Comparative analysis of cultural identity formation in foreign language education in China and Russia

Abstract

Globalization has confronted foreign language education with a demand that cannot be reduced to a single formula. It blurs borders between cultures and turns language competence into a tool for cross-national interaction – but cultural mixing simultaneously sharpens the question of how identity is preserved. Particularly for those who begin learning a foreign language in childhood and risk adopting it not as a means but as a new cultural frame. China and Russia encountered this problem differently, but at a comparable historical juncture. Both states have been deliberately restructuring foreign language education so that it not only transmits linguistic skills but also reinforces attachment to the native culture. This article compares the two approaches across three levels: top-level conceptual design, cultural representation in textbooks, and classroom practice. The analysis draws on policy documents, instructional materials, and research in foreign language education. The comparison reveals that the fundamental difference between the two countries lies not in their goals but in the logic of achieving them: China builds a systematic institutional integration of cultural identity through «curriculum-based ideological education», while Russia relies on historical narrative and the disciplinary foundations of linguoculturology. Both approaches yield results, but each carries limitations that the other might address.