Didaktik slawischer Sprachen
type: channel
description: Didaktik Slawischer Sprachen (Didactics of Slavic Languages) (DiSlaw) is an Open Access journal that is published twice a year and follows a strict double-blind peer review process. DiSlaw is indexed by the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) and listed in the Fachportal Pädagogik (Education Research Portal) and Ulrichsweb. DiSlaw meets the urgent need for a subject-specific journal focused on the teaching and learning of Slavic foreign and heritage languages in German-speaking regions. It combines theoretical foundations with practical approaches to address the challenges of guided language acquisition. We – the editorial team – do not see subject didactics as a mere collection of best practice examples but rather as a research-driven, theory-based, and practice-oriented discipline. Therefore, DiSlaw provides a publication platform for various types of contributions that engage with the teaching and learning of Slavic languages. In addition to scientific-theoretical articles and theory-guided studies from teaching practice, DiSlaw also publishes practical teaching examples and book reviews (e.g., of textbooks). DiSlaw presents itself as a multilingual journal, publishing articles in German and English as well as in Bosnian, Croatian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, and Ukrainian. The journal is also open to contributions in other Slavic languages. Information on this journal is also available in Russian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Slovenian at the following links: [О журнале] - [O časopisu] - [O reviji] ISSN: 2960-4117
publisher: Innsbruck University
language: en
publication name: Didaktik slawischer Sprachen
issn: 2960-4117
items: The very first lesson in teaching Slavic languages as foreign and heritage languages
items: Review – Eva Binder & Magdalena Kaltseis: Audiovisuelle Medien im Russischunterricht. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto, 2025
items: (Not Yet) In Focus: The Neglected First Lessons in Slavic Language Teaching
items: When the First Lesson Is Missing or Interrupted
items: Language Animation in the First Russian Lesson
items: Phonetics, Cognates, and Culture
items: I Don’t Speak a Word of Slovenian – Or Do I?
items: Starting the Lesson with Multiple Languages
items: A Neurolinguistic Approach to the First Lesson in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language
items: Editorial: The Very First Lesson in Teaching Slavic Languages as Foreign and Heritage Languages
items: Heritage Language Teaching of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian in Bern and Zurich
items: Phraseological Units in Teaching Serbian as a Non-Native Language
items: Lexical and Spelling Accuracy of Russian Adult Heritage and Foreign Language Learners in Written Elicited Narratives
items: Navigating Language Contact in the Digital Age
items: Revitalization of Russian among Canadian Doukhobors through a Community Course
items: Issue 8: Language and Cultural Contact
items: Editorial Language and Cultural Contact
items: Review of "Spracherhalt und Mehrsprachigkeit: Eine Einführung" (2024)
items: "Objective" and "Subjective" Frequency of Internationalisms in Croatian
items: Promotion of Transcultural Communicative Competence in Russian Language Teaching
items: Issue 7: And Action! – Audiovisual Media in Slavic Language Teaching
items: Editorial And Action!
items: From Planning to Publication
items: Roles and Identity
items: Audiovisual Formats Made by Students: The Website Into Russian
items: From YouTube to the Classroom
items: TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in Russian Language Teaching
items: TikTok in the Russian Language Classroom
items: Audiovisual Adaptations of Literary Works in a Conversational Course
items: Issue 6: TEACHING Slavic Languages: Status Quo, Challenges and Perspectives

The very first lesson in teaching Slavic languages as foreign and heritage languages
type: item
description: The very first lesson in language teaching has long been regarded as a particularly significant moment. It is far more than a mere organisational starting point: it is a moment in which expectations are met or disappointed, learning dispositions begin to develop, and the foundations for motivation and rapport are laid. Especially in the teaching of Slavic languages – whether as foreign or heritage languages – this first lesson can be of special importance. For foreign language learners, it opens the door to a new and often unfamiliar linguistic and cultural world; for many heritage speakers, it marks the beginning of a conscious engagement with the standard language of their family background. Thus, the first lesson is not only a pedagogical starting point but also a symbolic act of encounter, recognition, or re-orientation.
subject: Full issue
  topic: section
creator: Jule Böhmer (ed.)
creator: Wolfgang Stadler (ed.)
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
doi: 10.48789/2025.3

Review – Eva Binder & Magdalena Kaltseis: Audiovisuelle Medien im Russischunterricht. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto, 2025
type: item
description: The significance of audiovisual media for young people can hardly be overstated: Films, series, YouTube formats and social media have an impact on perception, communication and cultural practices. In light of this it seems only logical to systematically use these media in language teaching as well. For teaching Russian, however, there were no recent, didactically founded and practice-guided analyses until recently, when Eva Binder and Magdalena Kaltseis filled this very gap with their monography Audiovisuelle Medien im Russischunterricht (Audiovisual Media in Russian Language Teaching), released in 2025 by the publishing house Narr-Francke-Attempto. The authors combine academic perspectives from cultural and media studies as well as the didactics of language with tried-and-tested teaching materials and thus create a foundational work that is both theoretically well-founded and directly useful in practice.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Review
  topic: category
creator: Natalia Schwarzl
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 94
ending page: 98
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.8

