The presentation of Russian in ASSiMiL textbooks between 1948 and 1991

Abstract

ASSiMiL is a method of teaching of foreign languages as well as a publishing company founded in 1929 by Alphonse Chérel. The method offers an autodidactical approach to learning foreign languages. ASSiMiL began publishing textbooks for studying Russian in 1948. This article is devoted to the analysis of Russian language textbooks published by ASSiMiL between 1948 and 1991, which must contribute to an understanding of the principal trends in the presentation of Russian and Russia/the USSR respectively. A part of our article explores the link between the ASSiMiL’s textbooks and the “spirit of the times”.