The adaptation for international students to new social and cultural facilities and university environment is a complicated and continuous process that requires the activation of all spare human capacities. The psychological support for international students, some practical recommendations, that help them to get acquainted with the university environment, are also very important at this moment. That was a priority task for the staff members of Polotsk State University – Elena Kolesova, the Head of the Department for Pre-University Training, and Tatiana Polyanskaya, Irina Frutskaya, Veronika Radzikhovskaya, lecturers at the Department of Technology and Methods of Teaching.
For 3 months the international students at the Department of Pre-University Training of PSU have attended various seminars. The students mastered some methods of active interaction of a cross-cultural group, got acquainted with Belarusian traditions and lifestyle. They developed positive emotions in stressful situations, trained their effective behavior in some conflict situations, learnt to understand feelings, wishes and opinions of other people.
During the trainings the lecturers used various interactive forms:
- modeling,
- practical training of psychogymnastic exercises,
- biographical reflection,
- simulation games,
- psychological board games and others.
The classes were held in Russian that provided the development of communicative and language skills. The students took an active part in the trainings and achieved good results that led to the quick adaptation process for our international students and strengthening social creative position at the University.