150 students from Egypt take part in new online Russian language courses from RUDN

The joint history of Russia and the countries of the African continent in the field of education is rich: over 30 years of the last century, the USSR has trained more than 60,000 certified specialists from Africa. Interest in Russian education continues unabated today, it is prestigious and more and more Africans are striving to get it. Therefore, over the past 4 years, the number of students from Egypt in Russian universities has increased 5 times – today 12,357 Egyptians are studying in Russia. Russian universities refer to this interest and organize Russian language courses for Egyptian citizens.


3 additional education programs in Russian as a foreign language from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) were launched for residents of Egypt in mid-September. The courses will help Egyptians to learn the "great and mighty" even outside of language environment with current teaching practices and modern teaching methods. The courses have become a new stage of cooperation between the two countries. They are held on the basis of the Center for Open Education in Egypt, which was founded by RUDN in 2019 together with the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo.


During the courses, children and adults who plan to study in Russia or work in Russian companies will be able to learn the Russian language. Students are offered 3 programs: elementary level; basic level for those who already speak language (with materials on Russian history and culture). Besides, there is "Entertaining Russian language (A1)" course for children 12-17 years old. Young students will learn the language in a playful way, will read and write small texts on everyday topics, and take part in simple dialogues in Russian.


The program provides distance learning with language teachers, as well as tasks on a gamified online platform. Interactivity as one of the main advantages of the courses makes the learning process more effective and exciting. As a result, students will have the opportunity to determine their level of language, to pass state testing in Russian as a foreign language free, and to receive a state-issued certificate if passing.


The training will last until November 25, and the testing will take place until December 30, 2022. The duration of each course is at least 144 hours. Residents of Cairo can connect to online classes both from home and from the educational center based on the Institute of Coptic Studies. Registration and selection of programs are available on the website of the RUDN Institute of Russian Language: https://ru.rudn.ru/


"At the moment, 203 students from Egypt have been studying at our courses, including monks and nuns. This is Egyptian Copts diaspora, there are spiritual figures who are interested in the Russian language. It is very responsible for us to teach our friends who not only support the Russian Diaspora and Christians in Egypt, but also implement humanitarian projects for them, build schools, teach children and adults regardless of their national and religious affiliation. We are very pleased to be useful to those who promote high universal values, peace and harmony. By the way, at the initial stage of learning Russian, we attract teachers who speak Arabic to explain the specific of pronunciation and reading through the native language of our listeners. They do their homework on the learning platform, where all the tips and tasks are already given in the native language. Russian language students feel comfortable and gradually learn important details about our culture," Rubtsova Dina Nikolaevna, Associate Professor, Lecturer of the Russian language at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.


More than 250 Egyptians, of whom at least 50 will take a test in Russian as a foreign language, will join the new courses. The project is being implemented in partnership with the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo. However, during the courses not only residents of Egypt have shown interest in the programs and have joined them, but also 9 other countries: Palestine, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Italy and Sweden.