Pupils from India, the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and Turkey read poetry by Russian poets at the Olympiad on Russian as a Foreign Language: “Russia with our own eyes.” More than fifty poems by Russian and Soviet poets were read from the ILS stage.
“The Russian language is a mandatory part of the curriculum for our foreign students,” explains ILS Principal Olga Shevchenko. “Many of the participants in the reader’s competition began studying the language this school year, but thanks to the methodology of Professor Elizaveta Hamraeva, whose textbooks our students from grades 1 to 11 use for studying Russian, the students quickly expand their vocabulary. In addition, communication with Russian peers allows them to learn Russian even better.”
Poems by such famous Russian poets as Marshak, Chukovsky, Mikhalkov, Fet, Tyutchev, Lermontov, Pushkin, Yesenin, Balmont, Blok, and Rozhdestvensky were performed on stage.
“I chose the poem Telephone," says Bastian Derks, a 3rd-grade student from the Netherlands. “It is a fun poem about animals, and I immediately liked it.”
“I learned the poem Why Kittens Don't Sleep because I like cats," says Thakur Sivansh, a 4th grader from India. “I started learning Russian a few months ago when I came to Russia with my parents.”
Many poems chosen by our international students are included in the Russian language and literature curriculum of Russian students. However, sometimes the choice is very unexpected, especially among high school students who study Russian with great zeal, trying to enter Russian universities.
“Many younger children prefer funny verses or poems about animals, but high school students often choose poems about love, jealousy, and the search for the meaning of life,” notes Russian language teacher Valentina Kovaleva. “The themes of the poems are very consistent with their spiritual needs. Perhaps the students will find answers to their personal questions in Russian poetry. My students chose “Wait for me” by Simonov; “I loved you” and “If life deceives you” by Pushkin; as well as “Night, street, street lamp, pharmacy” by Blok.
“I chose a poem about the Great Patriotic War, The Ballad of the Mother," says Jun Dogogng, a 10th grade student from the Republic of Korea. “We in Korea respect our parents very much, and we also had a war. This poem is very beautiful and conveys very well the feelings of a mother, whose son is at the front.”
The Olympiad: “Russia with Our Eyes” is being held at the ILS for the fourth time, and the number of participants is constantly growing. This year, fifty-two foreign students from grades 1 to 11 showed the audience their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian poetry, while comparing their level with other participants in the contest.
