“The Russian Teacher Abroad” programme has a profound cultural and educational mission

The readers are invited to an interview with the coordinator of the ‘Russian Teacher Abroad’ programme, Head of the Russian Language Centre at the Centre for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, Irina Rolandovna Ponomareva, on the importance of humanitarian ties in the development of school education, on the cultural role of Russian teachers sent abroad for host societies, and on current initiatives within the project.

– Irina Rolandovna, could you tell us, please, how the idea for the “Russian Teacher Abroad” programme came about, and how did it start?

– The start of the programme dates back to 2017, with 49 teachers of Russian language and literature being sent to Tajikistan. Then the idea received its development and spread further. Since 2020, our teachers have been represented in the national education system of Uzbekistan. And in that country, you can now see a model example of how the project should be implemented, mind you. Thanks to the sound position of the republic’s leadership, they have successfully integrated Russian education into their system: our teachers are hosted by 98 schools all across the country. Methodological support is provided by the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia; this is work on a national scale. And overall, our project has now taken shape and is running steadily. It has been included in the federal programme for the development of international cooperation, ‘Russia in the World’, signed off by the President.

– What is the current geography of Russian teachers working abroad?

– The project is already operating in 33 countries. These include CIS states, East Asia (for example, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, and China), South Asia (India, and Pakistan), the Middle East (for instance, Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine), Africa (for example, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, Ethiopia), and Latin America (for example, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua). Every single day, the classrooms of our teachers reach 70,000 foreign citizens. That is a huge number of people who understand our culture.

– How are things at the moment with teachers working in Iran and Lebanon?

– The teachers continue their work; they remain in those countries. In Iran, classes are held remotely. In Lebanon, teaching was remote in March, but at the start of April, they were able to come back to in-person classes.

An environmental lesson at an Egyptian school

– How is the programme organised in general?

– In host countries, our teachers teach Russian as a foreign language, as well as other subjects in Russian. The full teaching of school curriculum subjects according to national standards is ensured and delivered by our teachers. Russian as a foreign language makes up 30% of the project’s total volume. Our teachers are, in essence, ambassadors of the Russian language. There is also supplementary education in schools and teaching Russian to adults and various professional groups. People from all walks of life are now enrolling in our courses to learn Russian, from military personnel to farmers.

– How are interstate agreements formalised, and where should countries and institutions that wish to cooperate with the Russian side in this way apply?

– We send teachers in response to a request from a host country. Our partners currently comprise 235 educational organisations around the globe. More than one hundred contracts have been signed with clear terms. There are intergovernmental, interagency, municipal-level agreements and direct contracts with organisations. A request usually comes in as an official letter to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation through intergovernmental commissions on cooperation. By the start of the academic year, the host party expects the teacher, prepares housing and a classroom, the teaching load, and arranges everyday matters. In some countries, classes are held in schools; in others, at universities; sometimes in Russian Houses or at the embassy.

– Are there any similar initiatives elsewhere in the world, or is the programme unique?

– There are no direct analogues in the general education systems of other countries anywhere in the world. The uniqueness also lies in the fact that our project includes not only teaching activities but also cultural, educational, and career guidance work. We talk to children about life and health safety, about cultural values. Our programme has a deep cultural and educational mission.

– Could you please elaborate on this mission?

– Of course. We cooperate with leading Russian museums; they provide content to our teachers – videos and printed materials. We also cooperate with the ‘Russia – My History’ foundation. Our teachers constantly arrange cultural events in schools. For example, we have recently held exhibitions dedicated to Gagarin, the first space flight, and Cosmonautics Day. Afterwards, teachers will prepare exhibitions for Victory Day. Additionally, teachers work on methodological support for school cultural events and through media centres. Joint cultural events are held with Russian houses, embassies, and consulates. So, it is full-scale educational work. Teachers come up with many ideas and initiatives themselves, together with the school and the children, going far beyond the curriculum. As a result, on Victory Day we all sing ‘Katyusha’ together, and at New Year we ring a ring o’ roses around a palm tree and sing ‘A Spruce Was Born in the Forest’.

