At Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, a scientific and practical seminar with international participation titled “Russian as a Foreign Language in Engineering Education: Challenges and Modern Approaches” was held. Representatives of the university’s Center for Language Competencies shared their vision and experience in teaching the “great and mighty” Russian language, alongside colleagues from educational institutions in Russia, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republika Srpska.
Typical challenges faced by international students include discrepancies between the school curricula of their home countries and those implemented in Russia, a random choice of profession, and a lack of effective study skills. While in the humanities these issues can often be resolved relatively quickly during the process of learning Russian, achieving the required level of knowledge in technical universities demands a significantly greater amount of time. It is therefore not surprising that, according to surveys of students in the Mining University’s preparatory courses, the greatest difficulties arise in higher mathematics, technical drawing, and engineering graphics.
The situation has intensified since Russia's leading universities joined the Pilot Project for the Modernization of Higher Engineering Education, initiated by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation in May 2023. The key elements of this model include a unified foundational engineering curriculum over four semesters, expanded practical training and technological experience, as well as the mandatory acquisition of additional professional competencies and vocational qualifications.
«In the new realities, it is no longer sufficient to view Russian merely as a tool of adaptation. We are transforming our approach to teaching international students and introducing a language trajectory called ‘Engineering Russian.’ It involves the integration of language skills with the needs of specialized disciplines—understanding lectures and academic literature, working with technical information, and communicating in a professional environment, including participation in conferences and industrial internships. Language training cannot be isolated: academic departments define professional requirements, and we provide the tools to meet them», - said Vyacheslav Zyrin, Director of the Center for Language Competencies.
To implement this approach, Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University already integrates elements of engineering disciplines at the preparatory stage, adapting the curriculum to the requirements of the first and second years of study. This allows students to become acquainted with the language of their specialty in advance and significantly facilitates their subsequent transition to studying in the mainstream.
In addition, instructors of Russian as a foreign language organize interactions with senior students and arrange visits to selected first-year specialized classes. However, the most popular format is the “Study Day” practice, when preparatory course students join the general cohort of first-year students and spend an entire day alongside them. This allows them to immerse themselves fully in the academic environment and feel part of the educational space and engineering community. The introduction this year of a university uniform, previously issued only upon enrollment in the first year, is also aimed at fostering a sense of belonging to the university environment.
Particular attention is paid to the development of academic skills, including preparing public presentations, creating slides, and participating in competitions and scientific events. In this context, the university actively utilizes the format of a student scientific society as a practical platform: students try themselves as speakers, work with academic texts, and learn to present the results of their research.
According to Natalya Brunova, General Secretary of the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature (MAPRYAL), the relevance of the seminar’s theme and its practical orientation can hardly be overestimated.
«In the context of a complex geopolitical situation in the world, which directly affects the enrollment of international students in Russian universities, teachers of Russian as a foreign language face not only challenges in teaching, but also in the sociocultural adaptation of these students. It is the Russian language instructors who become guides, introducing them to life in modern Russia. All these issues were fully addressed during the seminar. Particularly valuable was the fact that the participants shared their practical experience in solving various pedagogical and research tasks—from the difficulties of learning Russian in a Serbian-speaking environment, due to inevitable linguistic interference and a lack of information about studying in Russia, to the application of artificial intelligence in teaching Russian as a foreign language and the development of teaching materials for Russian as a language of specialization», - said Natalia Brunova.
The expert emphasized that the specifics of teaching Russian as a foreign language in technical universities are not limited to general didactic requirements and the features of lexical and grammatical structures used in various sectors of economic activity.
«International students face a double workload, studying engineering disciplines in a non-native language. Ideally, to achieve full mastery of Russian, prospective applicants should be given the opportunity to begin learning it in engineering-focused classes already in their home countries», -noted the Secretary General of the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature.
Zhao Tingting, Head of the Russian Language Department at the China University of Petroleum (UPC), addressed the relevance of studying Russian as a Foreign Language today:
«Our university is considered one of the leading institutions specializing in training personnel for the PRC's oil and gas industry. Since 2011, we have been producing highly qualified translators specifically for the mineral resource complex. Our educational model combines Russian language mastery with professional knowledge in the fields of petroleum, petrochemicals, and other sectors. By 2026, more than 200 specialists in this profile have graduated from the university; 70% of them currently work in China, while 30% are employed in Russia and Central Asian countries. It is important to note that in our country, approximately 40 universities produce Master’s-level Russian language translators.».