Study Russian

  Russia

• St. Petersburg: 
St. Petersburg
• Moscow: 
Moscow (Moskva)
• All Other Areas: 
Irkutsk,  Vladivostok

Description: We would like to invite you to learn the Russian language at the famous Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU). Lomonosov University is the biggest and oldest University of Russia, founded in 1755 by the poet and scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. More than 30000 students are nowadays enrolled at 16 different faculties. MGU was the alma mater of many famous artists, politicians and scientists, such as Mikhail Gorbatschev or Jegor Gaidar. The campus is beautifully located in the middle of a huge park at the outside of the city center on the former Lenin hills, a 15 min. metro ride from the red square (maps and directions to MGU). The main building is 240m high and was built after Word War II in the typical Stalinian style. The large campus includes many libraries hosting more than 6 million books, magazines, internet cafés, kiosks, banks, hairdressers, cinemas, theaters, sport and leisure facilities.

MGU offers courses of all levels. Subjects can be chosen from standard grammar, conversation, phonetics, or literature to more specialized subjects such as Russian for scientists, teaching Russian, Russian law, business Russian etc. All our teachers have many years of experience with foreign students. Every year, more than 300 students are enrolling in such courses, from countries all over the world. To learn the Russian language, we highly recommend individual classes which guarantee maximum efficiency for and a specific focus on your needs. A certificate is delivered to all participants upon completion of the program.

For those who would like to work in Russia after having studied Russian, there are different Study&Work programs of 2-4 months: you study Russian in a group course during four or eight weeks and work then as a volunteer in a hospital, a school or a children summer camp during four to eight weeks.

Study and Work in Russia, St. Petersburg with Ziegler & Partner.

Highlights: Our services:

Language courses (individual or group tuition)
Accommodation (hotel, MGU or family)
Ticket desk for excursions
Medical services in case of emergencies, medical insurance available for long term residents
Metro and bus ticket for your duration of stay*
Certificate of Russian*
Dinner with the other students once a week (or every two weeks)*
Excursions in Moscow every two weeks*
Transfer from and to airport/train station
Tour of the MGU (for students living at the MGU)*
Visa and local registration*
Student card of MGU giving you numerous discounts*
Access to all libraries at MGU*
All kind of help by our local agent Farid Valitov*
*Included if you book courses and accommodation

Standard courses will give beginners the necessary Russian language skill for its practical use. Emphasis is laid on conversation. Medium and advanced students will get the necessary training to improve their command in both oral and written form. See our examples of programs for more details.

We strongly encourage you to take individual classes where the program is custom built by the teacher in accordance to the needs of the students. One-to-one tuition guarantees fast progress and an optimal focus on needed language skills. Only groups of students with approximately equal knowledge may apply to enroll in group courses. For each group, an individual program is set up in accordance to the needs of the group.

We recommend you to take at least 20 lessons per week, in order to facilitate the immersion into the Russian language and culture. If you prefer to have more spare time, we offer a LEISURE program that leaves you free afternoons for studies or excursions. SUBJECTS offered are grammar, phonetics/intonation, conversation, analytical reading, and Russian literature. Students can also view Russian featured films once a week or work in the language laboratory. The individual program will be discussed with the teacher on the first day after an entry-level test of your Russian language knowledge. Did you ever want to learn how to write Russian letters ? Or are you curious about Bulgakov, Gogol, Lermontov, Pushkin and others (-->Russian literature section)
We will teach you everything ...

B. Specialized Courses for teachers, journalists, business people, diplomats, lawyers, scientists, etc.

Specialized courses are designed for professionals seeking specialized knowledge of language terms in their fields. At least medium level knowledge of Russian is necessary to enroll in specialized classes. The following choice of subjects is available: Business Russian, Russian law, teaching Russian to foreigners, Russian for diplomats, writing modern Russian, grammar, phonetics/intonation, spoken Russian, conversation, literature. Relying on the best university staff and experts in their field, high quality training is guaranteed. Often, professional advice can be given at a fraction of what consultants would cost ! For larger groups of 6-10 people, we can also provide group business courses together with MIIT. Please contact us for an individual offer, if you plan to take a business Russian course.

Students wishing to use their Russian language knowledge for further studies in Russia, or to enroll at Moscow State University, are offered special preparation courses to pass entrance examination tests in Russian required for foreign students. MGU has more than 2000 foreign students from 70 countries enrolled in its 16 different departments. We would be pleased to help you enroll at this prestigious place of study (minimum length of stay is 9 months, classes run from 9/1-6/1 as a spring and fall semester).

If you need credit for Russian language courses, talk to your department/school. As Moscow State University is one of the leading educational institutions in Russia and Moscow, credit approval is usually not a problem. If you need help regarding this matter, we would be glad to contact your supervisor/school to provide further information. We have a list of resources to apply for scholarships, however, we do not provide scholarships.

All students are invited to pass the TORFL (Test of Russian as a Foreign Language) at the testing center at MGU. This test is somewhat equivalent to the TOEFL test of English speakers and highly recommended for students who wish to apply for jobs in Russia or academic institutions. There are five levels. Non-native Russian speakers with basic knowledge at the beginning of a language course should be able to achieve level 2 (advanced) after three months and level 3 (proficiency) after a year of intensive study. See a description of levels of Russian and the specific requirements. This may also help to assess your level before applying.

As an official agent of Moscow State University, we also offer you to continue studying at MGU. You can enroll directly into any of the 21 departments of MGU.

