Motivation for Learning Russian?

A Review of the Social Context of Teaching Russian in Austria and Germany

Abstract

The present action research study proposes reconsidering the didactic value of authentic fiction texts in the context of new goals and approaches to teaching foreign languages and Ukrainian as a foreign language in particular. It describes the role played by literature as the means to foster learners’ intercultural communicative competence. The author proposes the inclusion of authentic fiction texts through a content-based instruction. A total of 19 students participated in this study and responded to the questionnaire in the summer semester of 2023 at University of Innsbruck and University of Graz, Austria. In addition, the researcher interviewed eight instructors teaching Ukrainian and other Slavonic languages as foreign in universities and schools of Austria. Collected data prove that integrating literature in the course of Ukrainian, as a foreign language within content-based learning constitutes communicative reading practice, motivated language acquisition, and the opportunity to enrich students’ cultural awareness through social intercultural interaction.