Participants

Basil Bessonoff ¹; Natasha Parker²;  ¹ Global Language Center , United States;  ² SSEES, University College London, UK

Discussion

New economic and political realities of the 21-st century have created a growing demand for professionals with advanced skills in the Russian language and Eurasian area studies . At present, Russian is officially defined in the US as strategic language number three after Arabic and Chinese,which explains the latest goal- teaching Russian to superior proficiency level. The Flagship language immersion programs , training students in the US and overseas, play a vital role in this process. The presentations of the proposed round table/ master class address the growing need for a more effective goal oriented training in language and Eurasian Studies at the upper intermediate and advanced levels. The discussions will focus on new training materials and individually tailored study abroad programs outside of Russia, enabling students, in particular, to utilize their skills in the Government and businesses. The Northern European experience in teaching Foundation Russian courses will also be looked at.