Mikhail Bakhtin is a latecomer to the field of child development. His contributions emphasize the dialogic nature of language as a lived event of becoming for all and de-thrones any monologic truths that might be told otherwise. Dismantling any master theory that might determine the ways children are known (or know-able), Bakhtin offers a…

The stage of pre-university training is the most important stage in the professional development of foreigners studying at the preparatory faculties of Russian universities. During this period, cross-cultural communicative competence is being formed. The article proves that the formation of cross-cultural communicative competence is a complex…

The goal of this study is to examine differences in the interpretation of idioms by EFL learners in Russia and ESL learners living in the USA and analyze a facilitative effect of a dual-coding technique on interpretation of unfamiliar idioms. Firstly, the study investigates an impact that different levels of metaphorical competence may have on…

This study considers the features of Altai cultural semantics through the cognitive materialism of culture basing on the assumption that the linguistic structures are part of culture, and the metaphorical linguistic use is the basis for cultural cognitive structures forming. Altai text is considered as a structural unit of Altai cognitive…

In this article, the authors begin by outlining the basic principles of teaching children-migrants at the elementary school level. These principles include: (1) Learning Russian is focused on the development of children's ability to communicate; (2) Language is learned by migrant children as a mean of communication; (3) Students can see the…

Emphasis on universal learning activities of each student rather than acquisition of ready knowledge, as well as on how an individual masters a language necessitate the development and application of innovative technologies promoting functional-semantic and textual approaches. In the modern context, Russian language teachers, along with knowledge…

Higher educational institutions throughout the world are involved in communication with each other, exchanging instructional ideas and practices, as well as exchanging students through a number of international mobility programs. This paper examines sociocultural adaptation of international students with special attention to the dimensions of…

This dissertation is focused on analyzing phonological contact between Slavic and non-Slavic languages in southeastern and northeastern Europe, with the particular goal of describing how the social context of language contact interacts with linguistic factors to shape the outcome of contact-induced change. On the basis of case studies drawn from…

The recognition of second language (L2) development as a dynamic process has led to different claims about how language development unfolds, what represents a learner's linguistic system (i.e., interlanguage) at a certain point in time, and how that system changes over time (Verspoor, de Bot, & Lowie, 2011). Responding to de Bot and…

This paper starts by examining recent work by applied linguists who argue that creativity is not only a property of especially skilled and gifted language users, but is pervasive in routine everyday practice. Also variously addressing literariness, language play and humour, this apparent democratization of creativity contributes to a more general…

Since the post-Soviet context is not particularly well known to the majority of readers, the author uses this introduction to provide a general background against which developments in particular post-Soviet countries can be better understood. The author begins by placing these developments in the sociohistoric context of language policies of the…

Gives an account of converb (adverbial participle or gerund) systems in eight languages from Paleoasiatic and Altaic families spoken in northeastern Siberia. The rich converbal system is not the only relevant and peculiar feature common to the languages, but it is not common in other languages. The characteristics of converbs are described, and…