It is crucial for teachers of Russian as a foreign language to investigate the way of development of the ideas about the teaching method in didactics and linguodidactics. Thereby, they can better understand the process of evolution of the scientific thought, its current state and define its prospects. It helps to build a modern theory of teaching that has a practical value. The purpose of this research is to describe the development of the ideas about the teaching method in didactics and linguodidactics, to identify its stages and to analyze the future prospects for the development of the theory of teaching, including the methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language. The research was based on about 80 theoretical works devoted to didactics and linguodidactics and practical guides for teachers, including manuals for teachers of Russian as a foreign language. The author used the methods of conceptual and contextual analysis, and the historical and descriptive research method. Analyzing the sources, the res