Modern tendencies of teaching Chinese (case study: the Confucius Institute of Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University)

growing interest in learning the Chinese language is obvious all over the world, including in Russia. The sudden break of ties between the Russian Federation and countries in which English is the state language, and the geopolitical reorientation of Russia towards “friendly” countries, primarily China, stimulated even greater interest among Russian citizens in learning the Chinese language. The purpose of the study is to identify current trends in teaching Chinese at Confucius Institutes, the main centers for teaching Chinese, supported by the Chinese government. The Confucius Institute of the Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University was taken as the object of study. In the result of the study, a number of features were identified that are non-typical for teaching Chinese as a foreign language in Russia: a freer and more relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, the absence of an authoritarian style of pedagogical communication, a lesser degree of teacher attachment to the textbook, an emphasis on the cultural component, widespread use of gamification methods, immersion in the language environment, wider use of the problem-solving method. It was concluded that the use of these methods fully fits the paradigm of modern ideas about teaching a foreign language.

the Chinese language, modern trends, Confucius Institute