The Language of Pushkin, the Language of Putin: Teaching Russian in the United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47672/ajep.1374Keywords:
World/foreign language education, Russian language, less commonly taught languages (LCTLs), critical pedagogyAbstract
Russian language courses and programs in the United States emerged and developed in contexts which were characterized by the conflicting ideologies and politics of the United States and the Soviet Union (and, more recently, the Russian Federation). In addition, such programs have faced a number of other challenges, some of which are related to world language education in the U.S. context more generally, while others are language-specific and concerned only with Russian as a foreign language. This article provides a review of the current status of the teaching and learning of Russian in the United States, and suggests that among the challenges faced by Russian educators are the difficulties associated with learning LCTLs in general (and Russian in particular), political and ideological tensions, the lack of economic returns from the study of Russian, and the general ignorance of Russian society and culture in U.S. society. It is recommended that the recruitment of students can be increased by focusing on heritage language speakers of Russian, while an effort to improve the general knowledge of contemporary Russian society, as well as its history and culture, could also attract non-heritage language students. Ties to local Russian-speaking communities can also promote the study of Russian by U.S. students. Changes to the Russian language curriculum are also required, including the recognition of the diversity in the Russian-speaking world, challenges the concept of the Русский мир, and the inclusion of critical pedagogical approaches.
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