This article is devoted to the issues of foreign language teaching. It analyses the process of teaching a specific foreign language which also takes into account linguistic thinking which constitutes its starting point. The problem can be accounted for by means of constructivism – a key assumption of language teaching in the postcommunication era. According to constructivism, acquisition of new knowledge is based on the prior knowledge. Consequently, the mechanism of transfer is regarded as a mental and linguistic activity which to a great extent determines foreign language acquisition. Types of transfer (unconscious and controlled), its kinds (interlingual, intercultural, intralingual) and aspects (positive and negative) allow for the presentation of didactic consequences in teaching Russian to the Polish.