Interactive project of RMCE “Travel with IvSU” in Podvyaznovskaya school

On March 11, the delegation of foreign students and teachers from the Center for Russian Studies and International Education of our university held an unusual event “Travel with IvSU” at the “Podvyaznovskaya secondary school” (Ivanovo region).

This project continued the long-standing tradition of cooperation between our university and the secondary school of the Podvyaznovsky rural settlement. And it turned out to be a real celebration of friendship, aimed at giving children the opportunity to learn about the cultures of different countries from the lips of their immediate inhabitants, and for foreign students themselves to demonstrate their knowledge of the Russian language and better adapt in the city and country where they receive education.

Initially, each project participant was asked to choose a ticket for the trip. The guides were representatives of Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, studying at the Ivanovo State University. They held exotic lessons and master classes on the culture of their countries, introduced them to the geography, languages ​​and traditions of the peoples, answered numerous questions from schoolchildren and were able to communicate informally between events.

Lolade and Adetutu, students from Nigeria, who are at IvSU on an inclusive basis, were the most worried that day. “Today we are conducting a lesson ... And we arrived in Russia only 2 months ago. It is very difficult to speak Russian, although I myself started learning Russian at school, watching lessons on Youtube, and then chose this language to study at the Faculty of Humanities of my university in Lagos”, says Lolade. But the excitement from the first steps of teaching in a new foreign-language audience quickly disappeared, and it was replaced by burning eyes, bright emotions from warm communication and hospitality! At the end of their lesson, Lolade and Adetuta received painted Russian scarves as a gift from the students and their teacher S. V. Shishonkov. Throwing them over their shoulders, the African students sang a folk song in the Yoruba language in gratitude.

The results of the lessons were summed up by representatives of our university together with the leadership and teachers at the Point of Growth center, which operates at the Podvyaznovskaya school. The director of the school, Olga Vadimovna Shuvanova, addressed the participants with greetings and words of gratitude, noting the importance of the meeting for multicultural education. Representatives of the Center for Russian Studies and International Education of our university spoke about the prospects and importance of such projects for foreign students: its leader I.A. Ibrahim, Professor F.F. Farkhutdinova and associate professor R.N. Kanafiev. The students shared their impressions of their first pedagogical steps, expressing their sincere delight at the warm welcome and interest of schoolchildren, as well as their desire to participate in such events again. During the round table, it was proposed to consolidate the success of the “journey” with a number of cooperation agreements between IvSU and “Podvyaznovskaya secondary school”.

Our “journey” ended with a joint photo session and a brief presentation on the educational and educational activities carried out by the Center for Russian and International Studies in Russia and abroad. After that, representatives of our university received letters of thanks and memorable gifts from the hands of the director of the school. The participants expressed their mutual interest in continuing the tradition of joint educational activities!

Our meeting “Travel with IvSU” made it possible to increase the level of friendliness and tolerance among school students, to develop the ability to live in peace with others, tolerantly treat their views, customs, traditions, and also, by expanding the horizons of the children and introducing them to the cultures of other peoples, to educate respect for native spiritual traditions. Such international events should help instill in young people a sense of beauty, expand international creative ties, strengthen the ideas of peace, friendship, mutual understanding, and cultural and spiritual cooperation.