Russian Russian as a Foreign Language Teaching in Theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church was a round table discussion at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on February 27. It was attended by teachers and staff of theological and secular universities, including the Moscow and St. Petersburg Theological Academies, Lomonosov Moscow State University and the St. Petersburg Mining University named after Empress Catherine II.
Before the start of the round table, the participants were given a tour of the Theological School. The guests got acquainted with the history, traditions and educational process, and also attended open classes of foreign students to see how the teaching methods of RCT in spiritual education are implemented in practice.
The participants were greeted by the Vice-rectors for Academic Affairs of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Theological Academies, Archpriest Vladimir Hulap and Priest Pavel Lizgunov, as well as the Deputy Executive Director of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, D. O. Rudkovsky.
The official part was opened by Archpriest Dimitri Sizonenko, Head of the International Department of the St. Petersburg Orthodox Church, who emphasized that language in spiritual education is not just a means of communication, but also an important element of theological understanding.
The round table focused on the specifics of teaching Russian in theological educational institutions, the development of curricula with a focus on theological subjects, as well as the adaptation of foreign students.
I. D. Ivanov, methodologist of the International Department, lecturer at the Russian Academy of Sciences, presented the report "The Russian Language as a space of Theological Meaning," and T. I. Alexandrova, Senior lecturer at the St. Petersburg State University of Sciences, shared her experience in teaching Russian Language. A. S. Terentyev, a specialist in the International Department of the Moscow Theological Academy, spoke about the stay and cultural adaptation of foreign students at the Moscow Theological Academy, and Yu.V. Shabarova, a teacher at the Moscow Theological Academy, presented an overview of teaching methods at this educational institution.
The report of M. Y. Sidorova, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian Language at Lomonosov Moscow State University, attracted special attention of the participants. In her speech, she proposed adapted methods of teaching Russian language for religious educational institutions based on her many years of experience teaching Russian to foreign students. Her work sparked an active discussion, as the methods presented make it possible to take into account not only the linguistic characteristics of students, but also the specifics of their theological training.
A.V. Golubeva, PhD, editor-in-chief of the Zlatoust Educational and Publishing Center, spoke about the criteria for evaluating the RCT course, and V. E. Chumirina, PhD, Associate Professor of the Russian Language Department at Moscow State University, presented a new textbook on the language of theology specialty for students of theological schools.
The round table has become an important platform for the exchange of experience and the search for solutions to current problems in teaching Russian to foreign students of theological academies. Following the discussions, the participants outlined promising areas of cooperation, including the development of new methodological materials and the implementation of subsequent scientific and methodological events.