In the spring semester 2021, a pilot virtual mobility project was implemented with the involvement of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), the Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry for Economic Development of Russia (RFTA), and Université Côte d’Azur (UCA). When physical travel turned out to be rather complicated all over the world, virtual mobility appeared as an alternative to physical mobility, and those exchange students who were unable to fly to RANEPA were happy to participate in the project in an online format. The “Russian as a foreign language” discipline organized by the RANEPA Institute for Social Sciences (ISS) was especially popular among the French students. Vittoria Dalmasso and Linda Novotna, students of the Department of Philology at UCA, shared their impressions of the virtual mobility project and the “Russian as a foreign language” course.

– How was the RFL course organized?

Linda:
– Classes were held 2 times a week, for 3 hours each, with a short break in the middle. At the beginning of the class, we would check our homework, then we worked with the Russian language textbook that the teacher had emailed to us.

– Did you enjoy the teaching? How was the lesson structured?

Vittoria:
– The instructor was very nice, she always took the time to answer questions and check homework thoroughly. She tried to speak Russian as much as possible, but whenever any complicated grammar or vocabulary was encountered, the teacher explained it in English, to be sure that everyone was on track. It is safe to say that 95% of the time the conversation was in Russian throughout the entire lesson.

Linda:
– We had a charming teacher. We all liked her immediately right from our first session; the communication was pleasant and easy. It is hard to teach a speaking class over Zoom, and it’s important that the students feel comfortable and are not ill at ease with the instructor.

– What are your impressions of the course?

Vittoria:
– The course was very interesting, it was a great experience for me – I was able to improve my speaking skills.

Linda:
– I am very happy that I had this opportunity to participate in virtual mobility, which is a whole new type of mobility for me. It’s a great alternative to academic mobility when the borders are closed, making sure you still have a productive year.

– Would you recommend virtual mobility to other students?

Vittoria:
– Of course the best way to learn a foreign language is to go to a country where it is everyone’s mother tongue; however, if physical mobility is as restricted next academic year, I would highly recommend that all students enroll in the “Russian as a Foreign Language” virtual mobility course.

Linda:
– Yes, absolutely. This is a great opportunity to learn and practice a foreign language, given the situation.