For the first time, the Russian Language Week was held last fall in the Japanese capital, Tokyo. This time around, it will be running simultaneously in three cities across Japan: Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.
The events to be held as part of the Week include a conference and workshops on teaching the Russian language in Japan, a regional language proficiency contest, an open Russian class, consultations on teaching methodology, and meetings with Japanese academics and students specializing in the Russian language and culture.
The Russian organizers are bringing along prominent teachers of Russian as a foreign language, people in the arts, government officials and community activists. This year's lineup will include V. Kostomarov, President of the Pushkin Institute of the Russian Language, and V. Sergeyev, Artistic Director of the Fyodr Volkov Drama Theater.
The Russian Language Week will give to Japanese learners plenty of opportunities to communicate with native speakers and may also encourage more of their fellow countrymen to take up Russian studies.
