indian centers. At the same time, considering it the only deciding factor is not advisable. It is necessary to apply the principle of semantic value of words taking into account the socio-cultural conditions of Russia and the native country of students and specific aims of learning the Russian language.

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