Russians learning English: An analysis of foreign language instruction in Soviet specialized schools

Though considerable scholarly attention is devoted to foreign language teaching in the Soviet Union, very little is written on the secondary schools that specialize in the teaching of a foreign language. Therefore, the principal question discussed in this work is: How does the system of specialized foreign language schools attempt to meet the needs for English language instruction in the Russian Republic? Inherent in this topic are specific issues that necessitate both diachronic and synchronic treatments of the research question: (1) the history of and need for foreign language instruction in Russia and the Soviet Union; (2) the development of specialized foreign language schools as an educational institution in the system of Soviet general secondary education schools; (3) the nature and content of the foreign language curriculum in specialized English language schools in the Russian Republic; (4) the materials and methods currently used to teach English in such schools; (5) the impact of the 1984 Soviet school reform on the teaching of English in specialized schools and their future.;Three significant findings emerge from the research question: (1) There exists a propensity for teacher-initiated variation and supplementation of classroom activities and approaches to the required material, in spite of the uniformity of syllabi and textbooks for all Russian specialized English language schools; (2) Teachers in the specialized English language schools attempt to teach and develop communicative (listening and speaking) skills in the classroom, despite the vocational/professional (English for Special Purposes) orientation specified in the 1984 Soviet school reform and subsequent mandates; (3) The new revised textbooks for specialized English language schools appear to be increasing the amount of communicative-based material over that in earlier texts.;Part of the descriptive analysis presented is derived from recent field work in various specialized English language schools and teacher training institutes in Moscow. Observational and interview data collected from students, teachers, teacher trainers, and materials designers are integrated into the thesis to produce as current and accurate portrait of the Russian specialized English language school as possible.