Learning foreign languages is not just a passing fad or a whim, but a process of knowledge acquisition that is vital in today's society. Knowledge of foreign languages in the modern world is one of the components of a person's success—a means of achieving professional fulfilment of a personality. South Ural State University offers excellent conditions for learning foreign languages.
The main reasons for learning foreign languages are:
- Work, career, business—knowledge of a foreign language will help find a more promising and therefore better paid job, to communicate freely with foreign partners, participate in international conferences, read magazines, newspapers and Internet sources of professional orientation in the original language. Studies show that the salary of an employee who knows a foreign language is 40% higher than the salary of an employee in a similar position who does not speak a foreign language;
- Science—without knowledge of foreign languages it is impossible to get acquainted with foreign sources and interact with foreign colleagues;
- Study—thanks to the development of Internet technologies, the modern world provides unlimited opportunities to study at the major universities anywhere in the world;
- Travel—almost everyone dreams of visiting different countries, learning their history, culture, and traditions;
- Personal motives—self-improvement, reading books and watching movies in the original language, communicating with friends, hobbies.
You can learn a foreign language to perfection by enrolling in the SUSU Institute of Linguistics and International Relations. Students of Department of International Relations, Political Science and Regional Studies study two foreign languages as part of their programmes in International Relations, Political Science, and Foreign Studies.
The program is unique in that the study of foreign languages combines two aspects: linguistic and applied aspects. The linguistic aspect involves in-depth study of a foreign language in its traditional sense: its grammatical, lexical and stylistic basics. The applied aspect teaches students to apply the acquired knowledge in professional communication to solve specific tasks. The academic staff of the department use modern methods and techniques of foreign language teaching: communicative approach, case study method, discussion clubs, business and role-playing games, round tables, projects method.
In the international environment created in the department, thanks to the large number of international students, students have the opportunity to learn about the culture, political and economic life in different countries directly from the representatives of those countries, rather than from the texts of textbooks.
"Modern materials and facilities help teachers make learning fun and interesting. Students take training in modern language laboratories that allow them to design an individual learning path, conduct sequential and simultaneous interpretation, record speech and then analyze it, and work in pairs and groups to solve the tasks set by the teacher. Audio, video and multimedia equipment allows students to watch movies and hold teleconferences and video conferences in a foreign language", says Head of the Department of International Relations, Political Science and Regional Studies, Candidate of Sciences (Engineering), Associate Professor Liudmila Shestakova.
Modern software and the ability to use simulators remotely helps students practice and perfect phonetic, lexical, and grammatical skills.
And all this from 12 to 18 hours per week for 4 years! This is precisely the mode in which foreign language learning takes place at the Department of International Relations, Political Science and Regional Studies.
Thanks to these resources and the intensive educational process, the students of the department gain a profound knowledge of foreign languages, which enables them to obtain high scores in the IELTS and TOEFL international exams. IELTS and TOEFL preparation courses and the exam itself are free of charge for the department's students who perform well.
Proficiency in foreign languages allows students to participate in academic mobility programs, which include a free semester of study in universities in Europe, China, and Latin America.
English is the primary language in the programmes in International Relations, and Political Science, with French, German, or Spanish as the second foreign language of choice. For students of the Foreign Studies, the primary foreign language is Chinese, the second—English.
In addition, the Department of International Relations, Political Science and Regional Studies offers its students the opportunity to participate in the Interpreter in the Field of Professional Communication professional retraining program. Thus, students have the opportunity to obtain two higher education degrees at the time of graduation, which means two diplomas, and this is an undeniable competitive advantage!
We wish you a wise choice of profession, exciting studies, and an interesting student life!
Let us share a common language with the world around us!