Tatyana Kudoyarova: "Azerbaijanis love to learn. They learn different languages easily"

Another expedition of the international volunteer program "Ambassadors of the Russian Language in the World", initiated in 2015 by the Pushkin State Institute of the Russian Language, has ended. This program's goal is to popularize Russian language, culture and literature in Russia and abroad, as well as to develop and strengthen inter-university and international partnerships, promote cultural values of tolerance and organize dialogue of cultures. Methodologist of this program, associate professor of the department of Russian literature and intercultural communication of the Pushkin State Institute discussed results of this program in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

- Did your expedition to Baku went well?

- A little over a year ago we visited Baku for the first time. We had four expeditions since then. We have excellent partners, interesting projects. Our project evolves constantly, there's always something new.

We began our work in one of the Baku lyceums, continued in schools, now we have a new format with Baku universities. We're working mainly with the University of Foreign Languages. We visited the Baku State University, the Slavic University, the Economic University.

As for the results of all four trips to Baku, we have learned a lot about Azerbaijan. Students from the Russian Federation visited this city, ambassadors of Russian language participated in each expedition, and they brought their knowledge and love for Azerbaijan to many Russian regions. There are many interesting stories, they shared all of them through social networks. Of course, we have established friendly contacts. Young people got to know each other very quickly. Communication continues even after our trips.

- Can students from Azerbaijan become ambassadors of Russian language?

- It all depends on students' initiative. Representatives of any country can participate in this program if they are fluent in Russian, know Russian culture well and are willing to share this knowledge with their compatriots or representatives of other countries. We receive applications from representatives of different countries. But selection proccess is difficult, it has several stages. We had a boy who submitted application three times and became ambassador only on third attempt, proving his ability to work with audience. The most important thing is desire. You can find all information on our website. Our doors are always open. We would be very happy to meet new people.

- Has Azerbaijani audience expressed interest in Russian language?

- There's huge interest in Azerbaijan, thanks to cultural and economic traditions that have developed between our peoples. On the other hand, this interest also exists thanks to the fact that people there are always interested in something new, even if they have never learned Russian. This is their first experience in mastering such complex language, and they all enjoy the learning process. Azerbaijanis are very grateful. They love to learning new things, and they learn different languages easily. After all, they have to learn several languages in schools and in universities.

- Do you plan to visit Azerbaijan once again?

Next year we will try to continue development of our program in Azerbaijan. We visited several universities and were asked to continue our program. I think our audience will continue to grow. We're completing our current expeditions, and at the end of the year we will gather for a forum of ambassadors of Russian language, where we will sum up results of our work in various formats. Next expeditions will take place in 2019.