From December 24 to January 10 the traditional “Winter School” was open for foreign students of the preparatory department of the Institute of Advanced Training and Retraining of our university. During this time, a complex of educational, sports and entertainment events was implemented for students — citizens from eight countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Senegal, Gambia, the Republic of Congo, Guinea, Togo and China. The organizer of the “Winter School – 2021” was the department for the implementation of pre-university education and vocational guidance programs, the teachers of the Russian language, associate professor I. N. Lapitskaya, senior teachers S. V. Shakuro and M. A. Samsonova initiated and implemented the program of “Winter School”.
The Winter School was primarily designed to promote the study of the Russian language through “live” communication outside the framework of the classroom. An important task was also to familiarize foreign students with the traditions of the Belarusian people, the cultural life of modern Belarus and the city of Mogilev. Almost all foreign students celebrated the New Year in our country for the first time and therefore got acquainted with great interest with the Belarusian folk traditions of Christmas and New Year holidays.
“Winter School – 2021” opened with a visit to the “Belarusian Kalyada” at the Department of Literature and Intercultural Communication on Christmas Eve December 24. And on Christmas, Catholic students from the Republic of Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo attended the festive divine service in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (St. Stanislaus).
The staff of the department and our teachers made every effort to ensure that the “Winter School – 2021” turned out to be truly bright and memorable. Thus, “Kalyadny Pachastunak” took place in the dormitory No. 2. Foreign listeners with great pleasure prepared and tasted dishes of Belarusian cuisine — hearty soups and potato pancakes.
The highlight of the “Winter School” was a visit to a large New Year’s musical performance “Beauty and the Beast” in the Regional Center for Creativity. On the New Year’s Eve, a presentation event was also organized, during which immigrants from African countries told about their Christmas and New Year traditions.
The very first days of the new year were remembered for walks around the city with a visit to Podnikolsky Park, Leninskaya Street, Slava Square, Zoo and Pechersky Forest Park. Foreign listeners really liked the exposition with New Year’s toys in the city Exhibition Hall.
“‘Winter School – 2021’ received the most sincere and warm responses from our students. Undoubtedly, it was also an excellent, ‘live’ practice of communication in Russian, in the study of which there was progress,” — S. V. Shakuro summed up the whole range of events. Joint leisure activities brought people from completely different countries closer together and also allowed them to understand better our Belarusian traditions and way of life. The audience also appreciated the fact that the university attracts them to participate in exciting joint events.
“Winter School” has already become traditional in the work with students from foreign countries at the Institute of Advanced Training and Retraining. Moreover, our experience in implementing this program interested other higher educational institutions of the country.