The purpose of this article is to identify and describe the main aspects of the sociocultural analysis of a foreign language textbook. The material of the study was 5 Russian language textbooks for foreigners of the Beginner level, and 5 textbooks on Russian phraseology for foreigners of the Intermediate level. The following research methods were used: critical analysis of the scientific literature on the textbook expertise; content analysis of Russian language textbooks for foreigners on the following aspects: analysis of topics and situations, analysis of sociocultural units, analysis of forms of sociocultural units presentation, analysis of the author’s attitude to the textbook sociocultural context (the image of the target language country); systematization of data obtained as a result of the analysis.
As a result of the study, the main aspects of the sociocultural analysis of a foreign language textbook (choice of topics and situations, selection of sociocultural units, forms of the sociocultural units presentation, author's attitude) and criteria for their expertise were highlighted. The criteria for the choice of topics and situations are the following: their presence or absence in the textbook, their conformity or discrepancy to the standards and requirements for each level of Russian as a foreign language. The selection of sociocultural units is carried out according to their presence or absence in the textbook, degree of representation of these units, presence or absence of parallels with other cultures. The criterion for analyzing the forms of sociocultural units representation is the presence or absence of sociocultural units in texts, exercises, as well as techniques ensuring their acquisition. The author's attitude to the sociocultural context can be defined by the image of the target language country which is created in the textbook, as well as by the form and emotional coloring (negative or positive) of the sociocultural units used by the author.
The results of the study can be used by foreign language teachers, authors and reviewers of textbooks, and specialists on applied linguistics.