On February 19, a solemn opening and the first meeting of the Russian Speaking Club “GURU” was held in the disco hall of Polotsk State University. The club is organized for the international students willing to improve their level of Russian language proficiency and learn more about the country they study in.
“GURU” stands for the Russian words: “G” is for “Govorim” (speaking), “U” is for “Uchimsya” (studying) and “RU” stands for the Russian Language. Now the students have one more opportunity to master their speaking skills, plunge faster into the language environment and overcome the language barrier with the help of the lecturers from the Department of Slavonic Philology and the Preparatory Department, who are real experts in their field.
Svetlana Lyasovich, the club moderator, Head of the Department of Slavonic Philology, opened the meeting, informed the guests about the future plans and announced that the Russian speaking club will have its own page on the university website.
The topic of the first club meeting was the holiday “Maslenitsa”. A charming moderator Alyona Molchanova, a lecturer at the Department of Slavonic Philology, set a positive tone for the meeting and informed the students about the traditions of celebrating “Maslenitsa” in a fun and entertaining way.
The students were divided into several groups. They were to pass special “stations” representing different stages of celebrating the holiday: “Vstrecha”, “Zaygrysh”, “Lakomka”, “Razguliay”, “Vechyorki” and “Posidelki”. While passing the stations, the students were making dolls of crochet threads, playing with words, doing puzzles with sayings, playing snowballs, doing crosswords and dancing to the music while singing karaoke.
The main thing is that the students who saw each other for the first time, coped with the tasks together. Even if the students didn’t memorize all the new words, they definitely have remembered the warm atmosphere of the holiday. At the end of the club meeting, the students helped themselves to tea and warm pancakes.
When studying a language, it is obligatory to practice speaking a lot. Because when people from different countries communicate, they learn something new about other cultures. Studying the Russian language at the Russian Speaking Club “GURU” is not only the aim, but also the means to gain new knowledge about the world, get acquainted with new interesting people, make friends and become closer to each other.
Join us and study Russian with pleasure!
Svetlana Lyasovich, Head of the Department of Slavonic Philology
Photos: Polina Kosarevskaya