The use of authentic song lyrics at the lessons of Russian as a foreign language

The aim of the research is to design an extensive lesson plan for foreign students learning Russian. The teaching materials are based on the song “Smile” (lyrics by M. Plyatskovsky, music by V. Shainsky) from the cartoon “Baby Raccoon” and include exercises to practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, as well as exposure to the culture of the country. The authors use a specific example to demonstrate the importance of an interactive form of learning, and provide the main results of the experiment. The study involved humanities students of the South Ural State University preparatory department. The methods of survey, testing and questionnaires using the Likert scale were used to analyze the results of the study before and after working with the song material. To assess students’ knowledge of vocabulary and grammar, a test was conducted which consisted of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The results of the analysis show that students enjoy working with the text of the lyrics in class; learning Russian with the help of songs motivates to learn new material and allows to form linguistic, communicative and cultural competence, develops speaking, listening and pronunciation skills, practices the necessary grammar patterns, and enhances vocabulary. Thus, experience of working with foreign students shows that it is useful to build the educational process in a new way, using interactive opportunities and combining them with classical methods for effective learning in modern education. The practical significance of the presented materials is in the development of a ready-made lesson, which can be used by teachers of humanitarian disciplines who work with foreign students with different levels of proficiency in the Russian language.