A new Russian language course is being offered at OCU that has never been offered in previous years. The course will be offered in the fall 2020 semester.
This class will be taught by Sabina Amanbayeva, assistant professor of English. Amanbayeva started teaching in the department about a year and a half ago.
“It has always been my dream to teach Russian, and I think it would be a great addition to the department,” Amanbayeva said.
Amanbayeva said OCU previously offered a semester course of Russian language and culture, but the new course being offered would specifically be a Russian language course.
“This course would be a regular Russian language course, but in the future I would like to offer intermediate courses as well,” Amanbayeva said.
Amanbayeva said she does not know specifically who is interested in the course as of right now.
“Informally, some of my previous students have said they might be interested in the course, but with COVID-19 I haven’t been able to talk to a lot of them about it,” Amanbayeva said.
Amanbayeva said language enrollment is often a challenge, no matter what language course it is.
“French and Spanish courses have also struggled to fill enrollment in the past,” Amanbayeva said.
Jackson West, acting sophomore, is currently getting a Spanish minor and said he thinks the course sounds fun.
“I think the addition of Russian to our modern language program will be really good for OCU,” West said.
West said he is interested to see how the course goes and has talked to other students about it already.
“I know a lot of students are excited about new non-romantic languages,” West said.
Amanbayeva said the course would offer many opportunities for students in the future.
“There are many opportunities connected to the Russian language from security, to politics, to history, to foreign affairs and so on,” Amanbayeva said.
Amanbayeva has attended many conferences about Russia and knows of many connections to opportunities in the future for students including study abroad opportunities, internships and jobs.
“I want to help students do something practical and real with language and not instantly forget about the class once they graduate,” Amanbayeva said.
For more information on the new Russian language course, contact Sabina Amanbayeva at szamanbayeva@my.okcu.edu .
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