Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On October 30, the international symposium "From Tradition to Innovation in Foreign Language Teaching" was held at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPbGASU). Representatives from six countries participated in the event: the Republic of Belarus, Italy, the People's Republic of China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Russia. The Russian participants were also diverse, with papers prepared by authors from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Barnaul, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Tomsk, and Cherepovets.
Leading scholars and young researchers discussed current issues in language education to achieve intercultural understanding at a symposium.
Plenary session
Three reports were presented at the plenary session.
Leonid Moskovkin, professor at the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language and Teaching Methods at St. Petersburg State University, spoke to colleagues about trends in the development of methodological terminology.
Karine Chiknaverova, professor of the English Department at the Odintsovo branch of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, presented a report titled "Polysemantic Legal Lexicon. Teaching Challenges" remotely.
Elena Chirkova, professor at the Department of Intercultural Communication at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, spoke about the need for teaching non-verbal communication at universities.
Section "Current Issues of Teaching Russian Language and Literature to Foreign Audiences"
The session on "Current Issues in Teaching Russian Language and Literature to Foreign Audiences" featured presentations from both renowned experts in Russian studies and linguodidactics, as well as young practicing teachers, ensuring a fruitful exchange of experiences. The session was highly productive, combining fundamental research with applied solutions and methodological discoveries. Participants focused on a wide range of topics reflecting the challenges of the modern world.
The audience was particularly interested in the presentations by faculty members from the Russian Language Department at the S. M. Budyonny Military Academy of Communications. In particular, Associate Professor Tatyana Kalugina spoke about the importance of teaching cadets Russian using the example of Alexander Suvorov's personality and catchphrases. Associate Professor Olga Ustinova shared her experience using an interactive book dedicated to the Great Patriotic War as part of professionally oriented teaching of Russian as a foreign language.
Language learning for specific purposes was also a key focus of the meeting participants. For example, Natalia Orekhova, Associate Professor of the Department of Russian Philology and Russian as a Foreign Language at the Russian State Hydrometeorological University, addressed the topic of teaching all types of speech skills using the textbook "Russian as a Foreign Language. Studying Specialized Subjects," which she co-authored.
The important role of classical literature in teaching Russian as a foreign language was highlighted in the presentations of faculty from the Department of Intercultural Communication at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. Professor Elena Safronova demonstrated the importance of creative projects based on classical Russian literature. Associate Professor Anastasia Gubaydullina introduced the audience to the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) book collection as a valuable resource for teaching Russian as a foreign language.
The practice-oriented presentations by young colleagues, supported by examples from their own classroom work, resonated strongly and stimulated professional debate. In particular, Marina Mizgireva, an assistant professor in the Department of Intercultural Communication at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, presented her methodological development for teaching Russian syntactic phraseological units in pre-university training. Wang Hongyan, a Chinese graduate student at St. Petersburg State University, spoke about written assignments within the framework of task-based learning (TBL) as a means of assessing the mastery of Russian negative constructions in Chinese students. Ekaterina Parkhomenko, an assistant professor in the Department of General and Russian Linguistics and Methods of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language at Altai State Pedagogical University, presented a paper entitled "Studying Russian Language Classifiers in Russian as a Foreign Language Lessons."
"I'm very grateful to SPbGASU and my home university for the opportunity to participate in the symposium. As a graduate student, it was very important for me to listen to experienced professors and find inspiration for my dissertation," the young professor shared.
During a lively discussion, participants not only identified existing challenges but also proposed specific methodological approaches for addressing them. The meeting concluded by emphasizing the particular value of academic dialogue in consolidating the efforts of researchers and educators in promoting the Russian language and literature abroad.
Section "Linguistic, Didactic, and Sociocultural Aspects of Teaching Foreign Languages in Higher Education"
Teachers of English, French, and Italian participated in the section "Linguistic, Didactic, and Sociocultural Aspects of Foreign Language Teaching at University Level." The session was very rich, addressing issues such as the rationale for using artificial intelligence in foreign language education, developing students' competencies and moral values, and the specifics of translating professional terminology.
It's worth noting that many of the section's participants teach foreign languages for specific (professional) purposes in the fields of law, architecture, construction, forensics, mathematics, pharmaceuticals, and military affairs. The symposium served as a platform for the exchange of valuable experiences, new ideas, and trends in foreign language teaching.
A separate section of presentations was devoted to the important and relevant topic of the role of modern technology. Valeria Ryabkova, Associate Professor of the Intercultural Communication Department at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, discussed the specifics of modern tasks for teaching foreign languages in the age of artificial intelligence. Anastasia Frolova, Assistant Professor of the Foreign Languages Department at St. Petersburg Chemical-Pharmaceutical University, and Olga Asonova, Senior Lecturer of the Foreign Languages Department at the Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy, shared their experiences using educational mobile apps and platforms. Rosa Comparelli (Tomsk State University) highlighted the promising aspects of teaching Italian via a Telegram channel.
Senior Lecturer Alexandra Efimova and Associate Professor and Head of the Foreign Languages Department Grigory Rozhkov (St. Petersburg State Chemical-Pharmaceutical University) addressed important issues of developing soft skills and students' spiritual and moral values through the Foreign Language course and intercultural events. Associate Professor Tatyana Raikina from the Altai Branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration presented a study on developing cross-cultural competence through foreign language means. Maria Chueva, Senior Lecturer at Cherepovets State University, discussed the specifics of mathematical monologue speech in English. Svetlana Ryurikova, a young lecturer and assistant professor in the Department of Intercultural Communication at St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, presented the specifics of translating architectural and construction terminology. Galina Torokhova, Associate Professor at Cherepovets State University, discussed the history of French grammars.
Svetlana Sharifullina, Associate Professor of the Department of Media Communications and Advertising at the St. Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics, presented at the symposium the results of a research study she conducted with her son, Rinat Sharifullin, who is studying at the University of Helsinki (Finland). In her paper, "The Problem of Preserving Cultural Heritage: On an Unknown Interview with Foreign Journalists by Writer Vasily Belov," she described a "Finnish interview" with the renowned "village prose writer," discovered by chance on the website of a center for researching the writer's work. The researchers set out to find the original source, and through persistence and perseverance, they succeeded: they discovered that the material had been published in the magazine "Suomen Kuvalehti" in 1984. From this interview, readers learn about the writer's views on contemporary European values, the problem of preserving his native language, and other crucial contemporary issues.
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