(Not Yet) In Focus: The Neglected First Lessons in Slavic Language Teaching
type: item
description: 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.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: In Focus
  topic: category
subject: first lesson
  topic: keywords
subject: Slavic languages
  topic: keywords
subject: pedagogy
  topic: keywords
subject: multilingualism
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage speakers
  topic: keywords
creator: Wolfgang Stadler
creator: Jule Böhmer
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 91
ending page: 93
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.7

When the First Lesson Is Missing or Interrupted
type: item
description: The first lesson is often considered an important element and a crucial moment in language acquisition, capable of having a lasting impact on subsequent learning. Not only does it mark the beginning of a new learning phase, but it also lays the foundation for fostering learners’ motivation, shaping the relationship between learners and the teacher, and setting expectations for the course. In the context of promoting family or heritage languages, this first lesson is particularly important: for heritage speakers, it is often their first conscious encounter with the standard form of their heritage language, which is now to be developed explicitly and systematically. But what reasons prevent participation in this first lesson, and which factors lead to students dropping out after attending only once? While the reasons for participation have already been well researched, the motives and barriers to non-participation or early withdrawal from Russian language classes in Germany remain largely unexplored. The aim of this paper is to close this gap and to gain new insights into these aspects. Based on empirical data from a project on Russian in Germany in an intergenerational comparison, the perspectives of Russian-speaking heritage speakers aged 7 to 16, as well as those of their parents, are analysed and evaluated in relation to key influencing factors. Potential explanatory approaches are also discussed.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Scientific-Theoretical Contributions
  topic: category
subject: heritage language instruction
  topic: keywords
subject: heritage speakers
  topic: keywords
subject: non-participation
  topic: keywords
subject: Russian in Germany
  topic: keywords
subject: language support
  topic: keywords
creator: Tatjana Kurbangulova
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 77
ending page: 90
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.6

Language Animation in the First Russian Lesson
type: item
description: This article explores how the method of language animation – originally developed for non-formal learning contexts – can be adapted for use in school-based Russian instruction, especially in the very first lesson. Originating in Franco-German youth exchanges, language animation combines elements of game-based, experiential, and group-oriented pedagogy. Its aim is to activate learners holistically, reduce inhibitions, and create motivating first encounters with the target language. The article presents a detailed 90-minute lesson plan featuring four language games designed for learners below CEFR level A1, offering a playful introduction to the Cyrillic script. The unit is complemented by suggestions for classroom language use and opportunities for reflection. Aspects of differentiation and the role of heritage speakers are briefly addressed. Overall, the article advocates for a lively and engaging start to Russian language teaching.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: language animation
  topic: keywords
subject: Russian as a foreign language
  topic: keywords
subject: early-stage instruction
  topic: keywords
subject: game-based pedagogy
  topic: keywords
subject: CEFR level pre-A1
  topic: keywords
creator: Henrike Reuther
creator: Anna Ryndin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 61
ending page: 76
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.5

Phonetics, Cognates, and Culture
type: item
description: This article presents a language-specific concept for the first Ukrainian lesson that centres on the use of cognates between Ukrainian and German to support beginner learners – especially in multilingual and heritage language contexts. Cognates such as 'mama' – 'Mama', 'telefon' – 'Telefon', and 'universytet' – 'Universität' serve as linguistic anchors that foster a sense of familiarity, reduce anxiety, and encourage early lexical acquisition. Learners are invited to identify similarities, build word associations, and gain confidence by realizing how much they already “know.” The lesson design integrates guided pronunciation exercises for key Ukrainian phonemes (e.g., [ɦ], palatalised consonants) to establish a foundation in sound awareness. Visual and auditory tools are used to reinforce accuracy and boost learner motivation. Culturally, the lesson introduces contemporary and regional elements of Ukrainian life while deliberately avoiding stereotypical representations. Music, media clips, and images illustrate the linguistic and cultural diversity of Ukraine, making the language personally relevant from the very beginning. By linking familiar vocabulary with sound and culture, this holistic approach offers a low-threshold entry into Ukrainian that supports both cognitive and emotional engagement. The model is adaptable to diverse educational settings and learner backgrounds, and it demonstrates how targeted use of Ukrainian-German cognates can become a powerful tool in inclusive language pedagogy.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: Ukrainian language teaching
  topic: keywords
subject: cognates
  topic: keywords
subject: phonetics
  topic: keywords
subject: intercultural competence
  topic: keywords
subject: inclusive language pedagogy
  topic: keywords
creator: Nataliia Oberste-Berghaus
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 48
ending page: 60
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.4

