Jiang Tao

Background. The article discusses the need to improve the method of monitoring extracurricular activities in order to increase the motivation of Chinese students in the absence of a natural language environment.

Objectives. The study aims to develop and test key principles for organizing a long-term competition using online technology, taking into account the mentality of modern Chinese university students in order to maximize their motivation to learn. The purpose of the publication is to propose an innovative approach to integrating learning across several disciplines and organizing general extracurricular activities while ensuring the academic motivation of participating students.

Study Participants. 116 Chinese students studying in Chinese or Russian universities, including 14 sophomores (graduation year: 2027) of the Russian language profile of the Institute of Foreign Languages and Culture of the South China Normal University, took part in the experiment conducted at the end of 2024.

Methods. At the stage of theoretical research, the methods of literature review and comparative analysis of Chinese and Russian standards of RFL teaching were used. At the empirical research stage, the key methods are experiment, interviews with teachers and students participating in the experiment, as well as observation of teaching according to the proposed methodology.

Results. The typical difficulties in teaching foreign languages, increasing with the spread of digital technologies and Internet resources, are described; the immediate cause of their occurrence — lack of motivation — is noted; the following issues relevant to teaching Russian as a foreign language are considered: the advantages and prospects of using online technology in testing and organizing extracurricular activities for students, the application of Vroom's expectancy theory in pedagogical work, and principles for organizing a long-term competition to maximize the engagement of Chinese students. The study describes an experiment in an online environment, which is a 51-day competition in listening comprehension exercises using online technology called ‘Audition Marathon 2024’. As a result of the experiment, the motivational role and high pedagogical effectiveness of the approach put forward in the work were proven by comparing the results of exams in the discipline ‘Visual-Aural-Oral Russian’ for two semesters.

Conclusions. The results of research suggest that the main significance of organizing competitions using online technologies lies in stimulating extracurricular activities, increasing the amount of time students spend working on the language they are learning, and saving time in class for oral practice. Testing in an environment without direct supervision by the teacher should be accompanied by a productive way of motivating students to achieve high learning efficiency. In addition, when developing innovative means of motivating students to learn Russian, it is necessary to pay considerable attention to the modern mentality of the target audience, its learning traditions, and the available technical equipment.