Learning Russian: Although Not Easy, But Very Interesting!

Associate Professor of the NSPU Department of Modern Russian Language and Methods of Teaching Olga Arkadyevna Novoselova held a round table for teachers of the Xinjiang University Department of Russian Language. The meeting started with a report followed by an interesting conversation between the NSPU teachers and their Chinese colleagues. The participants discussed the problems of teaching the Russian language to students with different levels of language acquisition and different mindsets, the problems of teaching speaking in a non-linguistic environment, and the communicative approach to teaching grammar. They also talked about testing in Russian as a foreign language, about the organization of extracurricular work for students in order to develop speaking skills, about expanding the cultural and regional knowledge of students, about the use of game techniques in lessons.

– We have common problems, we are looking for ways to solve them, and we also exchange experiences. The atmosphere of the meeting was very warm and friendly, something that we really need in the meeting of like-minded colleagues, - notes Olga Arkadyevna. – It’s pleasant to note that all the material from my report aroused interest. The work included the results of the analysis of the textbook resources in Culture Studies, analysis of pre-assessment tests and final tests. The Chinese teachers mentioned that not all of them knew exactly what information about Russian culture was presented in their textbooks. In other words, there was no overall picture of the teaching material. The Chinese colleagues also asked to show the video “Olympic ABC” and were interested in learning new information while doing the tests.

Another course that aroused keen interest among the Chinese colleagues was Yulia Bokareva’s project “Traveling around Russia”, designed to introduce foreign students to different cities of our country. Those who study the Russian language outside the language environment expectedly know a lot about Moscow and St. Petersburg, and almost no one is aware of the fact that there are many other interesting and tourist-attractive cities in our country. All in all, the classes were conducted for 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students.

– The second-year students were deeply impressed by this new and interesting information. Senior students were more goal-oriented: they tried to choose something that can be used later in their studies. After the presentations of the Russian main sights, the Chinese students got eager to celebrate the New Year in Veliky Ustyug, visit “Scarlet Sails” in St. Petersburg, see handmade lace in person in the Russian lace capital Vologda, go to Samara, Sevastopol and Vladivostok, - says Yulia Mikhailovna Bokareva.

For reference. In 2023, NSPU participates in the project of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation to create Russian Centers for Open Education in teaching the Russian language. On October 11, 2023, the first Russian Center was opened at Xinjiang University in the People's Republic of China. In 2023, as part of the work of the Center six educational programs are planned to be implemented. Students who study in these programs will master their Russian language, learn about Russian literature and culture and develop their communication and speech skills.