Cultural and educational events as a part of the Russian as a Foreign Language curriculum for students of non-linguistic specialties in China and Russia

The purpose of the paper is to increase the motivation of first-year students to learn Russian through cultural and educational events in Russian as a foreign language classes at universities in China and Russia. The study of cultural and educational issues and the use of Russian as a foreign language in the classroom are based on a comparative analysis of the domestic and foreign authors, a descriptive method and a method of data processing. The paper substantiates the importance of regional, cultural and educational events within the Russian as a foreign language curriculum, highlighting the main stages of training and their features. Studying Russian in China is a very important economic and political factor that has historical origins and it is associated with the national strategy for training workers in various fields. The practical significance of this study is the developed plan of cultural and educational events, which provides an opportunity to study the cultural integrity of the Russian language in a limited number of classroom hours under the program “Practice of the Russian Language”. The study identified the most significant cultural and educational events within the educational program. The linguistic and cultural perception of information by Chinese students majoring in non-linguistic specialties was formed, and the methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language at universities in China and Russia were improved. It was analyzed the project “About Russia and China” in Russian as a foreign language classes as part of cultural and educational activities as part of a two-way educational program at Dalian Transport University and Rostov State Transport University. The materials presented and used in Russian as a foreign language classes provide to conclude that the key factor in the effectiveness of the Russian language perception by Chinese students is the motivation to study the country’s culture and direct communication with a native speaker teacher. The continuous improvement of listening and pronunciation skills with a native speaker, based on speech samples formed according to the plan of cultural and educational events, was fully reflected in the students’ oral speech. The students’ formed understanding of the language and the country as a whole allows us to conclude that the cultural, regional studies, historical, literary and creative events held have a positive effect on further intercultural interaction in various fields.