08.09.08. Russianists in Tel Aviv Discuss Draft Version of Russian Language Textbook

From September 4-7 in Tel Aviv, a working seminar was held for philologists who are developing a new Russian language textbook for children of Russian-speaking families in Israel, Germany, the United States and other countries.

In 2008, the Russkiy Mir Foundation and the Israel Association established the international group of Russianists who introduced the draft version of the Russian textbook to seminar participants.

The purpose of the recent seminar was to promote a detailed discussion of a draft textbook and its final proofreading. The textbook will likely be published by the end of this year and distributed by the Russkiy Mir Foundation in countries where Russian-language study is most relevant.

The textbook is designed for children who already speak Russian at home as a “family language,” a concept that was introduced several decades ago by Dr. Olga Kagan, a member of the group. This term has been used by scholars to identify a language that immigrant children hear at home but do not necessarily have adequate knowledge of.

Dr. Marina Niznik, another member of the group of Russianists, explained, “Usually, these children’s speech is more developed than their writing and reading skills. Children can understand well, but it is very hard for them to express their thoughts. They acquire grammar in a very superficial way. Russian has become the family language for thousands of children in Israel, Germany, the United States, Canada and other countries. Teaching these children their parents’ language is very important and requires a special approach, which is why our textbook will be in demand. Participants and guests had the opportunity to examine the draft textbook and make sure that the authors were extremely attentive to all nuances.”

Selections from Russian classical and modern literature that are used in the textbook are completely free from political and ideological influences. As a result, children from Russian-speaking families will learn their parents’ language through texts on love, friendship, loyalty and other eternal concepts that people share in common around the world.