«I Will Be a Meticulous Teacher»
Starting from the new academic year, Linlin Zhao will teach the Chinese language at Petrozavodsk State University. Linlin, a graduate of Liaoning University (China), completed an internship at Moscow State Pedagogical University, graduated from St. Petersburg State University on the program "Russian Language and Russian Culture in the aspect of Russian as a Foreign Language". She fluently speaks Russian and English.
Linlin answered the questions by the PetrSU press service:
- I arrived to Petrozavodsk this year, at the beginning of April. I started postgraduate studies at the university. I study at the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology on the program "Education and Pedagogical Sciences". My sphere of interests is the methodology of teaching Russian as a foreign language. Four-five years ago I visited Petrozavodsk on an excursion from St. Petersburg. However back then I didn’t know that in a few years I would return here. Petrozavodsk is a small but calm and beautiful city. What I admire here is fresh air and beautiful nature. At the university, all the people are kind, they help me.
− Have you already got any favorite places in the city?
- I like to walk along the embankment of the Onega Lake.
- How long ago did you start learning Russian, why did you choose Russian?
- My grandfather has studied Russian (in the 20th century), he advised me, that's why I decided to study Russian. But I didn’t have a chance to tell my grandfather that I would teach Chinese to students in Petrozavodsk, because he is already elderly, he is not very well versed in modern technology, it is difficult for us to maintain contact. I think that he will be happy and supportive of me, because his generation has deep feelings and love for the USSR.
- Whom of the poets or writers do you like? Do you like to sing in Russian, if so, what are your favorite songs? Do you watch films in Russian?
- I like to read Lermontov, Chekhov, and Turgenev. I love singing, but it's hard to memorize the lyrics, so I can only sing a few songs. But I often listen to Russian songs. I also watch films, but not too much.
− Do you remember the first Russian word you’ve heard or said?
- It was the word "nadezhda” (“hope”). During the first lesson in China, our Russian teacher decided to give each student a Russian name. They explained to us that love, faith, hope are the most important and good things in Russia. This is how I got a Russian name Nadezhda, so I immediately memorized this word.
− Will you be a strict teacher?
− I will be a meticulous but not a strict teacher.
