Methodological approaches in current research on second language acquisition of Russian

This chapter surveys the major methodological approaches that shape research on second language and heritage acquisition of Russian. It offers a broad synthesis of qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, corpus-based, and experimental traditions. Recent work shows how methodological diversification has moved the field beyond basic proficiency assessment toward a deeper account of developmental trajectories, learner variation, and the cognitive mechanisms that support Russian SLA. Qualitative approaches, including interviews and case studies, reveal sociocultural influences, identity formation, and heritage-language maintenance. Quantitative and mixed-methods designs provide statistically grounded evidence on grammatical development, cross-linguistic influence, and instructional effects. Corpus-based methods now allow large-scale analyses of learner output across modalities, while experimental techniques, including eye-tracking and neuroimaging, capture real-time processing and neural adaptation in L2 and heritage speakers. This chapter also highlights central methodological challenges in the field of RSLA, such as sampling limitations, replicability, accurate proficiency measurement, and the design of longitudinal studies.