Rol’ inostrannogo jazyka v processe internacionalizacii vuza (The role of foreign language in internationalization process of the University)

Proficiency in Russian as a foreign language appears to be very important in the modern world. The teaching of the Russian language in Italy goes back to the 1920s and is connected with the establishment of business relationships between Russia and Italy in the spheres of economy and commerce. At that time in the universities and later in Italian colleges, Russian was taught mostly to students of philology. Today engineers, economists, and lawyers with Russian language proficiency are in high demand. The article examines the essential problems of teaching Russian—based on the fifty-year-long history of teaching Russian in the Slavic Department at the University of Bergamo. The article also looks at new pedagogical trends, the role of Russian culture in teaching Russian, and language-proficiency levels in Russian.