Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies, MSU Celebrates 20th Birthday
«Мы родились в 1988 г. Мы молоды, полны сил и энергии. Лет нам немного, но это были невыносимо трудные годы, когда кончалась одна эпоха и на ее развалинах рождалась другая. Все рушилось вокруг нас, но мы выжили, выстояли, добились значительных успехов и признания в России, в мире и – самое трудное! – в родном Университете. Мы смогли это сделать благодаря энтузиазму, самоотверженности, ответственности, чувству долга и, главное, благодаря принадлежности к Московскому университету. Нам помогли и наши университетские люди, и Ректор, и общая атмосфера (знаменитый университетский дух), и нравственные устои, и, наконец, главное - Любовь. Любовь к своему делу, к студентам, к родному Университету». С.Г. Тер-Минасова |
There is no need to deliver a eulogy for the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Moscow State University. For 20 years it’s been a dream, a hope, a goal for many school graduates; it’s always been a subject of pride and grand memories for those who studied or worked there.
Svetlana Ter-Minasova, the devoted enduring dean of the faculty designates it as “a modest branch of a big gorgeous tree”. To continue the metaphor we would add that this branch has given a lot of beautiful flowers and has borne wonderful fruit. And these are the students and the graduates of the Faculty. We appreciate the contribution teachers and students of the Faculty made for our newspaper. Our readers have gained a lot with their invaluable publications.
It is symbolic that this year is also a time of two important anniversaries for Svetlana Ter-Minasova. She celebrates her diamond anniversary and 50 years of her meritorious service.
Long live Svetlana Grigorievna!
Long live the Faculty!
We decided to ask the today’s students to tell us about their life at the Faculty. Two questions were asked:
1. Why have you chosen to enter this faculty?
2. What have you gained during the period of study?
Here are their stories:
1. It was fate that I got a diploma in an Olympiad and was accepted without exams. Otherwise I wouldn’t even consider trying to apply to MSU.
2. I’ve met so many wonderful people! I have the best group, the best friends and the best teachers. I’ve learned what it feels like to study for pleasure, to get more and more aware of what the world is like every day… but, people are the most important thing… everybody is so smart and so precious… and the atmosphere is wonderful.
Yuliya Kicheva
1. Actually, I’ve never even hoped to enter MSU, but when I got the 2nd prize in the All-Russian English Competition, it suddenly became possible. So I didn’t hesitate and just chose this faculty, because I considered it to be one of the best in this sphere and the most suitable for me.
2. I never regretted my choice. And although sometimes I’m ready to surrender and give up everything, especially when I’m overloaded with studies, I can not imagine myself anywhere else. It’s really challenging for me to study here, and I try to accept all the challenges, because knowledge we get here is invaluable. It’s not only the course you take, but also the people, both the students and the tutors, who are so exciting to communicate with and to learn from. I guess, within this first year of studies I’ve gained a truly precious experience and I’m looking forward to what’s coming next!
Masha Ananchenkova
1. I’ve been keen on foreign languages since I began learning English ten years ago, so I said I wanted to get my degree in linguistics whenever I was asked about my higher education. When I was having my last year of school, I was supposed to choose from a number of universities to enter. When I first came to our faculty, I understood that this was the place where I wanted to study, not only because of the high level of education and the prestigious MSU degree, but also because of the kind and warm atmosphere I saw here.
2. After my first year I understood that I’ve learned a lot. I’ve improved my English, I’ve read a lot of books, I can now even speak German a little, though a year ago it seemed impossible to me… What’s more, I feel as if I’ve become another person here. I’ve learned to be self-confident and industrious and it was very helpful when I was passing my exams. I also became more tolerant with people and learned to understand them better.
Tatiana Govorukhina
As I remember, I was only 15 years old when I decided to enter Moscow State
University. I studied at Moscow English school and the only thing I knew was that foreign
languages were my life. English was the only subject I really loved. I was never good at
such subjects as Maths and Chemistry, and I think it’s better to say that I just
couldn’t stand them. So I guess that’s why my parents and I chose a faculty of foreign
languages of Moscow State University. I clearly remember, how I first visited this
faculty. It was a cold rainy day of October when I started attending preparatory courses
for school-leavers. Actually I wasn’t a school-leaver at that time, I only attended the
10th form, but I just couldn’t sit and wait for the next year. And as I learned later,
my level of English was good enough for entering the university.
