June 18, 2007: In early 2007, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Taganrog College of Technologies/South Federal University (former TSURE) and the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia, USA. The educational project was initiated by the Russian faculty of USC, led by Assistant Professor Alexander J. Ogden. Taganrog's unique history, geography, and cultural setting drew the American decision-makers who selected the city for the immersion program conceived for students of Russian language, literature and culture.
The first group of students started preparations for trip to Russia in winter 2006. The young Americans were interested to see Russia and the home city of Anton Chekhov. They learned about Taganrog from their Russian language lecturer - Maia Solovieva. Most students attended a special preliminary course, dedicated to Russian culture.
At the same time, preparations for the visit of American students were made in Taganrog. Lecturers and staff of the Center for Pre-College Programs at the Taganrog College of Technologies (formerly TSURE) led by Assistant Professor Igor Dotsenko started their work to insure a decent reception of the American guests. The Russian language lecturers attended the specialized course "Russian taught as foreign language" at the Pushkin State Russian Language Institute; the staff planned an excursion program for Moscow, Taganrog and Rostov Oblast. Long before the arrival of foreign students, the Center started the selection of Russian families interested in cultural exchange and the unique experience of living with American students. The idea of the program organizers was to not just create comfort conditions for American students within the receiving families, but also to provide through these families additional assistance in learning Russian as foreign language. The mutual interest of Russian and American students to each other raised the motivation level in learning Russian and English languages and extended the program possibilities, not limiting to classroom activities.
The immersion program "Russian Language in Context" consists of two courses: "Russian Language" and "Chekhov and his Home City". The author of the course dedicated to Anton Chekhov is Maia Solovieva, lecturer at the University of South Carolina. The Russian language course was lectured by Assistant Professors Andreeva and Nechepurenko of the Taganrog College of Technologies. The program is unique being the product of cooperation and planning between American and Russian lecturers. The American side defined the goals and objectives of the course "Russian language", while Russian lecturers prepared and technically equipped the educational program, which was evaluated and approved by the Americans. Both courses were officially recognized by the American university and included into the students' certificates.
The potential possibilities for the cooperation are very promising. This is the formation of a new educational environment supplied with modern technologies, innovation methods and expansion of the educational area. The immersion of American students into real living environment, informal contacts of representatives of various cultures are highly beneficial for Russian and American students and their lecturers.
This year there was an unusual student in the American delegation - specialist in the English literature Professor Thomas Rice. He lectured earlier at Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University and other major cities of Russian Federation. In Taganrog, Professor Rice delivered three lectures dedicated to trends in the modern art "Modernism, Postmodernism, What Next".
The lectures were freely available and held at the exhibition hall of the Taganrog Chekhov Public Library. Professor Thomas Rice's interest in the Russian literature made him become student and work hard on Russian grammar to read Chekhov without dictionary.
The authors of the project count not only on educational potential of the program, but also on possibilities for further development and representation of economic, political, cultural and educational structures of Taganrog and Rostov Oblast in the state of South Carolina, USA.
