Gathering of the Chinese and Russian Experts at SISU

The Symposium Commemorating 300 Years of Russian Language Education in China Held at SISU

Minister Zhou Ji of China s Ministry of Education Sent Letter of Congratulations

Russian language education in China has a 300-year history since the Russian Language House was established by the Qing Government in 1708. In order to commemorate this special anniversary, review the experiences, and explore new ways of cultivating creative talents in Russian language in the new era, the Symposium Commemorating 300 Years of Russian Language Education in China was held at SISU on October 26. The symposium is co-hosted by the Russian Department of Shanghai International Studies University, China s Association for Russian Language Research and the International Union for Russian Language Teachers. More than 70 scholars from over 20 nations and more than 130 scholars from over 70 universities in China attended the symposium.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Zheng Tiwu, Dean of the Russian Department of SISU, Vice Chairman of China s Association for Russian Language Research.

Mr. Zhou Ji, Minister of China s Ministry of Education sent a letter of congratulations on the successful opening of the symposium. In his letter, Mr. Zhou says that this is an important activity in the cooperation between China and Russia in the field of humanities, and it is also a great event in the history of Russian Language Education in China. Mr. Zhou says that the government of China attaches great importance to the education of Russian and other foreign languages. The government makes strategic plans to help establish a foreign language education model with particular Chinese characteristics. The beginning of the 21st century, the opening-up policy and the strategic cooperative partnership between China and Russia all make it a booming time for Russian language education. Mr. Zhou hopes that the symposium could offer the platform for discussions on the history, status quo, challenges and suggestions for China s Russian language education. He wishes that the symposium would help improve the quality of Russian language teaching and render a new perspective on the model of fostering Russian language majors and talents.

Prof. Cao Deming, Principle of SISU, extended his welcome to all attendants home and abroad. Prof. Cao points it out that the good-neighbor treaty and the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Russia offer unprecedented opportunities for the development of Russian language teaching and education. At the meantime, this also means new tasks in Russian language research and new challenges to cultivation of Russian majors. The purpose and significance of initiating and hosting this symposium is to learn from our past histories, to integrate our wisdom into experiences, and to explore new trends in Russian language teaching and training.At the end, Prof. Cao wished a complete success of the symposium.

Prof. Du Guizhi, Secretary General of China s Association for Russian Language Research read the letter of congratulation on behalf of Prof. Liu Limin, Minister of Beijing Municipal Educational Bureau. Prof. Liu said in the letter that we should be aware of the challenges brought to the minor language majors by globalization and also the opportunities brought by the development of friendship between China and Russia. We need attach great importance to the reform of Russian language teaching and talents cultivation. We should not only improve students language proficiency, but also their competence in theories and cultures. China s Association for Russian Language Research will continue its role as the link and bridge between all Russian language learners in China, help stabilize Russian language education in China and make effort to provide the market with more competent language specialists.

Prof. Welbitskaya, Chairman of the International Union for Russian Language Teachers and Principle of St. Pittsburg University said in her speech that this conference has symbolic significance because it was held before the opening of China-Russian Year . Many Russian scholars believe that Russian language education in China is experiencing its second spring. China enjoys a long history in Russian language education and is making many breakthroughs. As the Chairman of the International Union for Russian Language Teachers, she is very much pleased to learn about the efforts and achievements made by the Russian language teachers in China. She also hoped that this sort of academic activities could be held more often, which could help promote Russian literature in China, too.

Mr. Shalon, Russia Consul at Shanghai, China, also delivered a speech at the ceremony. On behalf of the Russian Cosulate in Shanghai, Mr. Shalon congratulated the participants of this symposium, the host, ShanghaiInternationalStudiesUniversity, and representatives from the two academic organizations. Mr. Shalon also mentioned that the popularity of Russian language in China was a result of many language and culture competitions held by the local universities with the help of the government. All Russian Language Research Centers including the SISU one have scored considerable achievements. The Russian Consulate in Shanghai will continue to help support all kinds of activities in China to promote Russian language and literature here.

The opening ceremony for the Symposium Commemorating 300 Years of Russian Language Education in China ended in a warm and harmonious atmosphere. Then the symposium followed its agenda for keynote speeches and panels in the following two days. Participants reviewed the 300 years of history of Russian language education in China, esp. the 30 years after China opened up. Panels were arranged for 12 topics, such as Russian Language Education History in China , Pedagogy for Russian language with Chinese Characteristics , Russian Language Education with Chinese Characteristics , China s Russian Language Teaching and Education: Research on Status Quo, Issues, Strategies and Directions , etc. (Text: Miao Xun, Yang Bo; Photograph: Hu Xinhua)