Number of lessons per week

We offer three different options for course intensity: Leisure (16 lessons per week), Normal (20 lessons per week) and Intense (24 lessons per week). In general, classes will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and/or from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., 5 days a week from Monday through Friday. There are some public holidays, where no classes are held unless explicitly required. Lessons are 45 minutes each, usually with a 15 min break after 2 lessons, and start at 10 AM. All classes are held on the campus in designated class or study rooms. There is a significant amount of homework and preparation required for individual classes, so 24 lessons per week will keep you pretty busy during the week. Homework is usually 15-20 hours per week, depending on your goals. If you prefer to have more excursions or a more relaxing program, please take advantage of our "leisure program" with 16 lessons per week. Let us know if you have special requirements. We can always adapt to your needs !

Duration of your stay

From numerous experiences we have learnt that the minimal time you will need to get acquainted with the new environment is two weeks. However, if time permits, we strongly recommend you to stay for at least four weeks. The longer you stay, the more progress you will make, obviously. Beginners will need six to twelve weeks in order to develop the language skills necessary to communicate in an every-day-situation, and to be able to read and understand texts. Keep in mind: Russian is a complicated and difficult language to learn for foreigners and you will need to work hard on your progress. We require that you are familiar with the Russian alphabet prior to departure. This will facilitate your immersion into the Russian culture, and is, in fact, an easy task. Study material is available in any bookshop.

There are a lot of summer camps for kids in the area around St.Petersburg. The camps that we propose as the places for practical work for foreigners are situated in the North-Western part of the St.Petersburg area in the direction of the Finnish border. This area is very well known to all the citizens of St.Petersburg because of its really beautiful countryside and nature. It is situated along the shores of the Finnish Gulf and is covered by deep forests and a great number of small and big lakes. Most of the camps are situated on the banks and shores of different lakes and the Finnish Gulf (or at least very close to them). We introduce two educational services that now provide you with the benefit of receiving high level of knowledge of the Russian Language followed by a period of practical work or study in St.Petersburg:

Russian Project: I. Alternative Service
(practice and volunteer program)
This project is aimed at people willing not only to study the language but also to do something in order to experience life as it really is. We offer you the unique opportunity of participating in a highly intensive Russian Language course followed by a month or more of practical work or study at different hospitals, kindergartens, schools, sport schools, children's homes and summer camps.

During the summer each camp has two or three "shifts". It means that twice or trice the number of kids in a camp is changed - they come and go away. The number of kids per shift as it depends upon the capacity of a camp. All the kids in a camp are divided into groups ("detachments") according to their age. Each group lives in a separate building or at least on different floors of one and the same building together with their tutors (usually there are two or three of them per group). The main idea of a summer camp is to provide kids with all necessary conditions for living and rest and at the same time make the camp interesting and full of fun. This is the main aim of the tutors who are totally responsible for it. Average number of kids is 200-300. All the camps usually have good bus or train connection with the city so when a tutor or somebody from the personnel has a day off (usually there 3-4 days off per shift) they can easily go to the city and spend a day there.

Hospital:
We offer our clients to spend some time working as volunteers at one of the St.Petersburg hospitals. This is quite a usual and ordinary state hospital for people suffering from different diseases. There are two main departments in the hospital: Therapy and Surgical. According to our program volunteers will help people staying at the Therapy department of the hospital. During the certain period of time volunteers will act as ordinary nurses and work hand-to-hand with the Russian personnel of the department. Together with their Russian colleagues our volunteers will do their best to bring sick people back to normal life. This is really hard but noble job. Usually our students work at the department of the Intensive Therapy assisting the Russian physicians in their everyday work. It is possible to work also at the General Surgery Department. The best way to have some short-term language and medical practice in Russia is to work as an assistant to a physician and to carry on usual procedures which occur at the Intensive Therapy Department.

Russian Project: II. Teaching in Russia :
This project is targeted at qualified teachers willing to spend more time in Russia to achieve the proper level of the Russian Language and to engage in practical work teaching different subjects at different secondary schools, colleges and educational institutions in St.Petersburg.

Also we invite foreign teachers of Foreign Languages to have practice at our Centre with Russian students in our evening classes. The main aim of the project is to let students as well as teachers understand the ways and methods of teaching subjects in different countries of the world, to exchange views and opinions and to get additional life experience.

Minimum Education: Diploma/Certification

Cost in US$: Contact us for more information

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Russia Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Other
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Written Application

Study Russian, Ziegler & Partner GmbH 's Mission Statement: Ziegler & Partner GmbH provides Russian language course and volunteering work in Russia as well as Travel services. Ziegler & Partner GmbH is an official representative of Moscow State University MGU and collaborates also with universities and Language schools in St.Petersburg, Odessa, Kiev, Kaliningrad, Irkutsk and Vladivostok. Through our connections to lecturers and professors of all departments of Moscow State University and our partner universities, we are able to offer you high-quality tuition at a very competitive price. In the same structure we can offer study and volunteering work programs in Moscou and St.Petersburg, giving you the chance to learn Russian by sharing a true culture experience and offer your help in different kind of project as for example social works, summer camp with children or medical works. Since 1994, the company is also offering individual and group travel along the transsiberian railway and travel offers all around Russia, we organise single trips to Moscow or Saint Petersbourg, but also Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok or Irkutsk with Lake Baikal adventure tours. We offer Travel packages or unit reservation of train tickets, Hotels reservation in Russia or guiding tours, interpret.

Year Founded: 1993