Intercultural Communication: German-Russian Dialogue/ Interkulturelle Kommunikation als DACH-RU-Kulturdialog

• Linguistic Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication
• German and Russian Idioms in the Dialogue of Cultures
• Creative Writing in the Theory and Practice of Teaching German as a Foreign Language
• Introduction to History of German Theatre and Cinema
• History of Germany in German Literature
• Translation Problems in Interlingual Communication
• German and Russian Phraseology in Intercultural Communication
• German
• Comparative Typology of German and Russian: Grammar, Lexis
• German in Austria and Switzerland
• History of Culture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
• Austrian and Swiss Literature

• Graduates of the programme are able to use communicative strategies and tactics, rhetoric, stylistic and linguistic norms and devices typical for different areas of communication. They can also use them adequately when solving job tasks
• Graduates of the programme have an in-depth knowledge of the various practical aspects of German, and of the cultural specifics of the target language countries. This will contribute to successful communication and career development in any professional field involving intercultural interaction: business, politics, education, science, tourism, translation/interpreting, and teaching
• Graduates of the programme also have competence in intercultural communication with native German speakers (taking into account the specific nature of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
• Graduates of the programme are capable of conducting workshops on intercultural collaboration with native German speakers (taking into account the specific nature of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
• Graduates of the programme are: ready to work with professional texts in German and Russian; capable of issuing, editing, abstracting and classifying all types of business documents, and developing scientific, social, educational, creative, advertising and publishing projects; capable of organising and conducting classes, internships, seminars, scientific discussions and conferences; and capable of carrying out research into the issues of intercultural and interlingual communication, the theory and practice of teaching German as a second and as a foreign language, and developing skilfully new scientific directions in these fields of study
• The programme includes delivering uniquely designed courses
• The courses are taught in German and include sessions with native speakers

Partnership with the leading German universities (the Universities of Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Greifswald, Jena, Kiel, Leipzig, Paderborn, Potsdam, Trier, Frankfurt, Erfurt, etc.).

The opportunity to participate in international academic mobility programmes within the framework of St Petersburg University inter-university agreements (one semester at a partner university) and in the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) competition.

Master’s students are engaged in working on the following projects:

• Linguocultural analysis of Russian and German advertising texts/German and Russian outdoor advertising/German and Russian television advertising
• Communicative and linguistic structures of ethnolect and their functions
• Linguocultural analysis of means of linguistic evaluation in Russian and German reviews/blogs
• Linguistic reflection of space/time concept in Russian and German
• Perception of space: case studies of prepositions/ adverbs in German and Russian in a linguocultural perspective
• German and Russian rock culture in linguocultural aspects
• Linguistic means of creating the image of Russia in German media
• Linguocultural analysis of the means of expressing emotions in German and Russian
• German and Russian anecdote in intercultural communication

Newspaper advertisements in the context of intercultural communication.

Master’s students have an opportunity to participate in: the annual inter-university competition; and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) competition programme.

Academic partners

• The University of Greifswald (Germany)
• Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)
• The Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (Germany)
• Helmut Schmidt University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (Germany)
• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Germany)
• Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel) (Germany)
• Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Germany)

Graduates of the programme will:

• be ready to work with professional texts in German and Russian;
• know communicative strategies and tactics, rhetorical, stylistic and linguistic norms and techniques adopted in various spheres of communication, and be capable of using them properly in solving professional problems;
• have the skills of independent research into the fundamental laws of the functioning of the language (languages) in synchrony and diachrony;
• be capable of issuing, editing, abstracting and classifying all types of business documents, and developing scientific, social, educational, creative, advertising and publishing projects;
• be capable of organising and conducting classes, internships, seminars, scientific discussions and conferences;
• be ready and capable of intercultural interaction with German native speakers;
• be capable of carrying out research into the issues of intercultural and interlingual communication, the theory and practice of teaching German as a second and as a foreign language, and developing skilfully new scientific directions in these fields of study;
• be capable of conducting training of intercultural interaction with German native speakers.

Our students will be able to take part in projects and conferences of St Petersburg University, as well as other universities (including abroad) on intercultural research.

The programme cooperates with the following companies:

The Russian–German Foreign Trade Chamber

IT company ‘T-System RUS’

Students have internships at:

The Foundation for Support and Development of Russian–German Relations ‘German–Russian Meeting Centre’

Our programme combines the study of fundamental university courses with the practical knowledge and skills necessary to work across German and Russian cultures. It is taught in German. Classes with native speakers are included in the learning process. Master's students have the opportunity to study at partner universities.

The programme is unique in that it is practice-oriented, interactive and interdisciplinary. It is aimed at providing a high level of intercultural competence to those who, in their future professional activities, will encounter representatives of German culture and act as intermediaries between representatives of two cultures – German and Russian – in various fields of activity.

The Council of the programme

Almut Hille, PhD, Professor at the Institute of German and Dutch Languages and Literatures, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany 

Iuliia Kazantseva, Head of the Department of Grammar and History of Herman, Moscow State Linguistic University (to be approved)

Mikhail Koryshev, Associate Professor at the Department of German Philology, St Petersburg University

Arina Nemkova, Director of the Foundation for Support and Development of Russian-German Relations ‘German-Russian Meeting Centre’ at Sankt-Petri-Kirche

Sergei Nefedov, Professor at the Department of German Philology, St Petersburg University

Galina Perfilova, Candidate of Pedagogy, President of the Interregional Association of Teachers of German  

Katja Petersen, a research associate, lecturer of pedagogy, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Helmut-Schmidt-Universität, Hamburg, Germany 

Sergei Stepanov, Candidate of Philology, a translator

Professions

Graduates of the programme can work as: experts in intercultural communication; translators and interpreters; editors; expert linguists for research and publishing; teachers at higher education institutions; and teachers at secondary school and gymnasia, centres of German culture, and foreign language courses.

State Accreditation Certificate № 2011 dated 16 June 2016.