Russia: Language Learning Popular as Ever

[Francis Hult]

The St. Petersburg Times

 

Language Learning Popular as Ever

 

The thirst for learning English and other foreign languages continues as Russians travel more and seek international business partners.

 

When Russia opened its doors to the market economy about one and half decades ago, it took people off-guard and ill-equipped to meet the challenges of a culturally and technologically diversified world. It was a puzzle to the outgoing Iron Curtain generation whose commercial lexicon went no further than that of a centralized planned economy based on the communist ideological doctrine. 

 

But since communism was no more and the former Soviet satellite states had shunned Russian as their medium of communication, it marked the dawn of a new era and the birth of a new breed of Russians who would adapt themselves to the changing business environment. They needed a new language to win the confidence of the outside business world where Russian was no more than the language of a die-hard communist. 

 

Full story:

http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=25182

_______________________________________________
Edling mailing list
Edling at lists.sis.utsa.edu
https://lists.sis.utsa.edu/mailman/listinfo/edling
List Manager: Francis M. Hult