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US Students Learn Russian Through STARTALK

by Anush Avetisyan

   Solving the 'mysterious riddle' of the Russian language, a group of
   Americans are taking part in a total immersion course. The
   government-funded study is aimed at national security.

   The Americans in the course only speak Russian. And they only respond
   to Russian names.

   Such language immersion helps students make progress in studying the
   Russian language in just a few weeks. And for American Russian
   teachers, this is a chance to meet their colleagues and improve
   language skills.

   This is one of many foreign language courses within STARTALK, a program
   launched during George W. Bush's presidency as part of the U.S.
   national security strategy. Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, and
   Russian were named "critical-need" foreign languages.

   Charles Byrd, professor of Russian at the University of Georgia and a
   STARTALK program participant, said that American students are
   interested in Russian but many find it very hard to learn and master.
   For Byrd himself, Russian was once "forbidden fruit."

   "My parents were American diplomats, and they always wanted to go to
   Russia, but they were not allowed to. Because they could not travel to
   Russia, I always wanted to go there. I remember during my childhood I
   often heard about the Evil Empire. I had always the impression that
   Russia is a mysterious riddle," said Byrd.

   Nineteen-year-old Joseph Doran has been to Russia. He says he ate
   borscht seven times a week and took walks along the Volga, a symbolic
   river in Russian culture. At STARTALK, Doran is an assistant teacher.
   Students call him the Russian way -- Joseph Timofeyevich.

   "I love Russian culture, language. I love reading Russian classical
   literature. It is a very interesting language. Russian people are very
   nice. I love the opportunities that open to me because I know Russian,"
   said Doran.

   Betsy Sandstrom, a program director of "Discover Russia" at STARTALK,
   says that for many students learning a foreign language is an important
   first step into their future careers.

   "They have different interests - one person wants to become a Russian
   language teacher, another wants to be a politician... Knowledge of any
   foreign language is needed. And Russia is the largest country in the
   world," said Sandstrom.

   According to Forbes magazine, Russian is among the top 10 most popular
   languages for American college students.