Traditions and Innovations in Teaching Russian Vocabulary to Chinese Learners: Ethnocultural Component

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the study of traditional and innovative approaches to teaching the vocabulary of the Russian language to Chinese learners, with an emphasis on the ethnocultural component. The subject of the research is the peculiarities of applying vocabulary teaching methods that carry an ethnocultural component when working with a Chinese audience. The object of the research is the pedagogical process of teaching Russian as a foreign language at Chinese universities. The relevance of this article is determined by the significant cultural differences between China and Russia, which cause communication difficulties in mastering Russian vocabulary. The author examines in detail topics such as the classification of ethnocultural vocabulary, its groups, and the features of acquisition by Chinese learners. Special attention is given to a comparative analysis of traditional and innovative methods, as well as step-by-step models of their combination. The goal of this research is to analyze traditional and contemporary practices, justify their complementarity, and develop differentiated models for combining methods to enhance the effectiveness of acquiring ethnocultural vocabulary and forming intercultural communicative competence. The study employs methods of literature review, case analysis, and comparative analysis. The empirical basis consists of materials from CNKI and Elibrary from 2020 to 2026. The authors have identified three groups of ethnocultural vocabulary in the Russian language, characterized traditional and innovative methods, and compiled a comparative description of them. Models for step-by-step combination of approaches are proposed, taking into account the level of training of Chinese learners and the typology of lexical units. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the justification of the principle of harmonious combination of traditional and innovative methods, determining differentiated proportions of their application at different stages of learning, as well as in substantiating the effectiveness of modern educational technologies for revealing ethnocultural vocabulary. The main conclusions of the research confirm that the ethnocultural component is an important condition for forming intercultural competence. Traditional methods ensure the systematization of basic knowledge, while innovative methods increase motivation and develop practical communication skills. It should be noted that flexible combination of approaches contributes to the solid mastery of material and correct use of vocabulary in real communicative situations.