So I decided not to waste time sitting at school and studying subjects that I definitely couldn’t understand. I left school and went to externship. I’m sure it was the best choice I had ever taken. The whole year I was attending these preparatory courses where I made a lot of friends, with whom I study now, by the way. It was a very good time, as I recall, but time goes and summer came, so it was time to pass the exams. For me it was extremely hard to overcome the stress that I experienced. But luckily, everything finished successfully, and I became a student of Moscow State University. If you wonder why I decided to choose exactly this university then I’ll tell you that MSU is the oldest university in Russia and what is most important, it has it’s own traditions. If you ask me what I feel now about being a student, I’ll answer you that it’s a big joy to study here, to get a marvelous experience, and to communicate with our fantastic teachers.
Irina Takoyeva
1. It seems to me that I have known all along that I am going to be a
linguist. As far back as I remember, I have been learning English. My mother started
learning it with me, without having any basic knowledge of the language, so she started
learning and teaching me at the same time. It was like an amusing game for me; I did not
quite understand why I needed it, but it soon became my passion. So, as early as when I
started school, I already knew that I was going to devote myself to languages. I had no
other choice – foreign languages were the only thing that I knew well.
The only doubt I had when I was in the eleventh form was which institute or university I
was going to choose. I dreamt of entering MSU, but I just regarded it as a dream that was
not to become true. My parents, their friends and all of my friends, were telling me to
forget all about it, as they were almost 100 per cent sure I would fail to enter this
faculty: there are so many people striving for a place at the faculty of foreign languages
at MSU, coming from all over the country and it seemed almost impossible for me, who had
lived the whole life in a village and who had been learning English and French without a
decent teacher, to enter Russia’s first and most prestigious university. I considered
other variants, such as the Moscow State Linguistic University, or the faculty of foreign
languages of the Moscow Region University, but I knew that was not where I belonged. I was
even about to break down and to enter the Customs Academy, choosing a totally different
profession that would not give me an outlet for my creative potential. But luckily, there
are Olympiads in foreign languages held by the Ministry of Education which I had
won regularly since I was in the 8th form. I took part in the All-Russian Olympiad
– and I won third place, which meant I could be accepted without any entrance exams! My
dream came true.
2. Apart from the academic process, I love the atmosphere that reigns at our faculty, the people studying here who are really clever and willing to learn, the team spirit that is felt all over the place – it all encourages me to get up at five o’clock in the morning, fighting sleep (I live quite far away from the faculty, and it takes me two hours to get there) and go to university to acquire new knowledge and skills, with a happy smile on my face.
Maria Maximenko
1. For me there were always two choices – music and foreign languages. Two
subjects that are in some way similar, but at the same time so different. After so many
hours and days of thinking I’ve chosen foreign languages. The next step was to find a
university and a faculty that suited me.
I didn’t have any doubts about the university. For an ambitious girl who has just
returned from the US, when she stayed for a year as an exchange student, and has moved
from St. Petersburg to Moscow, MSU was the only option.
To choose a faculty was a much harder task. I was thinking about the faculty of philology,
but very soon I realized that ancient languages are not the most interesting subject for
me. Then the faculty of world politics came to my mind. Luckily, for a short period of
time. After so much hesitation I decided to enter the faculty of foreign languages, that
allowed its students not only to learn languages, but also to get to know cultures,
represented by these languages. My experience in the US made me believe that all the ideas
about permanent links between culture and language are absolutely right. And I was sure
that crosscultural communication was exactly what I was looking for.
2. Now I am a second year student and I do not regret my decision. I took
German as my second language last September and this summer was already able to go to
Germany and to work there. Surely, I myself studied hard, reading all kinds of German
books, but it was the faculty that made me so determined to learn the language.
I was surprised to meet so many devoted people, who are as crazy about foreign languages
and different cultures as I am. I can hardly imagine anything more exciting than speaking
English, German, French, Latin and Chinese with my friends somewhere in the street and
enjoying the looks that people give us. And what can be more rewarding than talking to a
foreigner, using his native language, and seeing real happiness in their eyes?
Victoria Shirobokova