The image of Russia in Russian language textbooks for Americans: using the example of the lexicon of the semantic field «natural-geographical environment»

The article is devoted to the study of the image of Russia created by the lexis of the semantic field "Natural-geographical environment" in textbooks of Russian as a foreign language, published in the USA in the period from the beginning of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st century. The purpose of the article: to identify the image of Russia that is created with the help of lexical means included in the semantic field "Natural-geographical environment" in textbooks of Russian as a foreign language, compiled by American authors. The article proves the important role of a foreign language textbook in forming the student's image of the country of the studied language. Via the analysis of the lexical units of the field in focus, selected from textbooks such as those which name and describe our country, its climate, weather, natural conditions, natural and geographical zones, natural resources, toponyms, the author of the article demonstrates the small number of these lexical units, their uniformity, scarcity and lack of diversity. On the example of the lexis of the semantic field "Natural and geographical environment" with the help of the following methods -- field method, continuous sampling method, semantic and quantitative analysis of textbooks methods -- the author proves that this lexis creates a schematic, stereotypical, one-sided image of Russia.

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