Usage-based model of language in a beginning Russian course

Instructional decisions in teaching foreign languages should be congruent with the psycholinguistic reality of language processing and acquisition. This chapter is an exploratory paper in applying the theories of usage-based models of language acquisition to beginning Russian as a Foreign Language (RFL) courses. The author first analyzes the theory underpinning the usage-based model and then discusses its possible pedagogical implications, providing examples from practice.