This article concerns the teaching of Russian phonetics and intonation to
Chinese students. The Russian phonetic and intonation course is based both on the comparative analysis of Russian and Chinese phonetic systems, rhythmic and intonational models, and analysis of the mistakes Chinese students make when studying the Russian language. The Chinese accent was analysed on two levels: elementary and basic. In the study the following problems persisted:i) Chinese students do not differentiate between hard and soft, and voiced and unvoiced consonants. There are other consonants which cannot be distinguished, for example [c] – [ш] – [ш’:], [ч’] – [т’], [р] – [л].ii) Vowel reduction in unstressed syllables is a difficult concept for them to grasp; likewise the pronunciation of clusters of consonants.iii) With regard to intonation, tonal movement in a sentence is usually not recognized.Exercises dealing with these problems are shown in the article.