Center for Open Education in India

The project is being implemented by the Foundation for the Support of Humanities "My History" and Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University" with the support of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

The course programs were developed within the framework of the agreement No. 45/CОО-2024 from 05/28/2024 with the Foundation for the Support of Humanities "My History". The project aims to ensure organization and work of a comprehensive network of Centers for Open Education in Russian and Russian language teaching abroad.

- Dr. Elena Dzyuba, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian and Foreign Philology;

- Dr. Yulia Marinina, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Russian and Foreign Philology;

• professor of the following disciplines: "Masterpieces of world literature", "Expressive reading", "Methods of scientific research" in a foreign audience of students of Minin University.
• head of Bachelors’ Graduation works in the field of Russian as a foreign language and Masters’ theses in the field of Teaching Russian as a foreign language of foreign students»;
• developer and professor of international educational projects of Minin University - "Faces of the Russian Diaspora: Faces, Fates, Books" (Summer School for students, master students, and postgraduate students from Russia and Poland, 2019); "In Search of Unraveling the National Russian Code: Educational Routes" (2020); "Mobile University of Education in Russian (Bachelor's, Master's, Postgraduate Support)" (since 2021); "Philological Marathon" (2022), "Philological Class" (2023);
• participant in conferences, author of publications on the problems of teaching Russian as a foreign language and philological disciplines for foreign audience.

- Dr. Tatyana Sheveleva, Ph.D. in Philology, Head of the Department of Russian as a Foreign Language;

• head of the educational Bachelor’s degree program "Russian as a foreign language" and Master’s degree program "Russian as a foreign language in the digital environment";
• supervisor of Bachelor’s degree theses in the fields of Russian as a foreign language, Russian language and literature and Master’s degree theses in the fields of teaching Russian as a foreign language, Russian as a foreign language in the digital environment.
• professor of the following disciplines: "Practical Course of the Russian Language", "Workshop on Preparation for the International Exam", "Methodology of Scientific Research", "Russian Regional Studies", "History of Foreign Literature".

Research interests: Russian as a foreign language in the online environment, digital linguodidactics, audio and video materials in learning Russian as a foreign language, intercultural communication, linguocountry studies.

 

- Dr. Anna Latukhina, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate professor of Russian and Foreign Philology;

• specialist in the field of methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language
• thesis adviser of final qualification papers of bachelor’s degree students majoring "Russian as a foreign language" and master's degree students majoring "Teaching Russian as a foreign language";
• professor of retraining programs and head of master-classes on methods of teaching Russian as a foreign language at universities of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Bukhara), the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (Batken), advanced training courses for teachers of Russian as a foreign language in the Republic of Poland (Lublin).

Research interests: theory and practice of text analysis in Russian as a foreign language classes, design of educational programs, use of information technologies in teaching Russian as a foreign language.

- Dr. Natalya Petrova, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian Language and Speech Culture;

• thesis adviser of final qualifying papers of undergraduate students majoring in “Russian Language and Literature” and graduate students majoring in “Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language”; thesis adviser of final qualifying papers of postgraduate/doctoral students (“Linguistics”).

Research interests: communicative-pragmatic functions of grammatical forms in the text, transitional and syncretic phenomena in the morphology of the Russian language, communicative strategies and tactics in media texts.

- Dr. Galina Samoilova, Ph.D. in Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian Language and Speech Culture;

• specialist in the field of theory and history of language, thesis adviser of foreign students’ final qualifying works and master's theses of students studying the major "Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language".

Research interests: sociolinguistics, Old Church Slavonic, history of the Russian language, teaching Russian as a foreign language. Participant of conferences, author of publications on the topic of teaching Russian as a foreign language, including those indexed in the Scopus and WoS databases.

- Dr. Anna Komyshkova, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Russian Language and Speech Culture;

• professor of the following disciplines: "Russian language and culture of speech", "Linguistics of the text", "History of the Russian literary language" at Minin University. Taught such disciplines as "Business Russian language", "Philological analysis of the text" for foreign students of Minin University (China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan). Supervisor of final qualifying works of foreign students and master's theses of students studying at "Teaching Russian as a foreign language" program;
• participant in the Academic Mobility Program "Erasmus+" (Vilnius University, Lithuania, 2017);
• developer and professor of international educational projects of Minin University "Bridge over the Volga" (Summer School of Russian as a Foreign Language, 2017); "In Search of Unraveling the National Russian Code: Educational Routes" (2020); "Mobile University of Education in Russian (Bachelor's, Master's, Postgraduate Support)" (since 2021); "Philological Marathon" (2022), "Philological Class" (2023);
• participant in conferences, author of publications on the problems of teaching Russian as a foreign language and philological disciplines for foreign students.

- Dr. Marina Aksenova, PhD in Philology, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Language Professional Communication;

- Dr. Natalya Ilchenko, Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Russian and Foreign Philology.

