International Language Summer School 2019 Reunion

Dr Alexander Mamatov, Vice-Rector of the University, and the project's biggest supporter, welcomed attendees, and listed some of the reasons he is so enthusiastic about the International Language Summer School (ILSS). Then the teachers put forward their views. Teachers at the ILSS come from all around the world, and are either guests or full-time staff members of the University in some capacity. Two hail from the UK, and the others come from Spain, France, Italy, and Germany. The ILSS also has teachers from Russia, teaching our foreign students. The relaxed atmosphere and beautiful surroundings at the ILSS contribute to the kind of learning experience you remember to the end of your days.

Dr Larisa Tsurikova, the General Director of the ILSS, has run the school from its humble beginnings seven years ago. The idea started as a short stay at the University's Titovka campus (30km from Belgorod), aimed at providing a crash course in English for students of non-language disciplines, with native speaker Dr Valentin Doborovich, who grew up in Yorkshire in the UK, before moving to the Soviet Union many years ago. Since then, the project has grown to the point that it now involves the teaching of six languages, and this year saw 257 students participate, including volunteers.

The meeting was fun, and the students had the chance to talk to the organisers in the frank and informal way that they became used to during the summer.

The University continues to support innovative new approaches to learning, through feedback from the students. It is hoped that we can continue to build on this success in 2020.