Motivation for learning foreign (Russian) language within the Mongolian audience: a sociolinguistic aspect

The article studies motivation for learning foreign languages, including the Russian language within the Mongolian audience. Motivation refers to the form of expressing the need to acquire a foreign language, which generates interest in educational activities. The author analyzes some results of a sociolinguistic survey conducted from 2021 to 2023 among schoolchildren and students in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and in other cities and aimaks of Mongolia. The article provides a brief overview of the status of teaching the Russian language in educational institutions in Mongolia, and analyzes the responses of students to a series of sociolinguistic and linguocultural questions that were asked to determine their motivation for learning Russian. It has been established that the respondents mention the development of creative and intellectual potential as motives for acquiring the Russian language, due to its role as a language of education, information, and obtaining a profession.