To Learn a Language, You Need to Love the Country Where It Is Spoken

Inna Tubalova, Dean of the Faculty of Philology at Tomsk State University and Doctor of Philological Sciences, discusses how teaching Russian as a foreign language began in Tomsk, what makes Russian special for students from different countries, and how the Na Russkom platform helps foreign citizens adapt to life in Russia.

From Fundamental Research to a Living Language

Inna Vitalyevna, how did you become involved in teaching Russian as a foreign language?

— It was a fascinating experience. Russian as a foreign language is one of my areas of work, and it is very dear to me, although neither my Candidate of Sciences dissertation nor my doctoral dissertation was related to this field. Philologists primarily conduct fundamental research, which is extremely important, but the results are not immediately visible. When you teach a language, however, everything happens before your eyes: after a month of classes, students are already chatting away in Russian, beginning to understand, ask questions, and respond. It brings joy and the feeling of seeing immediate results.

I am also interested in the research side of this field. There is a tremendous amount of academic research worldwide on teaching English or French as foreign languages, but relatively little research on Russian. My colleagues and I are working to help develop the research foundation for teaching Russian as a foreign language. This field is growing both in Tomsk and throughout Russia.

When did teaching Russian to international students first begin in Tomsk?

— The first international students arrived in the early 1990s. They were a group of Americans taking part in a program that involved studying Russian for one month at a time at Russia's leading universities. Back then, nobody really knew how to teach Russian as a foreign language properly. Knowing a language as a native speaker is one thing; teaching someone who has never encountered it before is something entirely different. We literally had to change our perspective and look at Russian from the outside.

The students were wonderful, but they arrived completely unprepared. They had been told that Russia was cold, dangerous, and had "nothing." They arrived in February wearing light clothing. Their host families dressed them in whatever they could find, from padded jackets to rabbit-fur hats. Despite everything, they embraced Russia with great enthusiasm.

A Love of Culture and the Na Russkom Platform

What difficulties do international students most commonly encounter when learning Russian?

— Everything depends on their native language. For example, Belarusian speakers sometimes struggle not to confuse similar words, although Russian is generally quite easy for them to learn. Chinese students have the greatest difficulty with our grammatical cases and prepositions. Their language has no inflectional endings at all, so the grammatical system of Russian seems almost impossible to them. On the other hand, Chinese students are excellent at writing: they have well-developed visual memorization skills because they learn thousands of Chinese characters.

There are cultural differences as well. I like to give this example. Once, while working with Italian students, we were learning how to give compliments. One student said, "What beautiful shoes you have! They suit your foot so well." The grammar was correct, and she had used the right sentence structure, but that is simply not how Russians speak. Such nuances cannot be explained through grammatical rules alone. You can only develop a feel for them by living in the language environment.

We often hear about language proficiency levels such as A1, B1, and C1. What do these mean in the context of Russian as a foreign language?

— This is a common system used to assess proficiency in languages worldwide, including English, French, and German. Our colleagues at major Russian universities adapted it for Russian so that teachers and students could rely on consistent criteria, understand a learner's current level, and identify how to progress further.

Put simply, A1 is the elementary level. A person can engage in very simple conversations: greet someone, ask for bread in a shop, ask how much a ticket costs, and understand the answer. They know basic grammatical forms and enough vocabulary to manage everyday situations.

A2 is the next step. At this level, a learner can not only ask for directions but also express emotions, talk about themselves, and maintain short conversations about family, studies, and the weather.

B1 is considered the basic level required for studying at Russian universities, particularly at the undergraduate level. A student at this level can understand lectures, take notes, ask teachers simple questions, and communicate with classmates.

B2 represents confident command of the language. At this level, students can write academic texts, participate in seminars, engage in debates, and support their arguments. This is generally the level we expect from master's and doctoral students.

C1 is already close to native-level proficiency. A person speaks fluently, writes well, reads complex texts, and understands subtle nuances. Of course, they do not literally become native speakers, but their speech is natural and easily understood without allowances being made for their foreign background. We have doctoral students who have reached this level after living in Russia for several years.

Speaking is the most difficult skill for everyone. International students learn to read and write relatively quickly, but fluent spoken communication requires time, practice, and confidence.

Many people now study languages online. Is it possible to learn Russian as a foreign language without a teacher?

— Of course, it is difficult. We have incorporated an adaptive learning approach into the Na Russkom platform. It is a free platform that identifies a student's weaknesses and automatically directs them to appropriate exercises. This is the first step toward allowing people to study independently, following personalized learning paths.

Artificial intelligence is also being used extensively in language learning today. We are currently developing a module for assessing speaking skills using neural networks, which have already made considerable progress in speech recognition and interpretation.

During the pandemic, we became particularly aware that distance learning does not produce the same results as face-to-face instruction. However, a digital platform can compensate for much of this gap. It certainly cannot replace teachers entirely, but it can be a valuable assistant, particularly for people living abroad who are just beginning to learn Russian.

Russian as a Bridge Between Cultures

What can help international students integrate into Russian society more quickly?

— Above all, curiosity and active participation. A love of culture is not an abstract concept. It means going to see a Russian film, listening to Russian music, attending a conversation club, making friends with local students, and genuinely enjoying all these experiences. It means leaving your group of compatriots during a break and going into the corridor to talk to Russian students. We used to organize conversation clubs at the university quite actively, and we have now revived this practice.

And, of course, students should not be afraid of making mistakes. To learn to read, you have to read. To learn to speak Russian, you have to speak Russian. It is as simple as that.

You say that success depends on loving the country. Is that really so important?

— Absolutely. One of the main factors in successful language learning is a love for the country where that language is spoken. If someone feels positively about Russia, wants to live here, and wants to understand its people, they learn the language more quickly and deeply. What I particularly like about the Na Russkom platform, which we created with my colleagues, is that it includes sections that help foreign learners discover the most positive aspects of Russia through familiar, everyday situations.

There are long-form articles about using public transport, dealing with banks, finding places to eat, and going to the cinema. This part of the platform is a genuinely welcoming environment for adaptation. When students embrace this aspect of the culture, they begin to understand the language differently as well.

What motivates you to continue working in this field?

— Probably the demand for what we do. Russian is very much needed today in education, culture, and humanitarian cooperation. It is rewarding to see the results of our work and to feel that we are part of a larger system building new connections between Russia and the world.

Many of our graduates work abroad, teach Russian, and continue academic research. This is precisely what soft power means: personal connections that influence international relations more effectively than any formal declarations.