Studying Russian as a Foreign Language with the Help of the Linguistic Corpus of Russian Folk Songs

   The article considers the possibility of using the text material of Russian folk songs in teaching foreigners Russian as a foreign language.

   The study aims to describe the material of Russian folk songs as a potential educational text.

   The research material includes more than 100 songs, with a total volume of 10,475 words. Within the framework of the study, a linguistic corpus of Russian folk songs was created, where the complexity of song tests was determined according to such linguistic parameters as the lexical diversity index (TTR) and the Flesch-Kincaid readability index (FRGL), also, the language level of the song material was determined according to the state system of certification levels of general proficiency in Russian as a foreign language; the number of occurrences of cultural code units was identified. The educational potential of song texts was described and tasks exercises based on them are created. The text of this song material shows a low TTR (0.5) and a fairly low FRGL (3, 36). The language level of almost all folk songs corresponds to the level of A1; the average value of occurrences of units of the cultural code is 5.6. Descriptive parameters for assessing the complexity of the lyrics were calculated using the RuLingva automatic test profiler, created by a team of Russian scientists to automate routine arithmetic and research operations with the text in Russian. The conducted analysis of the texts of Russian folk songs showed that they can be used as a valid tool in Russian language lessons, especially at the initial stage of its study. Songs provide material for expanding the vocabulary of students and allow them to master certain grammatical constructions; and being an authentic text, they provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the facts and features of Russian reality, history and culture. The prospects of the work are seen in the creation of a teaching aid containing the theoretical foundations of the integration of pedagogical technologies into the educational process using song material.

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