Innovation in Language Learning

The article discusses some features of teaching the Armenian language at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in China. Special attention is paid to existing problems and their impact on the educational process. One of the most pronounced problems is the lack of educational and methodological literature in Chinese. The article also explicates those features of the educational process that specialists involved in teaching the Armenian language to Chinese students are recommended to pay priority attention to.

In September 2014, within the framework of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, the Armenian language was taught for the first time at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU).

BFSU is a leading educational institution in China, so having an Armenian language course at this university was extremely important. In the period of 2014-2018, Armenian was taught as a third foreign language. Given the growing interest and attention to the Armenian language, the university has made it a profession and has admitted its first students specializing in the Armenian language since September 2019.

Such sincere interest in the Armenian language in China, of course, is largely determined by the fact that Armenia and China are deepening cooperation in many areas, including in the field of education.

The relevance of the topic is justified by the existing number of students studying the Armenian language at BFSU. The purpose of the study is to identify some features of teaching the Armenian language to Chinese students at BFSU and identify possible difficulties in order to prevent them further. A comparison method was applied, as a result of which an analysis of some typological characteristics of the Armenian and Chinese languages was carried out, influencing the learning of the Armenian language by Chinese students.

Key words: the Armenian language, comparison of languages, teaching methods, lack of aids, compilation of textbooks