‘I Made a Lot of Friends and My Speaking Level Improved’
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.
Polina Veselova, teacher of Russian as a Foreign Language at the HSE Preparatory Year
Our club had its pre-New Year’s meeting on December 23. There were even more students than planned: 22 people! Anastasia Zinchenko and I prepared a big quiz for the students dedicated to New Year’s traditions in Russia. International students from different groups got into three large teams to get to know each other better, chat, and test their knowledge of Russian cuisine, sayings and proverbs, superstitions and other cultural aspects. As the organisers, we were delighted with this, as the goal of the club is to bring our students together through Russian language and an interest in Russian culture.
The quiz ended with a tea party, songs, and dancing around the tree. Even the shyest and quietest students were joking, laughing, trying on Ded Moroz’s beard and hat, and dancing.
We sincerely hope that in 2023, the club will enjoy the same popularity among students. We have more interesting events planned for them!
Boris Carhuallanqui, Prep Year student from Peru
It was a warm and welcoming environment in which we all had the chance to communicate in Russian and meet new people from all over the world. It was useful for my studies, because the environment encouraged us to use what we learned in our lessons. We studied new vocabulary related to Christmas and New Year, Russian traditions, Russian cuisine and more importantly, new cultures.
Chimgee Battulga, Prep Year student from Mongolia
I find the Russian speaking club very interesting. I also like the fun way of teaching. The teachers and students are very warm and kind people. By going to the Russian speaking club, I made a lot of friends and my speaking level improved even more. I am learning how to speak properly by going to this club. I want to go to the club again in 2023.
Happy New Year!
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