Foreign Language Festival in Vietnam

– Are there any specific, unusual teaching methods related to culture?

– There are many: for instance, there is cinema pedagogy; there are school theatres – since talking about Russian culture without staging, say, Dostoevsky would be frivolous; there are video links (for example, recently there were class hours called ‘Meeting with a Cosmonaut’); there is also a ‘children talking to children’ project; there is a competition of the Association of Russian Schools called ‘Best Russian School Abroad’. There are trips to Russian international summer camps for children – Artek, Orlyonok, Smena.

– That is wonderful! And how do the children like it? Any child would be squealing with joy at going to Artek!

– Our teachers bring whole groups there, and the children are absolutely delighted!

– Irina Rolandovna, you mentioned career guidance work; could you please elaborate on it as well?

– This part of our work centres on helping schoolchildren interact with potential employers, with our corporations operating in a given country – for example, KAMAZ, Russian Railways. A great deal of work is also done in terms of the Olympiad movement and for entry into Russian universities.

The Unified State Exam in Thailand and beyond

– What subjects do Russian teachers teach abroad most often?

– We have 14 subjects, almost the entire educational range. About 50% of the project is hard sciences. The rest is primary school and the humanities.

– So that means hard sciences account for even more than Russian as a foreign language?

– Yes, currently 50% of requests from our partners are for mathematics. From 5th grade onwards, they start requesting physics, chemistry, and biology. Looking ahead, the volume of exact sciences is heading towards 60–70%. At present, the Kapitsa Physics and Technology Lyceum has started providing visual teaching aids to foreign schools.

– That is truly a technological exclusive!

– Yes, and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology is also providing advanced training for our mathematics teachers. Furthermore, this year, for the first time, the project plans to supply consumables for laboratories because, in many countries, they simply do not exist; school laboratories are empty. Looking ahead, we are ready to open engineering schools, engineering classes, agricultural schools, Mendeleev schools, Kurchatov schools, to develop specialisations and create flagship schools.

– So, demand for our technological education remains high?

– We are even considering establishing schools that, in certain places, will take on the functions of secondary vocational education. Another type of educational organisation we work with is nearly three dozen schools abroad that have received our accreditation and teach entirely according to Russian educational standards. Everything there is in Russian – even physical education and music.

– Most of those schools are probably in the CIS?

– Not only; they exist in Mongolia, Thailand, and for example in Hungary – this year a school in Paks received Russian accreditation. All of them will issue our school leaving certificates.

– Which means in Mongolia and Thailand, students take the Unified State Exam, doesn’t it?

– There has not yet been a Unified State Exam because of the length of study, but there has already been the Basic State Exam, the one taken after the 9th grade. They do take that, yes, in Turkey, for example, as well.

– Do schools fully adopt Russian educational standards since they need to ensure graduates are able to find jobs at Russian enterprises operating in those countries?

– That is one reason. Another interest for national schools is that their graduates can use the certificate issued by the school to apply to Russian universities. It gives them a serious competitive advantage within their own domestic educational landscape. An additional benefit for the country is that after graduating from a Russian university, these students will return home, for example as qualified engineers, and will work in their field.

– And do our teachers also take part in providing advanced training for local teachers?

– Yes, they do provide advanced training for foreign teachers of Russian as a foreign language. And indeed, the most important result of the programme is that our teachers integrate new and best educational practices into national education standards, not disrupting but enriching them. Demand for the best Russian educational practices in the world is high. Ultimately, the quality of teaching within national education systems improves.

– Well then, we wish the project the very best of good luck, success, and further development! Thank you for an interesting and informative conversation!

Interviewed by Ksenia Muratshina, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Culture Editor of “New Eastern Outlook”.

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