I Don’t Speak a Word of Slovenian – Or Do I?
type: item
description: Learners attending beginner courses with no prior knowledge of Slovenian are often convinced that they will not understand a single word of this language. Therefore, we begin with a comprehension-based approach that emphasises the semantic dimension of language before moving on to a more detailed discussion of its structural aspects. Using examples that have been tried and tested in practice, we demonstrate how it is possible to design an introduction to a foreign language that may seem unusual to most course participants but, in our experience, motivates learners and sparks their curiosity. With the help of authentic texts, learners are introduced to strategies they can apply throughout their language-learning development – strategies that foster autonomous learning as a continuous and empowering process in foreign language acquisition.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: Slovenian
  topic: keywords
subject: text comprehension
  topic: keywords
subject: learning strategies
  topic: keywords
subject: authentic texts
  topic: keywords
creator: Lisa-Maria Goroš
creator: Elizabeta M. Jenko
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 39
ending page: 47
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.3

Starting the Lesson with Multiple Languages
type: item
description: The present article explores a resource-oriented, multilingual approach to language teaching that supports learners' linguistic diversity while reducing language anxiety. Drawing on the Trio magazine "Hallo Österreich!", the present study proposes practical strategies for integrating learners’ full linguistic repertoires through translanguaging. The study highlights how multilingual materials and tasks can foster motivation, participation, and language awareness. A didactic proposal illustrates how to create inclusive, low threshold learning environments in which all languages are valued as resources from the very first lesson.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Theory-Guided Studies from Teaching Practice
  topic: category
subject: resource-oriented language teaching
  topic: keywords
subject: linguistic repertoire
  topic: keywords
subject: translanguaging
  topic: keywords
subject: language awareness
  topic: keywords
creator: Olena Vasylchenko
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 26
ending page: 38
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.2

A Neurolinguistic Approach to the First Lesson in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language
type: item
description: This article examines how the application of the Neurolinguistic Approach (NLA) in the first lessons of Russian as a foreign language (RFL) addresses common beginner-level challenges within the communicative-actional teaching paradigm and provides a solid methodological foundation for Beginner L2 Pedagogy. Originally developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s for French language instruction in intensive school programs in English-speaking Canada (Germain, 2018), the NLA has since been adapted for teaching different languages in diverse contexts. We present three instructional modules implemented in the first RFL lessons at the Université de Montréal. These modules serve as the basis for discussing the principles of NLA-based instructional design, its adaptation to RFL teaching, and theoretical foundation based on two neurolinguistic concepts. To highlight the advantages of the NLA in the first RFL lessons, we also compare it with the traditional PPP (Presentation–Practice–Production) model, particularly with the version developed within the Soviet-Russian Communicative-Actional approach (Passov & Kuzovleva, 2010). The article demonstrates that the NLA facilitates the development of oral proficiency from the very first RFL lesson — independently of students’ reading and writing skills and explicit grammatical knowledge — while simultaneously fostering them on the basis of oral competence.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Scientific-Theoretical Contributions
  topic: category
subject: beginner L2 pedagogy
  topic: keywords
subject: neurolinguistic approach
  topic: keywords
subject: natural approach
  topic: keywords
subject: PPP model
  topic: keywords
subject: Soviet communicative-actional approach
  topic: keywords
subject: the declarative/procedural model of memory
  topic: keywords
subject: the limbic system
  topic: keywords
creator: Maria Bondarenko
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: 1
ending page: 25
doi: 10.48789/2025.3.1

Editorial: The Very First Lesson in Teaching Slavic Languages as Foreign and Heritage Languages
type: item
description: The very first lesson in language teaching has long been regarded as a particularly significant moment. It is far more than a mere organisational starting point: it is a moment in which expectations are met or disappointed, learning dispositions begin to develop, and the foundations for motivation and rapport are laid. Especially in the teaching of Slavic languages – whether as foreign or heritage languages – this first lesson can be of special importance. For foreign language learners, it opens the door to a new and often unfamiliar linguistic and cultural world; for many heritage speakers, it marks the beginning of a conscious engagement with the standard language of their family background. Thus, the first lesson is not only a pedagogical starting point but also a symbolic act of encounter, recognition, or re-orientation.
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
subject: Editorials
  topic: category
creator: Jule Böhmer
creator: Wolfgang Stadler
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-02
publication date: 2025-12-02
starting page: i
ending page: viii
doi: 10.48789/

