One of the favorite Russian traditions is welcoming spring after having said goodbye to winter. International students of the Preparatory Department of TSMU from Egypt, Congo, Palestine, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan learned about this at a linguistics lesson prepared and conducted by teachers of the Department of Russian Language (responsible assistants N.Y. Gribovskaya and O.A. Poloskova).
At the event that took place on the 1st of March, 2021 the students of the Preparatory Department learned about the ancient Russian festival “Maslenitsa”, its history and traditions; got acquainted with traditional Maslenitsa games and Russian folk ritual songs; learned recipes for pancakes – a “delicious symbol” of the fest. The students were able to check their knowledge by participating in a linguistic competition. In addition, they discussed why Maslenitsa is one of the favorite festivals for Russian people. The lesson ended with a tea party with a traditional dish of the certain days – pancakes.
The event contributed to the expansion of the vocabulary of students, the development of speaking and listening skills, as well as the formation of general cultural competencies, social and cultural adaptation of international students, fostering tolerance to social, ethnic, confessional and cultural differences.