Communicative Functions of Russian Grammar

Course developer: Dr. Natalia Petrova

Summary:

The goal of the course is to obtain in-depth knowledge of grammatical forms’ semantics, their communicative-pragmatic functions and national specifics of expressing speech acts. An important objective of the course is to improve the skills of using and interpreting grammatical forms, morphological and syntactic, in texts of different styles including colloquial and fiction. The main topics of the course:

1) specificity of grammatical meaning, connection between grammatical and lexical meaning of a word in the Russian language;

2) structural and semantic functions of case forms: forms with subjective meaning, genitive of direct object, contextual homonymy of genitive subject and object, accusative of animate and inanimate object, polysemy of instrumental case; factors of formation of semantics of case form in utterance;

3) specificity of semantic-syntactic properties of negative pronouns (on the example of pronouns-nouns);

4) grammatical methods of intensification of feature

5) type of verb and modal coloring of sentence;

6) communicative-pragmatic functions of verb mood forms;

7) functional synonymy of active and passive constructions;

8) functional synonymy of semi-predicative and predicative constructions;

9) pragmatics of interrogative-negative sentences and sentences with double negation;

10) semantics and pragmatics of one-member sentences (nominative, indefinite-personal, generalized-personal, impersonal).

Course duration:

The course is designed for 72 hours (58 hours of classroom work and 14 hours of independent work) and aimed at Bachelor’s students, Postgraduates, and Master's students who have a level of Russian B2 (above intermediate), C1 (advanced).

Format: full-time

Mastering this course will help students to deepen linguistic and communicative competence in the field of the Russian language, expand the understanding of the Russian mentality and the peculiarities of national speech behavior and improve skills of correct text interpretation. Course participants will receive a corresponding certificate.

Russian Mentality in Language and Speech

Course developer: Dr. Galina Samoylova

Summary:

The course "Russian mentality in language and speech" is dedicated to the analysis of the conceptual sphere of the Russian language. The main theoretical concepts of the course are ethnolinguistics, Russian mentality, Russian language mentality, problems of reflection in the modern Russian language of the processes of its history, testifying to traditions, spiritual values, interaction of the Russian language with other Indo-European languages. Particular attention is paid to the interaction of the Russian language with ancient literary languages - Old Church Slavonic, Old Russian, Sanskrit. The course will study sources of the formation of the Russian people national character in connection with the formation of its spiritual world, the national specificity of Russian vocabulary. The content of such concepts as "happiness", "laziness", "shame and conscience", "perseverance and stubbornness" and others will be considered according to the history of the language, folklore of the Russian people and the modern language system.

The course consists of two parts:

- the first part presents the concepts and related general issues of linguistic kinship: family, clan, homeland;

- the second part is devoted to the analysis of the content of significant concepts of the Russian language and Russian culture. The course is aimed at general cultural training and expansion of the students' linguistic and cultural horizons, and the formation of their communicative competence.

Course duration:

72 hours (58 hours of classroom studies, 14 hours of independent work).

Format: full time

Summary of the course "Whatever is done in the dark eventually comes in the light" (Russian language metaphor)

Course developer: Dr. Anna Latukhina

Summary:

Fluency in a language is impossible without understanding the native speaker's thinking. Studying metaphors not only enriches the vocabulary of a foreign speaker, but also demonstrates how a native speaker sees the world. Possessing the skills of working with metaphors will allow course participants to feel more confident in various communicative situations. In addition, studying metaphors deepens the cultural experience of a foreign speaker.

This course is designed in such a way that students will not only learn to distinguish metaphors from the direct meanings of words, but also develop the skills of independent work with metaphors. The material is selected in order to involve students by demonstrating interesting images and mental connections.

The goal of the program is to form and develop skills of working with Russian metaphors by familiarizing students with some Russian images and analyzing the mental connections that form between the meanings of these images.

Course objectives:

1. Formation and development of skills of working with metaphors;

2. Introduction to popular Russian images from the thematic groups "Food", "Weather" and "Animals";

3. Formation of interest in independent work with Russian metaphor;

4. Mastering the culture of communication, developing linguistic and communicative competencies, mastering the language system, the rules of its functioning and the rules of communication;

5. Improving the skills of listening and visual perception of various texts in Russian.

Course sections:

Section 1. Language metaphor. Methods of semantizing metaphor in a foreign-language audience.

Section 2. Usual metaphors. Types of metaphors by thematic feature: food metaphors, weather metaphors, zoonymic metaphors, etc.

Section 3. Occasional (individual-authorial) metaphor as a tool of artistic expression.

Duration of the course is 72 hours (58 classroom hours, 14 hours of independent work).

Format: full time

This course is designed for students who have a B1 level of Russian.

A Journey to Russia with Russian Writers

Course developer: Dr. Yulia Marinina

 

Summary:

The course "A journey to Russia with Russian" involves familiarization with the cultural traditions, space, cities and rivers of Russia, presented in travel literature and fiction by Russian writers. During lectures and seminars, students get acquainted with the history of Russia, the culture of the country, improve their skills in reading and analyzing fiction.

