The Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan summed up the results of the English Language Week, organized by the Department of World Languages of the university from the 21st to 28th of February.
The rich content of the program of the English Language Week included interesting and significant events, educational activities, memorable cultural meetings filled with a special pre-spring mood and festive atmosphere.
The opening of the Week was marked by a bright regional study event called «Introduction to the country of the language being studied» and a colourful thematic exhibition prepared by the students of the university and unfolding in the lobby of the main building of the institute. The event was attended by teachers and students of the IIR of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country, in order to expand cooperation with general education institutions, teachers and students from the capital's schools № 65 and № 68 were invited to the meeting.
On this day, students of the faculties of the university made presentations on such topics as «Political and diplomatic relations of Turkmenistan with the country of the studied language», «Great Britain: language, culture, traditions», «Education and higher educational institutions of Great Britain», «Sights of the country of the studied language». Poems performed by students, songs in English, as well as monologues from the works of classics of English literature added special colours to the event.
The importance of learning English as one of the leading languages of the world and the official languages of the UN was emphasized during an open lesson for second-year students of the Faculty of International Relations and Diplomacy, held as part of the Week. The students, in turn, presented presentations on the topics «The History of the English Language», «The Role of the English Language in Diplomacy», «Great Britain: Dialects of the Country of the Language Being Learned», «Queen Elizabeth II». In continuation of the lesson, students recited poems in English, and a quiz game was also held. Among the main goals of such classes, which are held at the university regularly, teachers highlight the increase in the motivation of students to learn English, the expansion of academic and cultural knowledge.
A particularly symbolic event of the English Language Week was the opening of the Let’s Speak Up! conversation club at the Higher School of Diplomacy, which was initiated by first-year students. The main feature of the formed club is not only the training and improvement of the conversational skills of students, but also the acquisition of new extensive knowledge in English. Acquaintance with the new club and its members was held in a playful way, lively and interesting. The topic of acquaintance, however, became the main one on the first day of the club's work. Students actively expressed their opinions on how to properly start an acquaintance and conduct a dialogue, shared their personal experience on this topic. Heads and teachers of a number of faculties of the university gathered to support the initiative student youth.
The contents of the Week included various contests. One of them was organized on the basis of the new experience of teachers of the Department of World Languages, who successfully completed the Training Program under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Program (MTCP). The English language competition was held with the participation of four student teams, which represented four faculties of the university and successfully demonstrated a high level of foreign language proficiency.
The results of the Week were summed up in a solemn atmosphere with the participation of representatives of the institute staff, teachers and students of the capital's partner secondary schools of the university. On the occasion of the end of the Week, a creative event was held with art readings and song and music performances in English, prepared by students of the Higher School of Diplomacy. As part of the event, students who actively participated in the work of the Week, distinguished themselves and showed the best results in language competitions, were awarded.
As the organizers noted, the main goals of the fruitful subject week were to increase the motivation of students to learn a foreign language, broaden their general outlook, increase their cultural level, as well as develop cognitive and creative activity.
