A Competition in English for Senior Students

A traditional conference “Petrovskye Recitations: Language Is the Foundation of National Identity and a Means of International Communication”, took place on the 3rd of March 2009 at Lyceum No. 1525 in Moscow.

Eleven reports were devoted to linguistic, cultural and political topics. Three works were considered to be significant.

The first one was about English as the main means of international communication. The report was presented by the 11th grade Indian student Reika Raman. She talked about the meaning of English for Indian people.

The student began with the definition of language: “Language is the system of sounds and words used by humans to express their thoughts and feelings”.

Reika Raman noted that language articulates the identity of a nation and individual. The student explained to the audience that when people learn English:

1) it makes them want to learn more about English-speaking countries;

2) people share a common interest;

3) this interest deepens perceptions of cultural values and strengthens communication; and

4) people begin to appreciate the culture and traditions of English-speaking countries.

The second work was about Israel. It was done by the 10th grade student of Moscow International Gymnasia Vladislava Begun. The girl visited Israel and told us about the original culture, traditions and customs which are closely connected with the history of this country.

The third work was devoted to Russian literature in English. The report was made by the 11th grade student of the specialized English School No. 1302, Panteleeva Dasha. She had been in England and visited some bookshops where she had a chance to see books of Russian writers in English. The most popular are works by Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.

Dostoyevsky’s novels The Idiot and Crime and Punishment are very interesting for foreigners because the writer “opens windows to consciousness”. Tolstoy’s creations War and Peace and Anna Karenina are important for readers because the author “describes feelings and emotions of people in a very realistic way”.

The conference was useful and the students participated in discussions with pleasure. I think information given here will help teachers and students in their work on different projects in English.