Launched in the fall of 2020, Share Language, Culture, Life is an series of moderated conversations between Russian-learners based in the US and the UK and Russian students in Russia.
The topics are those relevant to young people in Russia today - culture, environment, fashion, social media, among others. The conversations are therefore a window into today's Russia, presented in a way that is familiar, engaging, and current.
The discussions take place monthly, normally on a Sunday late morning U.S. East Coast time.
Participation is free and open to current students and recent graduates.
How it works
Each conversation stands on its own. There is no requirement to have taken part in the past or to commit to further participation.
Two or three weeks ahead of each call we send out an invitation to join the conversation via our mailing list. The invitation will include the topic, date/time, and a curated list of materials (e.g. links to articles, videos, etc.) to review before the discussion. You let us know if you want to take part.
The material will be in Russian and the preparation should take one to two hours. While we will not test you on the material, we do call on people, so you should be ready to participate.
The discussion itself will last about an hour. It take place via Zoom or similar online video conferencing tool. The conversations will be in English.
The Russian participants of the discussion will be students of English at our partner language school in Voronezh with advanced level of English proficiency. For them, the conversations are a way to practice their English and hear outside perspectives on topics they're familiar with.
Requirements
To participate, you must be:
- A current student or recent graduate,
- A native English speaker or be able to speak it to a native level,
- Have taken at least 2 semesters of university-level Russian or equivalent or you are a heritage speaker, and
- At least 17 years old.
How to take part
To receive invitations, sign up to our mailing list.