Conditions for harmonious and comprehensive integration of foreign students in the Russian university (the case of the Ural State University of Economics)

Irina Pirozhkova,G Roos

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202129105044

Abstract

One of the priority goals of Russian higher education development is its export, which is reflected in the federal programs and plans. The paper addresses the issues of language education of international students at the Ural State University of Economics (Yekaterinburg). A survey helped identify the needs of international students of the first year and reveal the main problems they face. Among the most serious difficulties are poor knowledge of Russian, bad communication with teachers and domestic students, and lack of support in the group. Some recommendations to foreign language teachers are offered that can help eliminate problems in the work with mixed-nationality groups and to motivate international students to study, which will decrease dropout and provide their harmonious integration in the university.

Highlights

Transformation of Russian education, initiated by the signing of Bologna declaration in 2003, has made studying in Russia attractive to foreign students
We held a survey among the first year Bachelor students of the Institute of Management and Information Technologies. It included 27 international students, which is 71% of the total number of foreign freshmen. The goal of this survey was to reveal the needs of students in the field of language education and based on the results to develop recommendations to English language teachers
These problems can be solved during the English language classes due to the following: it is possible to develop intercultural competence that may bridge the gap between domestic and international students; communicative approach in teaching may help students get rid of the fear to speak in a foreign language

Summary

Introduction

Transformation of Russian education, initiated by the signing of Bologna declaration in 2003, has made studying in Russia attractive to foreign students. Promotion of the Russian higher education in the international market has been activated by the Federal project “Export of Education”. One of its goals is to increase the number of foreign students in Russian universities to 425 thousand people by 2024. This project outlines a complex plan to attract foreigners to study in Russia, which includes the following measures: international contests and Olympiads; introduction of summer and winter schools for prospective students; advertising in mass media; internship for foreign students in the large Russian companies; online exhibitions and presentations of Russian universities; online courses in Russian universities; special programs for prospective students (for instance, academic leadership), etc

Results

Discussion

Conclusion