From December 24 to January 9, the traditional “Winter School of the Russian Language” worked at the Institute for Advanced Studies and Retraining. During this time, a whole range of educational, sports and entertainment events was implemented with foreign students of the training courses “Russian as a foreign language”. This year, more than 70 foreign students from 11 African countries (Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Eritrea, Ethiopia) and China became participants of the Winter School.
The organizer of the “Winter School of the Russian Language – 2022” was the department for the implementation of programs for pre-university education and career guidance of the Institute for Advanced Studies and Retraining, and all the plans were implemented by teachers of the Russian language — Associate Professor I. N. Lapitskaya, senior teachers S. V. Shakuro and M. A. Samsonova.
As part of the Winter School, the study of the Russian language continued through informal communication outside 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. Foreign students celebrated the New Year in our country for the first time, so they were interested in the Belarusian traditions of Christmas and New Year holidays. And, of course, for people from Africa, snowy winters and frost are undeniably exotic.
The Winter School 2022 opened with a congratulatory event with the participation of Father Frost and the Snow Maiden. Foreign students also visited a large theatrical performance “The Little Mermaid” in the Regional Center for Creativity. At Christmas, Catholic students attended a festive service in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (St. Stanislaus Church). In the first days of the new year, walks around the city took place with a visit to the Podnikolsky park, the Zoo and the Pechersky forest park. The highlight of the “Winter School” was the New Year’s concert, organized with great enthusiasm by the students themselves, living in hostel No. 3.