Heritage Language Teaching of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian in Bern and Zurich
type: item
description: Migration from the former Yugoslavia to Switzerland is highly complex in historical, geographical and linguistic terms. This article analyses courses for heritage speakers (Unterricht in heimatlicher Sprache und Kultur = HSK-Unterricht) of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian in Switzerland. The aim of this study is twofold. First, to present the current state of heritage language classes in the cantons of Bern and Zurich. Second, to survey the speakers’ attitudes toward them. A sociolinguistic questionnaire with 62 participants mainly from Bern and Zurich provides data on awareness and perceived use of HSK classes. The results indicate that most respondents are unaware that the program exists, and fewer yet have ever participated. The study identifies inadequate advertising as a primary reason for the low level of participation, followed by the program's poor availability at the local level.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Scientific-Theoretical Contributions
  topic: category
subject: heritage language, teaching, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Switzerland, language attitude
  topic: keywords
creator: Katrin Bente Karl
creator: Cristiana Lucchetti
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 83
ending page: 99
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.6

Phraseological Units in Teaching Serbian as a Non-Native Language
type: item
description: Serbian as a Non-Native Language in the Republic of Serbia is a mandatory subject for students educated in one of the languages of national minorities. The overarching document for organizing the teaching of this subject is the General Achievement Standards for Serbian as a Non-Native Language, based on which two Program variants have been developed: Variant A (primarily for students whose native language belongs to non-Slavic languages, living in homogeneous environments with less command of the Serbian language) and Variant B (primarily for students whose native language belongs to Slavic languages, living in heterogeneous environments and having better command of the Serbian language). An inseparable part of the linguistic richness and culture of a nation are phraseologisms, which are often an integral part of everyday communication. Mastering the use of phraseologisms in the appropriate context is a significant segment of learning a language. The Serbian as a Non-Native Language Program does not offer a selection of phraseologisms, nor are they included in supplementary literature that lists recommended lexicon. Therefore, based on existing literature, this paper presents a list of phraseologisms that can be incorporated into teaching, primarily in Variant A of the Program for elementary school.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Theory-Guided Studies from Teaching Practice
  topic: category
subject: Serbian as a non-native language, phraseology, phraseodidactics, glottodidactics
  topic: keywords
creator: Dušanka Zvekić-Dušanović
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/deed.en
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 33
ending page: 54
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.3

Lexical and Spelling Accuracy of Russian Adult Heritage and Foreign Language Learners in Written Elicited Narratives
type: item
description: This paper presents a preliminary study on correlations between the frequency of lexical and orthographic errors in written narratives produced by learners of Russian as a foreign language (FLLs; n = 11) and heritage speakers of Russian (HLLs; n = 14), in two elicitation modes: telling and retelling. The study also explores the correlation between lexical accuracy and overall language proficiency in these two groups. Narratives were elicited using the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN), and a validated multiple-choice language proficiency test served as the anchor test. The results of a preliminary study based on a small sample of participants showed that Russian FLLs produced significantly more lexical errors and fewer orthographic errors in both retelling and telling modes compared to HLLs. Moreover, a significant negative correlation was found between the frequency of lexical errors in telling and the results of the language proficiency test in HLLs. These findings show that the relationship between different components of language competence may differ significantly between HLLs and FLLs and be shaped by different patterns. The study further emphasizes the need for individual instructional strategies for different types of language learners.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Theory-Guided Studies from Teaching Practice
  topic: category
subject: SLA, heritage speakers, language proficiency, lexical errors, spelling errors
  topic: keywords
creator: Maria Dorbert
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/deed.en
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 55
ending page: 68
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.4

Navigating Language Contact in the Digital Age
type: item
description: Belarusian, classified as vulnerable by UNESCO, is a low-resource language with limited digital and media representation. Preserving such languages demands a comprehensive approach, which is deeply interconnected with their linguistic and historical contexts. Thus, any study of Belarusian must consider its linguistic variability, historical fragmentation, and the dominant pressures of Russian and Polish. This best practice paper investigates the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in addressing the complex dynamics of Belarusian. It also outlines Iceland’s recent partnership with OpenAI to preserve Icelandic and argues that a similar AI–human collaboration could benefit Belarusian. The contribution aims to explore how AI can be utilised to support language learning, generate new vocabulary, and preserve the characteristic features of Belarusian. However, the study also acknowledges the limitations of current AI models. The activities presented can be implemented at both school and university levels, proving equally valuable for native speakers, language learners, and future teachers. This best practice paper relies on experiments and qualitative content analysis of the results and addresses two core questions: 1. Can AI tools cope with orthographic and grammatical complexities of Belarusian? 2. Can AI models successfully navigate linguistic interference in Belarusian? The protocols of the experiments can be transferred to other languages or rerun unchanged to track how new outputs and model biases evolve over time.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: Belarusian, linguistic interference, artificial intelligence (AI), Taraškievica, Narkamaŭka
  topic: keywords
creator: Tatsiana Nazaranka
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 17
ending page: 32
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.2

