Listening materials package for B2 international learners of Russian: an experimental study of effectiveness

Archive of Scientific Articles

ISSUE:

Philology. Theory & Practice. 2026. Volume 19. Issue 5

COLLECTION:

Language Teaching Techniques

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Abstract. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the feasibility of developing a listening materials package for improving listening skills in B2 foreign learners of Russian as a foreign language. The article presents the structure of the package, which includes three stages of working with an audio text (pre-listening, while-listening, post-listening); an obligatory component is keeping a listening diary, including for independent work. The experimental training was conducted at the Faculty of Philology of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (2023-2025) and involved a total of 91 students across three experimental phases. The results showed an increase in listening skills by 14-16% in groups that worked with the package. The scientific novelty lies in the systematization of educational audio materials in Russian as a foreign language for level B2 and the methodological substantiation of their application within a structured, experimentally tested listening materials package. Attention is paid to the selection of texts that touch on the sphere of feelings, emotions, and inner experiences of a person: only such material evokes a personal response and is able to maintain students’ attention. An illustration is provided by a fragment of the package based on a popular science lecture on the works of F. M. Dostoevsky. Limitations of the package’s application are identified: the need to incorporate it into the general learning system with the obligatory inclusion of other types of speech activity, dependence on students’ thematic preferences, as well as organizational and psychological difficulties associated with maintaining a paper-based listening diary (slow handwriting speed of foreign students, numerous spelling errors that reduce motivation, the likelihood of using artificial intelligence to obtain a ready-made answer instead of independent work). To overcome these limitations, the authors propose, among other solutions, using audio recordings of oral retellings as an alternative to written reporting, as well as employing selective or modified grading formats for the diaries.