Native Kalmyk Language and Creative Musical Abilities of Adolescents in Folk Musical Art: Features of Connection

Abstract

The present study takes an unconventional look at the challenges of bilingualism. High school students' level of the native Kalmyk language is viewed in connection to creative musical abilities (instrumental, vocal, choreographic) in the field of Kalmyk folk musical art. The vector of research is determined by the revitalization of the native language mostly lost due to J. Stalin's repressions.The research was carried out in three stages. First, the ethnopsychological questionnaire (the features of the «Self-concept» of a high school student's personality) developed by the authors were used together with other psychodiagnostic tools. Then, the subjects' performance was divided into four groups: from comprehensive versatility to latency and absence of creative abilities. At the third stage, an attempt was made to determine the connection between the level of the native Kalmyk language and the level of creative abilities in folk musical art. The statistical calculations were made using the Matt-Whitney non-parametric test.The obtained applied results give reason to view the Kalmyk language as an effective resource for educational, intellectual and ethnocultural development of the younger generation of the Republic of Kalmykia.As a result, the authors have identified a large potential for the development of creative musical abilities in adolescents (one in three showed a low level of the native Kalmyk language). This makes it possible to ultimately utilize the innovative resources of school-based language training using the national musical culture to unlock the creative potential of high school students.The study has identified a stable trend: there is a connection between the level of the native Kalmyk language and the level of a person's creative musical abilities in the field of folk musical art in the context of their ethnocultural identification. Other possible lines of research within the aforementioned area have been named considering the significant dominance of the right