The images of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Kazan, Novgorod and other Russian cities are considered based on the works of V. Korolenko, M. Gorky, I. Shmelev, B. Zaitsev. Reading and analyzing texts is accompanied by an audiovisual series presenting images of cities based on paintings and feature films.

Digital technologies used in classes: online maps for planning a trip, online excursions around cities.

 

Course structure:

Topic 1. The image of Moscow in works of art

Lecture (6 hours)

Seminars (6 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 2. The history and role of St. Petersburg in the works of Russian writers

Lecture (2 hours)

Seminars (8 hours)

Independent work (4 hours)

Topic 3. The Russian province in painting and literature

Lecture (6 hours)

Seminars (8 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 4. The image of the Volga in the history and culture of Russia

Lecture (6 hours)

Seminars (6 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 5. Nizhny Novgorod in the historical and modern views of Russian travelers

Lecture (4 hours)

Seminars (6 hours)

Independent work (4 h)

Target audience

Bachelor's/Master's degree students studying Russian; certification level A2-B1.

Course duration

72 hours (58 hours of classroom studies, 14 hours of independent work).

Format: full-time

After completing the course, the student will become familiar with the culture and history of Russia, ancient and most significant cities, and the traditions of the Russian people. The classes include work on developing and improving all speech skills, and the use of an interactive form of familiarization with the materials will help maintain interest in learning the Russian language.

Politeness Strategies in Russian-Speaking Culture

Course developer: Dr. Anna Komyshkova

Summary:

The course "Politeness Strategies in Russian-Speaking Culture" is aimed at familiarization with the principles, methods and techniques of polite communication in Russian. In practical training sessions, improve speaking and writing skills within the framework of professional communication in Russian as a foreign language, familiarize yourself with the principles of polite communication in Russian, develop skills of intercultural communication in Russian, including on the Internet.

Course structure:

Topic 1. Culture of business communication and intercultural communication

Lecture (4 hours)

Seminars (4 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 2. Theory of politeness: implementation of the principle of respect for the interlocutor

Lecture (4 hours)

Seminars (8 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 3. Conflict communication and the problem of verbal aggression

Lecture (4 hours)

Seminars (10 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 4: Communicative softening

Lecture (2 hours)

Seminars (4 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 5: Speech Etiquette

Lecture (2 hours)

Seminars (6 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Topic 6: Internet Communication

Lecture (4 hours)

Seminars (6 hours)

Independent work (2 hours)

Target audience

Bachelor's/Master's degree students studying Russian, including pedagogical programs (teaching Russian as a foreign language); language level B1-B2.

Course length

72 hours (20 hours of lectures, 38 hours of practical classes, 14 hours of in work).

Format: full-time.

Results

Upon completion of the course the student will be ready to assess the intents of statements in Russian, determine the degree of compliance with the principle of respect for the interlocutor, recognize cases of speech aggression as well as to compose statements taking into account the implementation of the principle of respect for the interlocutor and observe the etiquette norms of business and secular communication in Russian.

 

Such a diverse Russia

Course developer: Dr. Tatyana Sheveleva

Summary:

The course "Such a different Russia" will inform about the country, language, national culture, nation, Russian national character, intercultural communication; will teach how to form your own educational materials for the course (including in electronic services and how to post them on digital platforms); will form practical skills and abilities in the field of listening, speaking, reading and writing through regional and country studies material; will create conditions for mastering the methodology of working with cultural information and the skills of finding it in various sources; will contribute to the formation of respect and love for Russian culture, the spiritual heritage of Russia, the culture of interethnic communication based on tolerance, respect for the honor and national dignity of citizens, spiritual and moral values ​​​​of the peoples of Russia.

Approximate content:

Module 1: General information about the Russian Federation.

1.1. Territory, borders. Symbols of Russia. Nature and climatic features.

1.2. Russian education system.

Module 2. Russian traditions and customs

2.1. Culture and life of the Russian people.

2.2. Russian festive culture.

Module 3. Such different Russians. Reflection of the Russian national character in literature and cinema.

3.1. Paradoxes of the Russian mentality.

3.2. Russians in the mirror of Russian literature and Russian cinema.

Target audience - middle and high school students, applicants, university students, as well as teachers of schools, higher education institutions and anyone interested in the Russian language.

Language level - for students who have mastered it at level A2, for teachers who have mastered it at level B1 and above.

Course length:

72 hours (58 hours of classroom training; 14 hours of independent work).

Format: full-time.

 

As a result of studying the course, students will receive general information about the Russian Federation, its symbols, climate, education system, main cities, including Nizhny Novgorod; will become familiar with Russian traditions and customs, the culture and life of the Russian people, their customs and superstitions; will learn about state holidays (New Year, Christmas, International Women's Day, Russia Day, National Unity Day, Victory Day) and pagan and Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter traditions, Maslenitsa), as well as about the paradoxes of the Russian mentality, the dominant features of Russian communicative behavior. Each topic is accompanied by the presentation of text, audio and video material and work with it.