Greetings from Laos! VSUES teacher Valeriia Petoyan teaches Laotian students Russian language

11 января 2019 International Relations

The Institute of Foreign Languages of VSUES maintains close relations with many foreign universities and organizations.

One such partner is Lao National University. In 2013 the first group of students from Laos arrived at the VSUES to study at the Preparatory Department for Foreign Citizens. Next year they will receive diplomas in various majors. Currently, the university has more than fifty students from this tropical country.

Laos as a state originates in the XIV century. Then the country was called Lang Sang Hom Khao, which translates as "The Country of a Million Elephants and a White Umbrella." December 2, 1975, King Sisavang Vatthana abdicated the throne, and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic was formed. The population is about seven million people. Most of them live in the valley of the Mekong River, along the border with Thailand, and in the capital of the state, Vientiane.

The first official delegation of VSUES visited the Lao PDR in the spring of 2015. Friendly ties were established with the Laos National University and the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Laos. After signing the Cooperation Agreement, VSUES provides the university in Vientiane with a Russian language teacher each academic year to improve the language skills of Laotian students, to hold cultural events, to promote information about the benefits of studying at our university.

Valeriia Petoian, a Russian teacher at the Preparatory Department for Foreign Citizensof VSUES, works in Laos in the current semester. She shared her impressions of working in this country:

- Lao students are very cheerful and hardworking, it is a pleasure to work with them. The relationship between teachers and students is relaxed, friendly, everyone always comes to help each other. My students are happy to introduce me to their country. Here, an unusually beautiful flora, fauna, colorful and mysterious sunsets. Lao architecture also amazed me, there are a lot of temples, the capital has about two hundred of them. We visited the main sights with my students: the Golden Stupa, the Patuxai Victory Gate and the Buddha Park, where the sculptures of heroes of Buddhist and Hindu mythology are collected.

With the support of Valeriia Petoian, the first competition of Russian Language in Laos “Matryoshka” was organized and held in November 2018. The speakers took part in three categories of the competition: a poem, songs and theatrical performance of a fairy tale or fable.

Valeriia Petoian summed up her story about life and work in Laos:

- The competition was held for the first time, but I hope that this will become a good tradition. After all, such events are very important for learning the language and understanding the culture of Russia. It is very motivating for students to learn more about our country, to study the language more diligently. I wish the dreams of my students to come true, and the Russian language would help them in this. I really want to see all my current students in the classrooms of VSUES in the near future. I believe that this will happen, because the interest in the Russian language, culture and history of Russia is growing. Greetings to all from Laos!