Alina Gorbunova, a 4th-year student of the Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Philology of ISU Institute of Philology, Foreign Languages and Media Communication, became a finalist in the All-Russian volunteer movement competition “Za russkiy!” [For Russian!]. The competition, organized by Rossotrudnichestvo and Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, gathered more than 450 participants. On the first stage 50 participants were selected to participate in an educational intensive course in Moscow. Following this event, 30 students received the opportunity to complete a 30-day internship abroad.

Among the countries offered by Rossotrudnichestvo were India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Jordan, and Mongolia. Alina went to India, to the state of Tamil Nadu, the city of Chennai, where she promoted the Russian language and culture at the Russian House, Chennai.

Alina’s main activity was teaching Russian at the Government Boys High School. The ninth-graders, who had never learned Russian before, studied the alphabet, reading and writing. As a result of the training, the students were able to introduce themselves, talk about their hobbies and family, translate words from English into Russian, and even perform a song. The completion of the course was a celebration of the Russian New Year, which served as a report on the work done.

In addition, Alina actively participated in Rossotrudnichestvo events such as “Window to Russia” and “Robotics Day”, conducted quizzes and trivia, introducing local residents to Russian traditions.

Alina Gorbunova:

The internship, without doubt, was a valuable experience for me as a future teacher. It was an immersion in the life of another country, in their culture. I had the opportunity to become a part of all this, and I am very happy about it.