Siberian Federal University

The lecturers of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language became the authors of three courses and three course books: FM Holidays (auditing), I want to go to Siberia (regional studies), Express-course on preparation for TORFL-I / B1 (exam preparation). The topics and texts of the course books are interesting and catchy for students. More than 1600 people from 85 countries applied for the online courses.

The TORFL-I exam was the important part of the project. In-person testing of foreign students took place within three weeks. It was a very busy time for the teaching team, because there were many people who wanted to take the exam. Most of the examinees are students of Siberian Federal University, as well as other universities from 25 countries of the world. All 150 people successfully passed the exam, partly due to the fact that they attended the Express course on preparation for TORFL-I/B1.

One of the project goals is to make Russia, Krasnoyarsk, and SibFU more attractive to foreigners. The university is ready to accept students from different countries, and the course of Russian as a foreign language becomes an important step towards this. Despite the fact that there are courses that are taught entirely in English, the Russian language will help the student feel comfortable in our city. Current courses and modern textbooks are very helpful in solving this problem.

Anna Mezit, Head of the Department for International Cooperation: We are very grateful to the Ministry of Education for supporting our project for the second time. Not only is the financial component important. Our partner universities, partner recruiting companies, Russian centers of science and culture abroad provided powerful information support for Sibir.ru courses. In a fairly short time, we were able to collect a large number of applications (1600), improving the last year result. This is an indicator of growth, despite the high competition of online RFL courses in the world. Such interest in us shows that SibFU is a trusted, recognizable brand, and the topics of the courses offered this year are highly relevant. And for the second year in a row, the final stage of work on the grant coincides with New Year's preparations, which adds a special mood to it and turns it into a good holiday tradition.

Liudmila Kulikova, Director of the School of Philology and Language Communication: “We are summing up the results of the second year of a large-scale project on teaching Russian as a foreign language online. A huge number of participating countries, time zones (the earliest lesson started at 8 am, the latest ended at 11.30 pm), a long and intense, but very inspiring project. Of course, in 2022 we are determined to repeat this pleasant experience again”.

Tatiana Verenich, Head of the Department of the Russian as a Foreign Language: “Sibir.ru courses are uniquely designed by the lecturers of our department, who really put their hearts into this project. We maintain warm relationship with many course participants. They come back to SibFU for participating in summer schools or preparatory courses for foreign students. Feedback from listeners is the best evidence of the project success. Our lecturers pay attention to the motivation of students, their interest in and respect for Russian culture, the friendly and inspiring atmosphere of classes”.