Authors

Discussion

The integration of artificial intelligence into language learning environments is reshaping pedagogical practices across higher education. In the context of Russian language instruction in higher education, this development presents both opportunities and challenges. While language teaching has long relied on a balance of grammatical scaffolding, communicative practice, and cultural contextualisation, AI tools now offer new modes of personalised learning, adaptive feedback, and access to authentic linguistic data. This paper explores how these technologies can be embedded into the teaching of Russian as a foreign language at the university level, and what pedagogical frameworks best support their adoption. 

Russian presents distinctive pedagogical difficulties: a complex case system, aspectual distinctions in verbs, and a literary-cultural tradition that requires students to engage not only with linguistic forms but also socio-historical nuances. AI platforms can assist in overcoming these challenges in several ways, such as by providing immediate feedback on morphology and syntax, generating tailored practice exercises, and enabling students to rehearse conversational scenarios. When critically integrated, AI translation and grammar tools can encourage metalinguistic awareness by making visible the limits and biases of AI-generated language.

This paper draws on classroom experience with undergraduate learners and current scholarship, examining how AI resources can complement human instruction. A blended pedagogical approach is proposed, in which AI is employed for reinforcing vocabulary acquisition, listening comprehension, and writing practice, while the lecturer retains responsibility for curating cultural content, modelling authentic interaction, and guiding critical reflection. Particular attention is given to the ethical dimensions of AI use, including concerns about student overreliance and the homogenisation of linguistic exposure.

Preliminary findings from pilot activities suggest that students perceive AI-supported learning as motivating and confidence-building, in particular when developing skills involving grammar-intensive tasks. Yet effective use requires explicit instruction on when and how to deploy AI critically, ensuring that learners do not conflate computational fluency with communicative competence. The central pedagogical task lies in designing frameworks that cultivate independent learners who can evaluate AI outputs, rather than uncritically consume them.

In positioning Russian instruction within broader debates on AI and education, this paper examines ways to balance language learning with student use of AI platforms, so that these tools serve as a catalyst for deepening linguistic and cultural proficiency rather than a substitute for the rigours of traditional pedagogical techniques and independent study.