EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME ON THE UDMURT LANGUAGE AND CULTURE FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN A POLYETHNIC REGION

The paper discusses the issues of teaching nationality languages of Russia to preschool children, taking the Udmurt language and culture as an example. The relevance of the study is dermined by the scientific data according to which ethnic stereotypes in behaviour are formed most intensively in preschool age. Getting acquainted with new cultures and languages is particularly important for preschool education in multinational regions as it prevents the development of ethnocentric personalities. The paper aimed at a detailed analysis of the didactic and substantive content of the educational programme “Zarni bugor” (“Golden ball”) (hereinafter referred as the Programme) with the elements of teaching the Udmurt language to children from 4 to 7; the Programme is to be realised within three years in the Russian group of kindergarten № 5 in the town of Agryz, Republic of Tatarstan. The novelty of the Programme lies in introducing the Udmurt language (along with Tatar and Russian) into the educational process of the kindergarten. The research methods are theoretical (the study of academic literature on the problems of intercultural education in a multi-ethnic region) and empirical (observation and behavioral analysis of preschoolers). The system of exercises included into the Programme, its content, the forms and methods of teaching preschoolers present a consistant didactic material for teaching the Udmurt language and culture in this age group. The programme is expected to provide a high level of intercultural competence corresponding to the age of children, it is supposed to arouse their interest in the Udmurt language and culture, make them open for perception of other cultures.