(Not Yet) In Focus: The Neglected First Lessons in Slavic Language Teaching

An Editorial Reflection

Abstract

This text examines the first encounter with a Slavic language in the classroom, a moment of renewed pedagogical and ethical relevance amid shifting sociopolitical contexts. The decline of Russian instruction following the war against Ukraine highlights the need to reconsider how this initial experience is structured and framed. The six contributions approach the “first lesson” from linguistic, cognitive, and practical perspectives, addressing phonetics, plurilingualism, and heritage-language learning. Yet the small number of submissions and predominance of traditional models reveal a gap between theory and innovation. Classroom insights from Hamburg illustrate how teachers increasingly prioritise social aims—community building, learner diversity, and reflection—over purely linguistic goals. Together, these studies emphasise the need to reconceptualise the first lesson as a space where language, identity, and pedagogy intersect in contemporary Slavic education.