Current Issues of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language in Modern Education – 2025
The conference was timed to coincide with PetrSU's 85th anniversary. Around 60 specialists in teaching Russian as a foreign language from Russia, Belarus, and China participated, representing leading Russian and international universities and institutes, language centers, and schools, including Lomonosov Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, A.S. Pushkin State University of the Russian Language, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Southern Federal University, and Baltic Federal University named after Immanuel Kant Foundation, St. Petersburg State University of Economics, Ivanovo State University, Novosibirsk State Technical University, Moscow State Pedagogical University, General of the Army A.V. Khrulev Military Academy of Logistics, N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Northwest Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Belarusian State University, Peking University, Weinan Normal University, Zhejiang Ocean University, Dalian Polytechnic University, and others.
More than 20 specialists in teaching Russian as a foreign language from various Russian cities came to Petrozavodsk to participate in person. A delegation from Zlatoust Publishing House (St. Petersburg), one of Russia's leading publishers specializing in specialized literature on Russian as a foreign language, participated in the conference. An exhibition of new specialized educational literature published by Zlatoust was also organized.
The aim of the conference was to share existing experiences in teaching Russian as a foreign language, discuss challenging issues in teaching Russian as a foreign language and specialized disciplines in Russian to non-Russian audiences, and present new technologies for mastering various levels of Russian language proficiency. The conference was held in person and online: on September 25 and 26, the plenary session and the visiting section "Russian as a foreign language in modern education: problems, solutions, prospects" (hosted by the Urozero Educational and Health Center) were held in person; On September 27, the sections "Innovative Technologies and Extracurricular Activities in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language," "Methodological and Linguistic Aspects of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language," and "Culture and History in the Context of Russian as a Foreign Language" were held online.
Over the three days, more than 40 presentations were made on a wide range of topics, including the experience of creating specialized teaching aids, developing electronic resources for mastering Russian scientific style for foreign students, the specifics of verbal and non-verbal communication in Russian-speaking and foreign-language environments, conducting summer language schools, conducting special excursion-style classes, using game-based techniques in teaching Russian as a foreign language, methods for studying various grammatical and pragmatic aspects of verbal communication, the pros and cons of using neural networks in teaching Russian as a foreign language, and many others.
A distinctive feature of this year's conference was the inclusion of two significant events in its program. At the suggestion of Zlatoust Publishing House, an all-Russian roundtable discussion on "Current Issues of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language/Russian Language in Schools" was jointly organized in person and remotely. Representatives from schools and regional education development institutes in Petrozavodsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg participated. The discussion was moderated by A.B. Golubeva, Leading Methodologist at the Zlatoust Educational and Publishing Center, and I.N. Dyachkova, Associate Professor of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language and Applied Linguistics. A master class on "Authentic Listening at the Initial Stage of Learning" was conducted for senior students studying in the "Russian as a Foreign Language and Chinese Language" program by L.V. Zoloeva, a Teacher at the BKC-ih-Moscow language school and the Centro italiano di cultura. This was a unique opportunity for future RFL teachers not only to experience two roles—teacher and learner—but also to gain valuable skills necessary for developing professional competencies.
A special moment, which evoked a lively emotional response from all participants, was a visit to the Furyndalnaya café, where the folk duet "Kumushki-Podruzhki" performed for the guests and a traditional Karelian tea party was held.
According to the unanimous opinion of all participants, the conference reached a new level of scientific and professional forum, where, through rich and engaging discussions, participants shared experiences, generated new ideas, and discovered opportunities for collaboration.
An electronic collection of conference proceedings will be published following the conference's completion.
The organizing committee thanks V.V. Tarakanov, General Director of the Golden Ring of Karelia LLC, for their partnership.