Revitalization of Russian among Canadian Doukhobors through a Community Course
type: item
description: This article explores pedagogical, linguistic, and cultural issues involved in designing a community Russian language course for Doukhobors in Canada. To date, only limited descriptions of the Doukhobors’ language use and structure are available, showing that they speak, first and foremost, Doukhobor Russian (DR), a severely endangered variety, which is currently maintained by only a few dozen elderly bilinguals whose dominant language is English, but who retain fluent proficiency in DR. Second, some of the community members speak idiolects which align somewhere along a continuum between DR and Standard Russian (StR). However, the use of any kind of Russian is rapidly diminishing in the community. To support the revitalization of the Doukhobors’ heritage language varieties, an online community Russian language course for adult Doukhobors is being developed. The article discusses key considerations in designing the course, including pedagogical approaches, choice of language variety to teach (StR or DR), and the selection of culturally significant topics and materials for inclusion. The article proposes a bilingual approach exposing learners to both DR and StR, and outlines a range of culturally relevant themes for the course. The article contributes to the topic of critically endangered minority languages.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Scientific-Theoretical Contributions
  topic: category
subject: Doukhobor Russian, language revitalization, community course design, culture in heritage language teaching
  topic: keywords
creator: Veronika Makarova
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 100
ending page: 109
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.7

Issue 8: Language and Cultural Contact
type: item
description: Worldwide, speakers who use two or more languages are continuously interacting with one another, resulting in constant contact between languages and cultures. This is especially evident in language teaching, where we observe a rich mosaic of cultural and linguistic exchanges. Various factors, including the target language, the language of instruction, and the diverse linguistic backgrounds of learners and teachers, contribute to these dynamics. All this highlights the relevance of language and cultural contact as an interdisciplinary research field, which not only informs language-teaching practices but also enriches student experiences. It is worth emphasising that in contact linguistics, the focus is not directly on contact between languages, but rather on the consequences of interactions between speakers. In other words, language contact leads to reciprocal influences, which manifest in both explicit and implicit contact phenomena – such as lexical borrowings, interferences, code-switching, or language change. The eighth issue of the journal Didaktik slawischer Sprachen is dedicated to this timely topic, which is by no means limited to the teaching of Slavic languages. This thematic issue brings together seven linguistic studies and didactic contributions on language and cultural contacts between individual Slavic languages, the findings of which provide a valuable basis for the teaching of first, foreign, second, and heritage languages. The volume is complemented by a review of a recent textbook that addresses diverse language contact situations and examines the institutional positioning of contact languages in Germany. Just as research on language and cultural contact can be defined as open-ended, covering the entire spectrum of contact and sociolinguistic aspects, and ranging from almost microscopic analysis of recorded language fragments to the fate of individual nations (Heath, 1984, 367), the contributions in this issue are also diverse and reflect differen…
subject: Full issue
  topic: section
creator: Zrinka Kolaković (ed.)
creator: Uršula Krevs Birk (ed.)
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
doi: 10.48789/2025.2

Editorial Language and Cultural Contact
type: item
description: Worldwide, speakers who use two or more languages are continuously interacting with one another, resulting in constant contact between languages and cultures. This is especially evident in language teaching, where we observe a rich mosaic of cultural and linguistic exchanges. Various factors, including the target language, the language of instruction, and the diverse linguistic backgrounds of learners and teachers, contribute to these dynamics. All this highlights the relevance of language and cultural contact as an interdisciplinary research field, which not only informs language-teaching practices but also enriches student experiences. It is worth emphasising that in contact linguistics, the focus is not directly on contact between languages, but rather on the consequences of interactions between speakers. In other words, language contact leads to reciprocal influences, which manifest in both explicit and implicit contact phenomena – such as lexical borrowings, interferences, code-switching, or language change. The eighth issue of the journal Didaktik slawischer Sprachen is dedicated to this timely topic, which is by no means limited to the teaching of Slavic languages. This thematic issue brings together seven linguistic studies and didactic contributions on language and cultural contacts between individual Slavic languages, the findings of which provide a valuable basis for the teaching of first, foreign, second, and heritage languages. The volume is complemented by a review of a recent textbook that addresses diverse language contact situations and examines the institutional positioning of contact languages in Germany. Just as research on language and cultural contact can be defined as open-ended, covering the entire spectrum of contact and sociolinguistic aspects, and ranging from almost microscopic analysis of recorded language fragments to the fate of individual nations (Heath, 1984, 367), the contributions in this issue are also diverse and reflect differen…
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
subject: Editorials
  topic: category
creator: Zrinka Kolaković
creator: Uršula Krevs Birk
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: i
ending page: xiv
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.0

