31.08.2005
 Russia has a long history of teaching the Russian language to foreigners. An active program (initiated by the Soviet Union) of recruiting students internationally meant intensive language training was necessary, as few students knew even the Cyrillic alphabet. Students needed to enter degree studies after a one-year preparatory course, able to compete with their native Russian classmates.
A methodology for intensive Russian language training was developed and continues today. Professional teachers of Russian have studied the teaching of Russian to foreigners as either degree study or as a component of their philology or other language studies.
Departments of Russian for Foreigners exist in most major universities. The size of the department - sometimes it is just a small division - depends on the number of foreign students normally enrolled. In large cities, at least one university will have an extensive center, where students undergo preparatory courses. Large universities with a strong humanities base will also offer Russian language study within the philology (or similar) faculty.
SRAS programs are based on a core curriculum for intensive Russian language study. While the final curriculum is influenced by each group (level, interests) and teacher, a summary of three levels of study is provided here:
Core curriculum
Beginning level
Intermediate level
Advanced level
Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL)
Students entering degree studies must pass a language exam. This exam is given at the end of the preparatory courses, or by arrangement upon arrival at the university. Any student can arrange to take this exam at any time at select universities. There is a fee for arranging the testing, which involves written and oral sections.
Credit transferability
Students taking a semester abroad should discuss credit transferability with their advisor in advance. SRAS will facilitate provision of supporting documents, which include a certificate and/or transcript issued by the Russian host university. For more information about credits, see the FAQs section of this site.
« back to SRAS For Students archive
|
