Abstract:

Activities of RUDN (Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia), which is a multidisciplinary and classic international university, include international space programs. Professors from RUDN teach Russian to crew members of International Space Station – a joint international project that unites astronauts from 14 countries.

The relevance of this article is determined by the expansion and cementing cooperation in space exploration between various nations. The paper deals with the didactic system of teaching Russian as a foreign language to astronauts through the prism of linguistic and cultural adaptation. It features a wide range of academic problems and their solutions. It also encompasses more than 35 years of teaching experience obtained by RUDN professors through working with astronauts from the USA, Canada, Japan, Italy, France, South Africa, Germany and other countries in RUDN, Gagarin Space Center (Russia) and Johnson Space Center (USA).

The research encompasses such elements of teaching as accumulating cognitive experience which is then fixed as knowledge; practical activity experience which is supposed to be used when following some instructions; creative thinking and solving problems that may occur in emergency situations as well as interpersonal skills. It also describes the dynamic process of getting familiar with rules, behavioral models and language samples as well as linguistic adaptation that allows astronauts to communicate in Russian during their training.

The authors argue that the process of linguistic and cultural adaptation should be monitored and managed in order to optimize the astronauts’ immersion into a new linguistic environment. The following dominant criteria were discovered during the research: an astronaut and his or her environment during the training, adaption to the joint space flight as well as to the cooperation in space orbit.

The methods that were used during the research include surveys, discussions, different types of observation (direct/indirect, inclusive observation), modification of teaching conditions considering the level of adaptation etc. The experiment conducted by the authors allows them to describe various stages of linguistic and cultural adaptation and such parameters as motivation, cognition, operation, emotions.

The paper also touches upon various forms and methods that activate astronauts’ speaking skills. These methods include a model of professional interpersonal communication which creates a need of using the Russian language for communication. It has been proven that these methods activate speaking skills, increase mobility, develop communicative and creative abilities, raise motivation and improve communication within the international space crew.

The authors argue that it is possible to reach the psychological balance in both macro- and microenvironment, both on the horizontal (relations among the space crew members during the preparation for the flight) and vertical (astronaut–teacher, crew member–captain, astronaut-Mission Control Center etc.) axes in terms of cognition, communication, emotions and behavior, provided that the astronaut explores the culture using the means of the language.

The authors conclude that the language is more than a tool used for communication – it is also a factor contributing to the safety of a space flight.

Keywords:

Foreign language, Russian, space training, teaching adults, astronaut.