“I understand!”: from the experience of innovative interuniversity system of teaching Russian to Chinese students based on the “Stanislavski method” and film-based learning

This article presents the results of an academic experiment dedicated to learning Russian by Chinese students, utilizing the program “I Understand!”. “I Understand!” is an innovative system of working on authentic audio-visual film production, this system was created for foreign language speakers learning Russian as second language (RSL) at B1-B2 level. The program has been implemented in 6 universities in Russia and China since 2022 and is regarded as a first application of elements of academic theatrical methodology (“Stanislavski Method”) and professional dubbing of films by RSL students. The effectiveness of work performed in the dubbing studios opened at the participating university campuses is justified by the high level of students’ voice-overs for the cartoons and films submitted to the international festival, as well as by the accelerated transition of foreign students to a qualitatively new level of Russian language proficiency - from B1 to B2 and from B2 to C1.