Interactive Oriental Languages Day
The Oriental Languages Day was held at the UNN Institute of International Relations and World History (IIRWH) on 27 March. For the first time, high school students were introduced to the basics of Oriental languages in an interactive way.
"The purpose of the event is to acquaint school students with some aspects of learning languages, Eastern cultures and history in an accessible, informative and entertaining way", - said Pavel Pankratov, head of IIRWH's Information and Analytical Office.
The event included a master class "Learning to Read Korean in Half an Hour", a drama sketch "Sign Language in the Arab Culture of Communication", a quiz "Truth and Myths: What Do We Know about the Arabic Language?", a game lesson "Getting to Know Turkish", and an interactive lecture "It's Time to Talk Chinese", which helped students learn about the culture and start speaking one of the five Oriental languages. Such events help school students to decide on their choice of university and future profession.
Particularly surprising was the link between national dances and the geographical landscapes of different countries. Participants compared famous dance movements of Russian, Georgian, Spanish and Armenian dances. The Spanish passion, the frost of Russian winter, the blooming gardens of Armenia and the soaring eagle as the embodiment of Georgia found expression in the "Dancing Alphabet" dance suite performed by the "Nairi" ensemble. The students were also offered the story "Mystery of the Armenian Alphabet" presented by IIRWH alumna Inessa Vanyan, as well as a dialogue in Armenian with translation.
Prof. Alexander Lychagin, Head of the IIRWH Department of Oriental Languages and Linguistics:
"It is obvious that the vector of world politics and the world economy has shifted towards the East. Hence, there is a growing demand for oriental languages, chiefly for Chinese. Since 2008, we have seen a stable demand for learning this language every year. And of course, all of our graduates find adequate jobs".
