DEVELOPMENT OF READING SKILLS AT RUSSIAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASS USING AFANASY NIKITIN'S NOTES “A JOURNEY BEYOND THE THREE SEAS”

Abstract

Developing reading skills is one of the cornerstones of language learning. The article discusses the concept of “reading”, there are many incomplete definitions, but the authors provide a more complete one: “Reading is the process of extracting meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill that requires the coordination of interrelated sources of information”. For the student of Russian as a foreign language, reading is the way, and sometimes the goal, of learning Russian. Afanasy Nikitin's travel notes - a monument of Old Russian literature can be used in Russian as a foreign language lessons starting from A2 level. This unique literary work by a merchant from Tver, entitled “Voyage beyond Three Seas”, is a fascinating record of his journey to India in the period from 1468 to 1474. The authors of this article describe the methodology and stages of working with texts, they emphasize that every reading lesson plan should include three stages: the pre-reading, reading, and post-reading stages. According to constructivists, we create new knowledge by building on our prior knowledge. The ability to decode information from a text alone is not enough. Teachers should encourage students to use their own knowledge of the world and worldview to make sense of the text. This knowledge, often called schemas, is essential to the process of constructing meaning. The way reading skills are taught depends on what the teacher's goals are and how he or she constructs lesson plans. For this purpose, the teacher needs to decide on the objectives of the reading comprehension lesson. Teachers should activate students' knowledge of the topic of the text they are about to read by using the following activities: brainstorming, discussions, pictures, primers, prediction, and others. Activities during reading are exercises that help students focus on text features and comprehension. In addition to helping students better comprehend the text, these activities also help students to understand the text. The authors of the article have developed exercises to develop reading skills based on the work of Afanasy Nikitin.

Extended Abstract:

The dictionary definition of reading as "the action or skill of reading written or printed material silently or aloud" is deemed deficient, as it omits the crucial element of purpose. Typically, reading is undertaken with a specific aim, such as following instructions, locating particular information, grasping the main idea of a text, or for entertainment. For students of Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL), reading is both a method and sometimes a goal of learning the language. A more accurate definition is provided by Anderson: “Reading is the process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill requiring the coordination of interrelated sources of information” (Anderson, 1985, p. 6).

Consequently, this research raises the question: “How can the travel notes of Afanasy Nikitin, ‘Voyage across Three Seas’ (*Khozhdeniye za tri morya*), be used to develop reading skills in lessons of Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL)?” The subject of the research is teaching reading in RFL lessons, and the object is the use of Nikitin’s travel notes as a monument of Old Russian literature.

Based on theoretical premises, the teaching of reading skills must adhere to several fundamental principles to be effective. These principles include recognizing reading as a purposeful activity; ensuring texts are level-appropriate; achieving 98% vocabulary coverage for learning from context; integrating other language skills; focusing on core reading skills; teaching conscious reading strategies (e.g., previewing, predicting, questioning); understanding text types; and encouraging extensive reading. The approach to teaching depends on the teacher's goals, such as reading for gist, specific information, detailed comprehension, developing speed, teaching strategies, or inferring meaning from context, and is structured around three lesson stages: pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading.

Constructivist theory posits that new knowledge is built upon prior knowledge. Therefore, pre-reading activities are vital to activate students' schemata—their background knowledge and worldview—to aid in constructing meaning from the text. For Nikitin’s work, activities include brainstorming ideas related to the voyage, discussions based on quotes or opposing views, using pictures from the text for prediction, a wordlist game with key terms (e.g., *khozhdeniye* [voyage], *otplyv* [sailing away], *prepyatstviye* [obstacle]), predicting content from titles and illustrations, utilizing a KWL (Know/Want to know/Learned) chart, and analyzing word clouds containing relevant and irrelevant vocabulary.

While-reading activities help students focus on text features and comprehension. These include skimming to check predictions and get the gist, scanning to find specific information like names or dates, answering literal and inferential comprehension questions, and responding to commands (e.g., define, circle, underline, describe, and explain). Yes/No questions are also used for easier verification of understanding.

Post-reading activities facilitate the summarization, deeper understanding, and organization of acquired knowledge. These involve completing the ‘Learned’ column of the KWL chart, group discussions and reports, summarization techniques (e.g., “summary by deletion”), retelling the story, think-pair-share activities, translating text content into storyboards or drawings, conducting a search quest on the topic, creating videos (e.g., role-plays, reports, interviews), preparing presentations using found materials, vocabulary work focusing on new lexical units, and peer-checking where students prepare and answer questions on the text.

In conclusion, for a productive RFL reading lesson focused on developing skills, the teacher must structure it around the three stages: pre-reading (to prepare students, set context, introduce unknown vocabulary, and spark interest), while-reading (the main task focused on comprehension questions), and post-reading (aimed at deeper understanding through critical analysis or personalization). The use of Afanasy Nikitin’s “Voyage across Three Seas” enables productive reading lessons through the application of these various activities, including brainstorming, KWL charts, and others.