Russian as a Foreign Language

HSE students are eligible for a 10 % discount

Courses offered by the Department of Foreign Languages in HSE, St. Petersburg

Russian is spoken by around 300 million people, making it the fifth most prevalent language in the world. Spanning nine time zones, Russia's influence in the world can truly be said to spread from East to West, and a knowledge of the language will give you a profound insight into the country.

The benefits are wide-ranging, varying from the economical to the cultural. Due to its wealth of natural resources and raw materials, the Russian market should be of key interest to most foreign businessmen. Additionally, Russia prides itself on its scientific achievements, and its recent innovations in engineering, computer programming, and IT are further incentives to those considering studying.

In need of no introduction, of course, is Russia's fine tradition in the arts. Its literary canon alone boasts the likes of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Anton Chekov. If we expand it to include composers, ballet dancers, and artists, the list of names becomes too exhaustive to note. In learning Russian, you can begin to appreciate these masterpieces in their original form, and get ever closer to understanding the mysterious Russian soul.

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Programme

Throughout each Russian language course, students will develop their reading, listening, writing and speaking skills, as well as learn grammar and vocabulary that correlate to the level stated-above. As a part of all courses students study in mini-groups of 5-6, 4-5 or 3-4 students as this is the most conducive to learning. Each student will have their own trajectory for working on developing language skills, which they will agree on with their teacher.

The Russian Language Courses are conducted in Russian. All courses are based on the best manuals published by the leading universities and publishing houses in Russia, what's more, they include online resources necessary for enriching vocabulary, practicing grammar and developing listening, reading, writing and speaking skills.

In order to be enrolled in the course, you must take a free placement test.

Course Levels

All courses imply full-time study

Russian as a Foreign Language (0-A1 level)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to learn the Russian alphabet;
to obtain a basic knowledge of Russian grammar;
to be able to speak about yourself, family, friends, work and free time;
to understand the gist of a basic conversation or text in Russian;
to write simple texts on such topics as yourself, family, friends, work and free time;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture.

Russian as a Foreign Language (A1.1 level)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to obtain a better basic knowledge of Russian grammar;
to be able to speak about yourself, family, friends, work and free time;
to understand the gist of a basic conversation or text in Russian;
to write simple texts on such topics as yourself, family, friends, work and free time;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture.

Russian as a Foreign Language (A1.2 level)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to obtain a better knowledge of elementary Russian grammar;
to be able to speak about yourself, family, friends, work and studies, free time, hometown, weather etc.;
to understand the gist of a basic conversation as well as of short simple texts in Russian;
to ask questions and hold a short conversation;
to write simple short texts on different topics;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture.

Russian as a Foreign Language (A2.1 level)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to obtain a better knowledge of elementary Russian grammar;
to able to speak about yourself, family, friends, work and studies, free time, hometown, weather etc.;
to understand the gist and some details of a basic conversation as well as of short simple authentic texts and adapted texts in Russian;
to ask questions and hold a short conversation;
to write simple texts such as letters on different topics;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture.

Russian as a Foreign Language (A2.2 level)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to improve the knowledge of elementary Russian grammar;
to be able to speak about yourself, family, friends, work and studies, free time, hometown, weather etc.;
to understand the gist and some details of a basic conversation as well as of elementary authentic texts and adapted texts in Russian;
to ask questions and hold a short conversation;
to write texts such as letters on different topics;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture.

Russian as a Foreign Language (B1.1 level)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to obtain knowledge of an intermediate level of Russian grammar;
to be able to speak about yourself, your interests, family, work, studies, free time, health, hometown etc.;
to be able to ask questions and hold a conversation, thus communicating effectively in different everyday situations;
to understand the gist of an authentic conversation or text in Russian as well as some details and the writer's conclusion;
to understand texts on various topics and speak about them, in addition to expressing individual opinions on a certain topic;
to write texts of different formats about a range of topics such as yourself, your interests, family, work, studies, free time, health etc.;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture.

Russian as a Foreign Language (B1 level+certificate)

Course objectives:

to develop pronunciation skills;
to obtain knowledge of an intermediate level of Russian grammar;
to be able to speak about yourself, your interests, family, work, studies, free time, health, hometown etc.;
to be able ask questions and hold a conversation, thus communicating effectively in different everyday situations;
to understand the gist of an authentic conversation or text in Russian as well as some details and the writer's conclusion;
to understand texts on various topics and speak about them, in addition to expressing individual opinions on a certain topic;
to write texts of different formats about a range of topics such as yourself, your interests, family, work, studies, free time, health etc.;
to get an insight and understanding of Russian culture; to prepare for the First Certification Level (TORFL-I / B1) exam.

Application

Requirements:

An application form and an entrance test determining the level of Russian (excl. 0-A1 level).

To apply for any course, please submit:

Your passport and its copy or an equivalent ID.
Your diploma or other qualification certificate and its copy
Document confirming the change of surname, name, patronymic (if applicable) and its copy