Tag "Russian language"

Learning Russian is one of the challenges international students face when they come to Russia. HSE University helps them not only with Russian classes, but with informal events such as the Russian Speaking Club, where they can absorb the language in a relaxed and non-competitive setting. The HSE News Service talked to the organisers and participants of the club about their impressions of the first meeting and plans for the future.

The online Russian Speaking Club opened only a month ago, but has seen a rapid growth in the number of participants. Every week, the club holds free online meetings where participants and a Russian language tutor discuss various topics related to the Russian language and culture. Below, the club leaders share their impressions and plans, which include going offline.

For HSE Preparatory Year students, the Russian Speaking Club is a way to improve their language proficiency in a relaxed atmosphere. At this year’s first such event, they discussed online communications and social media. Michael Dzodzoe from Ghana and Leen Sabbagh from Syria shared their impressions with the HSE News Service.

On December 23, students of the HSE Preparatory Year got together for a festive Russian speaking club. They expanded their vocabulary and cultural outlook by immersing themselves in Russian winter holiday traditions and even played the role of Ded Moroz—the Russian Santa.

The team of the HSE International Preparatory Year said goodbye to its students at a graduation party that took place at the HSE Cultural Centre. 197 students from 58 countries graduated from the programme this year. They learned Russian and profile subjects in Russian, which has helped over 100 of them to enrol in degree programmes at HSE University.

A growing number of HSE University’s international students are actively learning Russian, even if their degree programme is taught entirely in English. To help them build fluency, the HSE University Preparatory Programme launched a Russian Speaking Club for its students in March 2021. Now, all HSE University's students, regardless of the programme they are in, can take part in the meetings.