Orenburg state university

A Trip to France

Baguette, Eiffel Tower, and... a master’s degree thesis. Aleksandr Marushin, a Master degree student in “Cross-Cultural Communication and Translation in Professional Activities" program from OSU Department of Romance Philology and Methods of French Language Teaching had a study tour to Sceaux, France.

Aleksandr shares his experience while participating in "Russian Language Teacher Assistant": international program in Europe.

"I've got an unforgettable experience of working abroad. My duties included assisting teachers of the Russian language. I was invited to Lakanal Lyceum and Marie Curie Lyceum. I taught students of different ages. Together with my Russian colleagues I developed examination tests in Russian to be used in the whole France! It was not easy but highly interesting.

The study tour provided a chance to immerse into the life in France. With certain challenges. As the French say: "This year is not easy." There were yellow vests strikes, transport and pension strikes, teachers and students strikes, and the pandemic, after all. However, due to the pandemic we got stuck in France to enjoy being there for a longer time.

“I’ve got a lot of friends from different countries and studied the culture of France during my stay there. Taken as a whole, my trip was full of positive moments. On my return to Russia, many things seemed unfamiliar to me, and I had to get a back assimilation to my culture. After my trip to Europe I’ve got a new dream — to visit Latin America.

It would never happen of not the support of my university teachers from Romance Philology and Methods of French Language Teaching Department. It was thanks to them that I learnt about this opportunity to study translation. And I used this chance. During my trip I realized that studying foreign languages and travelling develops your mentality and open doors to new cultures and countries and to expand the geography of friendship with people from all over the world.

Romance Philology and Methods of French Language Teaching Department invites all interested in foreign languages to pursue their studies in the “Cross-Cultural Communication and Translation in Professional Activities" master's program”.