Russian word-formation in the aspect of Russian as a foreign language: Traditions of Kazan linguistic school

The article deals with the evolution of theoretical conceptions of language in the 20th–21st centuries from the structural-systemic approach to the functional-communicative and anthropocentric paradigms and their influence on the understanding of the status of word formation within the system of linguistic knowledge, including the perspective of teaching Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL). The main aim is to develop the communicative competence of non-native speakers. The relevance of the study lies in the insufficient development of theoretical and methodological foundations for the purposeful formation of word-formation competence in RFL teaching practice amid increasing demands on learners’ command of derived vocabulary, since the teaching of various linguistic phenomena is impossible without understanding their underlying nature.The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical substantiation of the linguodidactic potential of Russian word formation from the standpoint of functional-communicative and cognitive approaches, as well as to determine its place among other linguistic disciplines in the context of the ideas of the Kazan Linguistic School. The article demonstrates that derived words function not only as structural units of the language system but also as significant text-forming and cognitive elements reflecting the specific features of the national linguistic worldview. We substantiate the need for presenting word-formation material in functional interconnection with syntagmatics, semantics, and cultural context.The article concludes that a comprehensive, communicatively oriented approach to teaching word formation is advisable, viewing it as an essential component of foreign-language communicative competence.