Review of "Spracherhalt und Mehrsprachigkeit: Eine Einführung" (2024)
type: item
description: This article reviews the book Spracherhalt und Mehrsprachigkeit: Eine Einführung by K. F. Cantone. It was published in 2024 by Narr Francke Attempto.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Review
  topic: category
subject: Review, langauge preservation, multilingualism, Cantone
  topic: keywords
creator: Aleksej Tikhonov
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 110
ending page: 112
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.8

"Objective" and "Subjective" Frequency of Internationalisms in Croatian
type: item
description: The article deals with the frequency of internationalisms in Croatian from a structural linguistics perspective, taking into account usage-based and psycholinguistic approaches (cf. Backus, 2013 for an overview). Specifically, two different kinds of frequency will be distinguished: The first one is the ‘objective’ frequency, which is taken from a Croatian frequency dictionary (cf. Moguš et al., 1999). The second one refers to the speaker-based, ‘subjective’ assessments of the frequency, which is taken from the Croatian psycholinguistic database (cf. Peti-Stantić et al., 2021). In addition, also the polytextuality (dispersion), i.e. the occurrence of the internationalisms in different functional style, will be discussed as reliable criterion for determination of a core inventory of Croatian internationalisms. Finally, some correlations between the subjective assessment and the polytextuality will be emphasized. The combination of them helps in the determination of the high-frequency inventory of Croatian internationalism, which in turn are a reliable indicator in how far the Croatian core vocabulary is influenced lexically because of language contact respectively puristic attitudes. This inventory of internationalisms is not only of interest from a linguistic point of view but also provides a solid basis for foreign language didactics. It can be assumed that internationalisms can facilitate text comprehension and therefore play a special role in language acquisition. In addition, it can be shown in how much objective and subjective frequency and polytextuality are important selection criteria when creating basic vocabulary.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Scientific-Theoretical Contributions
  topic: category
subject: objective frequency, subjective frequency, internationalism, frequency dictionary, polytextuality, Croatian
  topic: keywords
creator: Emmerich Kelih
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 1
ending page: 16
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.1

Promotion of Transcultural Communicative Competence in Russian Language Teaching
type: item
description: Russian language teaching tends to focus on developing communicative skills in the normative standard language. Language contact phenomena from other Russian-speaking communities, e.g. Russian spoken in Germany, are rarely included into curricula, and textbooks often overlook the linguistic and cultural diversity of the learners’ environment. This article presents a language-specific approach to integrating transcultural communicative competence into Russian university lessons at the B1 level, along with a series of tasks and curriculum adaptations that address German-Russian language contact phenomena such as code-switching. The presented tasks draw on the research literature on Russian in Germany (Anstatt, 2009, 2011; Brehmer, 2021; Goldbach, 2005; Meng & Protassova, 2005) as well as on the bilingual language use of Russian-speaking influencers on social media (e.g. Rimos, 2024). The approach connects the language lessons to learners’ environment, as they may encounter such contact phenomena in everyday context, e.g. in public spaces. Learners are encouraged to reflect on the vitality and perceived ‘boundaries’ of Russian as well as on their own multilingual language biographies and cultural identities. This article is intended for teachers of Russian, curriculum developers and researchers in Slavic language contact linguistics.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: Russian
  topic: keywords
subject: transcultural communicative competence
  topic: keywords
subject: language contact
  topic: keywords
subject: curriculum design
  topic: keywords
creator: Bastian Fuchs
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-30
publication date: 2025-07-30
starting page: 69
ending page: 82
doi: 10.48789/2025.2.5

Issue 7: And Action! – Audiovisual Media in Slavic Language Teaching
type: item
description: It is a great pleasure to announce the publication of the seventh issue of DiSlaw, which is dedicated to a timeless topic – the use of audiovisual media in the teaching of Slavic languages. Audiovisual media are omnipresent in our daily lives and their production and reception are an important part of young adults’ lives. Besides watching films on streaming platforms or videos on YouTube or producing short clips for social networks, especially young people use audiovisual media not only for entertainment but also for information and communication. It therefore seems useful and necessary to integrate these media in the foreign language classroom.
subject: Full issue
  topic: section
creator: Eva Binder (ed.)
creator: Magdalena Kaltseis (ed.)
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
doi: 10.48789/2025.1

Editorial And Action!
type: item
description: It is a great pleasure to announce the publication of the seventh issue of DiSlaw, which is dedicated to a timeless topic – the use of audiovisual media in the teaching of Slavic languages. Audiovisual media are omnipresent in our daily lives, and their production and reception are an important part of young adults’ lives. Besides watching films on streaming platforms or videos on YouTube or producing short clips for social networks, especially young people use audiovisual media not only for entertainment but also for information and communication purposes. Therefore, it seems useful and necessary to integrate these media in the foreign language classroom.
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
subject: Editorials
  topic: category
creator: Eva Binder
creator: Magdalena Kaltseis
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: i
ending page: vi
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.0

