The article is devoted to the problem of using a regional component in foreign language textbooks to train future specialists to represent Russia in the situations of foreign-language cross-cultural communication and interaction within the home area. The suggested methods of using a regional component are of complex nature and include four aspects: pedagogical, axiological, methodological and culturological. Each of them is represented by relevant principles. A methodological model of culture as a system consisting of the complex of interconnected and interacting elements is offered.