The Fifth Linguistic Festival RAFL at SSU is taking place at Saratov State University. This year, it is dedicated to the 225th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin. The festival is traditionally organised by the Institute of Philology and Journalism, the Department of Russian Language, Speech Communication, and Russian as a Foreign Language, as well as the International Office, SSU.

On April 11, there was held a panel discussion on the linguistic and cultural aspects of teaching RAFL, which was attended by professors who teach the Russian language and the staff of international offices of Saratov universities.

Director of the Institute of Philology and Journalism Lyudmila Borisova opened the meeting. ‘Our forum brings together foreign students studying Russian at universities in Saratov and professors of Russian as a foreign language. Love to the Russian language, the Russian culture is a unifying principle, serves as a kind of key to mutual understanding and mutual respect. This year, our festival is devoted to a significant date – the 225th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, whose humanistic ideas are relevant and modern today as never before. In the history, Pushkin is consistently perceived as the founder of the Russian literary language.

I am glad to welcome the colleagues from Saratov universities. Over the years, your traditional participation in the festival has become the pillar that allows our forum not to stand still, but to grow and develop every year.’

She noted that the professors of Moscow State Linguistic University, Petrozavodsk State University, and the Harbin Institute of Technology are taking part in the panel discussion online.

The idea of the festival was discussed by Head of Priority Projects and Programmes, SSU, Elena Yelina. ‘The fact that the festival has been held for the fifth time shows its productivity. For many years, the university has been engaged not only in teaching Russian as a foreign language, but also in research-to-methodology developments on this issue. It is very important for us that most of the professors of different Saratov universities are our graduates, our students, and today we are very pleased to meet you again.

When we ask the question about the bonds that connect different generations, different nationalities, and what can unite people of different views and political aspirations, it seems to me that the answer is obvious. That are The Russian language, the Russian literature, and the Russian culture. How, if not via the Russian language, can you vividly and convincingly speak about our country, about our traditions, about our worldview, and about our spiritual values?’

The Vice-Rector for International Affairs, SSU, Dmitrii Konakov emphasised the interest of the university community in the festival. ‘When the idea of such an event was suggested at the university five years ago, we assumed that it should be interesting not only for us, but also for other universities. Indeed, the festival has become popular and traditional, today, it has a worthy place among the most diverse educational projects of Saratov State University, attracts not only local specialists, but also colleagues from other cities and countries. It is quite obvious that this festival has a great future.’ He said greetings and wishes of interesting speeches and uncompromising discussions to the participants on behalf of SSU Rector Alexei Chumachenko.

Wan Ming, Professor, Vice-President of the School of Economics and Trade, of the Guangdong University of Foreign Languages and International Trade (China) and Anna Yevsina, Chair of the Board of the Key International Cultural Institute (the Czech Republic) greeted the forum participants online.

Professor of the Department of Russian Language, Speech Communication, and Russian as a Foreign language Tatyana Milyokhina moderated the panel discussion. Chair of the Department of Russian Russian Language, Speech Communication, and Russian as a Foreign Language Alla Baikulova began the discussion of the topics, speaking about the role of the RAFL at SSU festival in the implementation of the state strategy for preserving and strengthening the position of the Russian language in the world.

Professor of the Department of Russian Language, Speech Communication, and Russian as a Foreign Language Olga Myaksheva focused on the problems of teaching Russian to students of the post-Soviet countries.

Professor Wang Lizhong of the Harbin Institute of Technology joined to the speakers online. He shared the problems of teaching Russian to Chinese students. However, Chinese professors of the Russian language have learned to overcome them successfully, judging by how freely his students communicated with Saratov directly from their room. The professor marked that recently the number of schoolchildren and students choosing Russian as a foreign language had increased significantly in China. More than five hundred students are learning Russian at their university.

Associate Professor of the Department of Humanities at Saratov State Conservatory Ekaterina Alexeyeva shared an interesting experience in the development of intercultural competence at RAFL lessons.

Associate Professor of the Department of Russian and Latin Languages at Saratov State Medical University Natalia Pavlova, in turn, focused on Classical lessons in teaching international medical students.

In an online dialogue, Chair the Department of Russian Language and Theory of Literature at Moscow State Linguistic University Iskra Kosmarskaya and Professor of the same department Olga Yevtushenko commented on the Russian LIBRARY– a digital database of materials for teaching and studying the Russian language.

What can a modern medical student learn by reading Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Bulgakov? Is the language easier for the conservatory students with a fine musical ear? What forms of contacting teachers do foreign students choose? What are the most effective methods and techniques that can be used in RAFL lessons? How can students be motivated to learn Russian? These and other issues were of concern to the participants of the panel discussion, who eagerly shared their experience with each other.

The professional discussion continued at the methodological laboratory Successful Practices in Teaching RAFL. The members enthusiastically talked about the methods of using songs, neural networks, and artificial intelligence in teaching Russian as a foreign language, reflected on the quality of education-to-methodology support, considered students' mistakes as grow areas for the teaching staff, and analysed the written speech of international students from the linguistic and cultural points of view.