St Petersburg University student’s books to help you learn Russian

Unlike commercial publishers focused on generating income, the St Petersburg University Publishing House can publish small print runs of textbooks in languages that are not represented on the book market. As part of the development of cooperation between Russia, China, and African countries and in response to the increase in the flow of tourists and international students, the University will publish books in Chinese, Bambara, and Swahili in 2025. St Petersburg University regularly receives requests from teachers of Russian as a foreign language from Latin American countries and many regions of the world who use these books in their teaching and learning activities. The University is planning to continue translating textbooks into other languages.

Our main goal is to ensure the promotion of the Russian language in other countries so that it becomes more understandable and accessible to citizens living in a different cultural environment.

Elena Lebedkina, Head of Exhibitions, Museums, Libraries and Publications Department at St Petersburg 

St Petersburg prepares not just books on Russian as a foreign language, but learning kits, including a student’s book, a workbook with tasks for testing knowledge, and an electronic application containing audio files accessible via QR codes to listening tasks. They help students who are just beginning to learn the Russian language get to know how to pronounce words correctly and improve their pronunciation. The complex also includes a training test for the corresponding level of language proficiency, compiled in accordance with the TORFL standards, and guidelines for international teachers of Russian as a foreign language.

The books on Russian as a foreign language published by St Petersburg University were prepared by academic staff at St Petersburg University, who meet with representatives of the student community daily a classroom setting and understand their real needs, said Elena Lebedkina, Head of Exhibitions, Museums, Libraries and Publications Department at St Petersburg.

All texts are regularly updated to refer to the media context in which students are immersed. For example, the characters in the dialogues discuss films that are popular with young people around the world, and life situations are used as examples, in which students may find themselves during their studies, e.g. a trip on the underground or a walk around the city. Learning the language will not only be fascinating, but also useful, since you can use your knowledge in everyday life.

Elena Lebedkina, Head of Exhibitions, Museums, Libraries and Publications Department at St Petersburg 

The University’s publications from the series of Russian as a foreign language at St Petersburg University are universal in that they can be adapted for translation into different languages of the world. The University engages specialists who know the cultural specifics of the countries where the students live in order to avoid inaccuracies that are unpleasant for people from other countries. For example, pork will not be mentioned in books for Muslim countries. Each textbook and workbook provide tasks with photos of celebrities and characters that are popular in the country. For example, the same task has a picture of the athlete Yao Ming for Chinese students, Miriam Makeba for Swahili, and Oumou Sangare for Bambara.

To popularize the Russian language around the world St Petersburg University cooperates with the Russkiy Mir Foundation, which promotes Russian science and education. With its support, the University launched a professional development programme titled "Russian Language and Literature in Higher Education and Schools: Teaching Bilinguals and Foreign Speakers". A joint educational initiative was launched to improve the qualifications of Russian language teachers in Africa, and language courses have been successfully recruiting for the past three years.

Nadezhda Dubinina, a co-author of the student’s book published in Swahili and an examiner at the Language Testing Centre at St Petersburg University, spoke about the specifics of translating and localising the book We learn Russian for African students at the 6th Winter School on Translation and Interpreting. For example, in simple phrases from the first lessons, e.g. "this is a house" or "this is Mom", the pronoun "this" has to be explained, since in Swahili there are 16 forms for this pronoun, which are used depending on the nominal class of the noun. The authors have to deal with the fact that sometimes basic concepts in languages do not coincide. For example, the word "friend" in Swahili sounds like "rafiki", which is closer to the concept of "buddy, acquaintance", and "soma" means both "read" and "learn". According to the authors, the translation provides invaluable experience, allowing them to better understand people of foreign countries studying Russian on different continents.

Over the past two years, the St Petersburg University Publishing House has published learning kits on Russian as a foreign language at the elementary level (A1) in the series We learn Russian. For those who have already achieved A1 and are ready to move on, it is planned to develop textbooks and workbooks of the next level. For international master’s students in philology who have knowledge of the Russian language at the B1 level, the St Petersburg University Publishing House has also published a manual aimed at correcting and improving language use for everyday and academic purposes. The publication will help students master the necessary scientific terminology and theoretical knowledge in the field of syntax of simple and complex sentences.

The publications of St Petersburg University are not only intended for adults. For example, bilingual families living abroad can find collections of folk and author’s tales in Russian and workbooks for their children. "Despite the fact that such children are bilingual from birth, they may experience certain difficulties in mastering the language. We publish books for them that they can read with their parents. From about the age of five, they can try to cope independently. They have stress marks and a glossary and use game elements, e.g. tasks in which you need to colour or cut something out," said Elena Lebedkina. "Even outside of Russia, we ensure the integration of a child into Russian culture for whom Russian is not the main language."

Through the collaboration with a wide, diversified list of authors and support of philologists at St Petersburg University and the Language Testing Centre at the University, the University can publish books for readers of different age groups. Each member of the editorial board is a major specialist in the field of Russian as a foreign language and is ready to share their expert opinion.