SPbSUT's Foreign Languages Week

From April 4th to April 16th, the Department of Foreign and Russian Languages organizes a Week of Foreign Languages for 1st-year students of the faculties of SPbSUT.

The event is held with the aim of promoting the idea of multilingualism, improving the quality of teaching foreign languages at the university, determining the level of foreign language proficiency, increasing motivation to learn languages, expanding socio-cultural, linguistic, and professional competencies of students.

Traditionally, the theme of the events of the Week of Foreign Languages corresponds to the declared thematic year of Russia. 2022 has been declared the year of Folk Art and intangible Cultural Heritage of the peoples of Russia. Russia is a huge multinational country, each of whose peoples is rich in its traditions and customs, art, and it is cultural and national traditions that ensure the connection of generations.

The main theme of this year's Week is friendship.

A Russian proverb says: "The language of friendship does not need translation." The language of friendship is a universal language, and the Department of Foreign and Russian Languages decided to offer students a new competition.

The children need to describe in a foreign language a monument dedicated to the friendship of peoples located in their hometown (province, region) or in the capital of the Russian Federation, as well as any event from the history of our country; an event from their own life, the lives of their relatives and friends, or from a literary work that is an example of the strength of friendly ties of the peoples of our multinational Homeland.

"Materials are accepted until April 7th, but very interesting works have already been submitted for the competition. It is clear that it turned out to be important for students to tell about their small homeland and monuments dedicated to friendship in their hometown, region," said Natalia Marsheva, the organizer of the Week's events, senior lecturer of the department.

Let's talk about several works.

So, Pavel Tsarev presented a story about the monument "Friendship of Peoples" in Astana. The monument has become a symbol of friendship and good neighborliness of more than 150 nations and nationalities living in Kazakhstan. The author of the Peoples' Friendship monument is Almaty architect Saken Narynov. The monument is 8 meters high and depicts a bowl, three bronze figures with intertwined hands, rushing upwards are in the center . "Shaking hands means that people do not have weapons, and they wish each other peace. When several people join hands and form a circle, it means that they agree with each other," S. Narynov explained.

Artem Boklazhenko described the monument "Song of Friendship" – a sculpture "Pipa and Balalaika", installed in Khabarovsk in 2014. It symbolizes friendship and close cooperation between the twin cities: the Russian Khabarovsk and the Chinese Harbin. Two folk instruments are fastened together in the sculpture – the Chinese pipa and the Russian balalaika. They are interconnected in such a way that they resemble the Chinese character "N", and in Chinese, the names of Harbin and Khabarovsk begin with it.

Yulia Kulakova, a native of Penza, told about the Globe monument, which represents the globe and symbolizes international friendship. The monument "Globe" is a unique engineering structure and is considered one of the symbols of the city of Penza. A similar layout of the globe exists in New York, USA, but it is smaller there.

The program of this year's Foreign Languages Week will include a traditional country studies quiz, and a popular competition of readers and performers of songs in foreign languages, where participants will present works that reveal the theme of friendship. Foreign students studying Russian as a foreign language are also preparing to take part in the events.

Teachers of the Department of Foreign and Russian Languages expect that students will take an active part in the Week, as it is a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their creativity and knowledge of a foreign language, and the winners and prize-winners, in addition to diplomas and memorable gifts, will receive additional rating points!

We wish all participants good luck!

Main events and dates of the Week of Foreign Languages:

1. Country studies quiz

Round 1: April 2 – April 8

Round 2: April 11 – April 16

All 1st year students studying English take part in the first round. It is conducted as part of classes on the LMS platform. Students who have scored 18 or more points are invited to the second round.

2. Readers' contest (in English and German) "Friendship".

Students submit videos to the competition no later than April 10.

3. Contest of song performers in English and German. The theme is "Friendship".

Applications are accepted no later than April 10.

4. Contest of creative written works (essay/composition/descriptive essay).

The deadline for the completion of works is April 6.

5. Quiz "Do you know Russia?"

For first-year students and preparatory department students studying Russian as a foreign language.

6. Readers' competition "Friendship" within the framework of the general readers' competition.

For first-year students and preparatory department students studying Russian as a foreign language.

Detailed information about the events of the Week of Foreign Languages for Students is available on lms.spbgut.ru , the Olympiad course.