From Planning to Publication
type: item
description: The digital transformation of our society is a global phenomenon that also significantly impacts teacher training. In addition to the digitalization of teaching and learning environments at schools and universities, and the new demands on required competencies, the shift in leading media—from a book culture to a culture of digitality—must also be emphasized (cf. KMK, 2021, 3; Stalder, 2016). At the same time, the availability of license-free digital teaching materials (Open Educational Resources, OER) varies greatly depending on the subject, with smaller subjects generally having fewer resources available. The author of this article took this situation as an opportunity to design and conduct a project seminar for Master’s teacher students training to become teachers of Russian as a foreign language. As part of this project, learning videos for the subject of Russian were created and subsequently made available for free use by teachers in schools.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: learning video
  topic: keywords
subject: OER
  topic: keywords
subject: teacher’s digital competences
  topic: keywords
subject: teacher’s education
  topic: keywords
creator: Natalia Schwarzl
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 109
ending page: 124
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.7

Roles and Identity
type: item
description: While the multiethnicity of the Russian Federation has been somewhat represented in textbooks—often with a folkloristic emphasis—female roles have largely been neglected. This teaching unit integrates both facets by analyzing three songs by Tajik-Russian artist Manizha, exploring women’s images as well as their self- and external perceptions from various perspectives: Russian Woman (Level A2): This song addresses the breaking free from traditional female roles and features a Tajik-descended singer discussing the Russian female image. Tummy (Level A2): This song focuses on the self- and external perceptions of the female body. Nedoslavjanka (Level B1(+)/B2): This song questions the identity of people with a migration background, addressing stereotypes and the feeling of cultural non-belonging. This unit is suitable for middle and high school levels, as well as university language classes. Designed in a modular format, it allows for the selection and integration of individual songs into the classroom. The varying difficulty levels support differentiated learning. Russian Woman and Tummy include English lyrics, making them useful for intercomprehension tasks or cross-curricular projects. Innovative, learner-activating materials guide students in reflecting on their own body image and engaging with multicultural heritage through the interplay of lyrics and visual elements in the music videos.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: intercomprehension
  topic: keywords
subject: multimodality
  topic: keywords
subject: multicultural heritage
  topic: keywords
subject: body image
  topic: keywords
subject: identity
  topic: keywords
creator: Sandra Birzer
creator: Andrea Steinbach
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 66
ending page: 96
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.5

Audiovisual Formats Made by Students: The Website Into Russian
type: item
description: This article presents the project Into Russian, a publicly accessible website provided by the Institute of Slavic Philology at the LMU Munich to learners for the Russian language. The website is based on various projects which were created by students under the teachers’ guidance: from first animations (at CEFR levels A0–A1) to short documentaries (at CEFR levels A2–C2), and the creation of a collection of literary texts (at CEFR levels A1–C2). The article also reflects on how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 has affected this work and explain why, in our view, it is not possible to “stay clear of politics” in Russian language teaching in the current situation.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Theory-Guided Studies from Teaching Practice
  topic: category
subject: animated alphabet
  topic: keywords
subject: basic grammar in video
  topic: keywords
subject: animated short texts
  topic: keywords
subject: documentaries
  topic: keywords
subject: listening and reading library
  topic: keywords
subject: teaching of Russian after 24.02.2022
  topic: keywords
creator: Anna Shibarova
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 97
ending page: 108
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.6

From YouTube to the Classroom
type: item
description: This article explores the educational potential of Maša i Medved’ for teaching Russian as a foreign language. As one of Russia’s most notable cultural exports in recent years, the animated series has gained global acclaim, with 142 episodes broadcast in over 100 countries (as of December 2024) and numerous international awards. The series, based on a Russian folktale, appeals to a global audience with its universal themes, such as friendship and loyalty, and its simple, linear narrative. Tailored to very young audiences, the seven-minute episodes feature minimal dialogue, limited to Masha’s character, while the other animals understand her but do not verbally communicate. This raises the question of how, and to what extent, the series can be effectively used in teaching Russian as a foreign language. The article aims to answer this question by demonstrating 1) how the episode Raz v godu [Once in a Year] can be used at different levels of language proficiency (A1+/A2 and B1), and 2) the media-didactic potential the series as a whole holds for teaching Russian as a foreign language.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: birthday
  topic: keywords
subject: computer-animated series
  topic: keywords
subject: Masha and the Bear
  topic: keywords
subject: productive skills
  topic: keywords
subject: RFL
  topic: keywords
subject: short films
  topic: keywords
subject: speaking prompts
  topic: keywords
creator: Manuela Kovalev
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 45
ending page: 65
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.4

TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in Russian Language Teaching
type: item
description: In this contribution, we demonstrate how social media content can be used in school or university Russian language classes. Social media platforms provide a limitless variety of multimodal content continuously generated by users globally, including Russian L1 speakers. On the one hand, these posts represent the world of Russian-speaking individuals and reflect national cultural specifics; on the other, many learners use social media in their daily lives, which makes the content visually, linguistically, and pragmatically very familiar to them. This provides a solid foundation for integrating them into Russian language lessons to develop intercultural competence (Byram, 1997). Using three didacticized posts from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, we exemplify how to successfully connect the content with textbook themes, how to consider different language proficiency levels, and how to develop various areas of intercultural competence.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: social media
  topic: keywords
subject: intercultural communicative competence
  topic: keywords
subject: digitization
  topic: keywords
subject: teaching Russian as a foreign language
  topic: keywords
creator: Jule Böhmer
creator: Daria Dornicheva
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 27
ending page: 44
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.3

TikTok in the Russian Language Classroom
type: item
description: This best practice example illustrates how social media content, more precisely a TikTok video and users’ comments, can be incorporated into Russian language teaching at the level A2+/B1. The presented activities aim to integrate different communication modes such as mediation, audiovisual reception, production and interaction and develop students’ digital media literacy, linguistic, sociolinguistic and intercultural competences. Following a brief introduction, the article explores didactic considerations related to the previously mentioned skills and competences. The paper closes with some final remarks on this best practice example. The printable ready-to-use worksheet is provided at the end of this paper.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: social media
  topic: keywords
subject: integrated skills practice
  topic: keywords
subject: digital media literacy
  topic: keywords
subject: colloquial Russian
  topic: keywords
subject: intercultural competence
  topic: keywords
creator: Sonja Bacher
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 17
ending page: 26
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.2

Audiovisual Adaptations of Literary Works in a Conversational Course
type: item
description: The aim of this theory-based best practice example is to demonstrate how audiovisual adaptations of literary works can be integrated into a university conversational course to enhance the teaching of Ukrainian as a foreign language. The focus is placed on the Ukrainian classic story Kaidasheva Sim’ya (The Kaidash family) by Ivan Nechui-Levytskyi, written in 1878, and its modern adaptation in the TV-series Spiimaty Kaidasha (Catch the Kaidash), made by Nataliia Vorozhbyt and released in 2020. This approach is designed to foster cultural competence, and deepen students’ understanding of linguistic, historical, cultural and social contexts. The teaching example utilizes a combination of audiovisual and textual materials to engage students in exploring linguistic norms, cultural development, and family dynamics within Ukrainian society in different times. The structured lesson plan follows the pre-, while-, and post-activity model, targeting language learners at the A2+/B1 level. The tasks encompass activities such as working with vocabulary and grammar, analyzing the language of an excerpt from the literary text and its corresponding scene in the screen adaptation, conducting a comparative analysis, and reflecting on the depiction of social and cultural changes. Additionally, the materials include a ready-to-use worksheet, accompanied by theoretical comments and practical recommendations for implementation in language course, as well as answer keys to support educators in effectively integrating this content.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Best Practice Examples
  topic: category
subject: conversational Ukrainian
  topic: keywords
subject: audiovisual materials
  topic: keywords
subject: Ukrainian literature
  topic: keywords
subject: teaching practice
  topic: keywords
creator: Svitlana Pidoprygora
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-02-12
publication date: 2025-02-12
starting page: 1
ending page: 16
doi: 10.48789/2025.1.1

Issue 6: TEACHING Slavic Languages: Status Quo, Challenges and Perspectives
type: item
description: We are pleased to present the sixth issue of DiSlaw magazine, which this time is dedicated to ‘Teaching Slavic Languages’. After decades of learner orientation or learner-centredness and related concepts such as individualisation or learner autonomy being the focus of foreign language didactics and language teaching research, there has been renewed research interest in teaching and teachers, and not just since the publication of the Hattie study (Caspari, 2016; Hattie, 2021; Klippel, 2016; Königs, 2014; Martinez, 2016). The complexity of teaching processes and teaching is reflected in numerous general didactic models (for an overview, see (Jank & Meyer, 2000); research is dedicated to topics such as successful teacher behaviour, professionalisation of teachers, methods in foreign language teaching, use of media or questions of assessment and evaluation (see Hallet et al., 2020; Kniffka, 2016).
subject: Full issue
  topic: section
creator: Michaela Winkler (ed.)
creator: Tatjana Vučajnk (ed.)
creator: Michaela Gindl (guest ed.)
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-09-26
publication date: 2024-09-26
doi: 10.48789/2024.1