Marina G. Sergeeva

The relevance of this work stems from the ongoing shift in approaches to foreign language instruction. While previous eras emphasized refining learners' lexical and grammatical competence, the contemporary focus is on acquiring language as a communication tool. Within this context, fostering peer interaction during lessons becomes increasingly vital, as it offers a more effective pathway for developing communicative abilities in the target language. This is particularly crucial for Chinese student cohorts, who frequently encounter genuine speaking difficulties in foreign language learning. These challenges often relate to characteristics of the Chinese education system, which traditionally prioritizes exam success over cultivating effective communication skills. The article's objective is to examine methods of peer interaction in Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) classes. The primary research methodologies employed are systems analysis and comparative analysis. Key Findings. The work outlines the theoretical foundations and core principles underpinning peer interaction in RFL instruction. These include: a focus on communicative objectives; ensuring task appropriateness and difficulty level; providing clear instructions and task definition; implementing guided autonomy; fostering psychological comfort and accommodating individual differences; incorporating reflection and language support. Furthermore, the article identifies specific peer interaction techniques (pair work, group work, project-based work), analyzes potential challenges (language barriers, dominance by certain students leading to exclusion of others, lack of communication within specific pairs/groups), and proposes solutions. Theoretical Significance. The study's contribution lies in identifying, analyzing, and comparing key RFL peer interaction methodologies, alongside outlining their potential for application within student groups. Practical Significance. The findings can be directly applied in teaching Russian to international student audiences. Additionally, they offer practical utility for further research in foreign language pedagogy, including Russian as a Foreign Language.

The modern regulatory framework of higher education significantly changes the appearance of the university and necessitates a dynamic revision of the goals and content of the educational process, methods of achieving results and their diagnostics. A modern teacher should be ready to actively master and use new technologies, as well as create original effective technologies in pedagogical activity, primarily in the activity on methodological support of the educational process. The above said with all its acuteness raises the question of improving the level of methodological competence of a higher education teacher. This is impossible to imagine without a theoretical justification of its content in accordance with systemic reforms. The aim of the article is to substantiate the qualitative features of the methodological activity of a teacher in the modern higher education system focused on the personality of the student, and to reveal the content of his/her methodological competence on their basis. The results of the study are based on the normative trends in the development of personality-oriented learning in Russia and the corresponding requirements for the methodological activities of higher education organizations, the specification of which in relation to the functions of the teacher made it possible to present the content of the methodological competence of an educator in a modern university. Methodological competence, in our opinion, consists of particular methodological competences of general and special implication. The theoretical significance of the study consists in generalizing and presenting educational innovations contained in the current educational standards and other regulatory documents from the perspective of appropriate transformations in professional activities for methodological support of all elements of the student-centered educational process. We are talking about the goals and content of training, its forms, methods and means, as well as diagnostics of educational results. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of using the presented content of the methodological work of a university teacher in organizing the training of teaching staff for methodological activities, drawing up appropriate educational programs or assessing the methodological competency of the university faculty.

In the context of ongoing educational transformations, the tasks and functions of the faculties of higher education institutions are becoming more complex, which entails the need to change the methodological support of the educational process. The implementation of new approaches to the organization of methodological activities in higher education is associated, first of all, with the degree of expression of the methodological competence of an individual teacher. Therefore, various aspects of the phenomenon of a teacher’s methodological competence at a modern university are one of the significant subjects of scientific research. The aim of the article is to theoretically substantiate the concept of "methodological competence of a higher education teacher" in the context of the existing educational environment and its structure. The consideration of the methodological competence of a teacher of the higher education system was preceded by a retrospective analysis of domestic and foreign articles in the field of professional competence, a particular manifestation of which is methodological competence. As the main results of the study, a modern view on the concept of "methodological competence of a higher education teacher" is presented from the position of a functional approach, taking into account the integral essence of professional competence and practical significance. A model of the structure of methodological competence is also proposed, including components (gnoseological, praxeological and axiological) and four levels described using universal descriptors. These universal descriptors can be refined based on current requirements for the content of methodological competence. In our opinion, it should be expressed in the language of particular methodological competencies or competences. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the fact that the interpretation of the methodological competency of a university teacher in relation to today's realities serves as the basis for solving the problem of identifying or updating the organizational-pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical conditions for its formation. The study is also significant from a practical point of view, since the developed model of the methodological competency structure can be used by educational organizations of the additional professional education system when working out programs aimed at improving methodological activities, as well as for intra-university monitoring of its effectiveness.

Under the influence of modern information technologies, higher education has entered the era of digital education. Traditionally accepted relationships in the university, when a student is an object, and a teacher is a subject of the educational process, are being questioned. The structure of interaction and relationships between teachers and students at universities is changing. If earlier the interaction between a teacher and a student was limited by space and time, then in the era of digital information education these restrictions can be eliminated. There was also distance learning (through paper letters, videotapes, etc.) before the widespread use of the Internet, however, such education was episodic, one-sided and could neither replace nor fully complement traditional classroom-based higher education. However, today the situation has changed, and this issue is relevant to consider not only from the point of view of new educational methods, but also from the position of changing the nature and direction of communication between students and teachers as the main participants in the educational process. The aim of the article is to describe in detail the characteristics of changes, technological achievements and trends in the development of interaction between participants in the educational process at a university in the era of digital education. This article is of a theoretical nature. It uses systemic, cultural-historical and communicative approaches. The results of the study suggest that the choice of electronic educational environments requires a clear correlation with the format of pedagogical activity and its targets. Moodle demonstrates the greatest efficiency in the framework of systemic training designed for a long term; the platform provides detailed control of students' academic achievements and structured accumulation of educational analytics. In turn, Zoom is suitable for organizing synchronous classes: online lectures and seminars, where immediate exchange of opinions between participants is important. Theoretical significance of the work. The article contributes to understanding the functional characteristics of digital educational platforms in the context of transforming interaction between students and teachers today. Practical significance of the work. The results of the study can be useful for updating university programs through the targeted implementation of technologies for adjusting pedagogical approaches taking into account the synergy of asynchronous and synchronous formats, and for improving the quality of distance learning. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the work examines the specific features of interaction between teachers and students in digital environment in the context of the present time using specific examples.

The professional standard "Teacher" describes a number of new labour functions, labour actions carried out within the teacher's activity framework. Modern teachers do not always perform all the required new functions and actions, so their compensatory education is now organized in educational institutions of additional professional education. The aim of the article was to present the structure of the teacher's professional subjectivity development system in an educational organization of additional professional education. The main approaches in our research were the study of literary sources on the chosen topic and the definition of the component characteristics of the teacher's professional subjectivity development system. The article results in the presentation of the main structural elements of the teacher's professional subjectivity development system in the educational organization of additional professional education: 1 – the coordination component involves the organization of long-term planning; 2 – the research component is aimed at conducting research on the professional needs of teachers, missing competences, and the peculiarities of teachers' professional subjectivity; 3 – the experiential component is aimed at conducting teacher training within the framework of advanced training courses, organizing the development of a student's own individual educational vector; 4 – expert component involves an analytical review by the tutor of the educational organization of additional professional education and by the trained teacher of the levels of teacher’s professional subjectivity, comparing their characteristics at the first and last stages of training. The theoretical significance of the article lies in the examination of significant research by domestic, American and Canadian researchers on the problems of continuing professional education, issues of professional subjectivity and its development. The practical significance consists in identifying the main characteristics of the teacher's professional subjectivity development in an institution of additional professional education.