On March 6, Penza State University hosted a quiz on Russian language and culture for international students, "Hello, Russian Fairy Tale!" The event was held in the lecture hall of the "Znanie" society of the PSU Student Space.

The quiz was organized by the Department of "Russian as a Foreign Language" of the Institute of International Cooperation (members of the organizing committee: head of the department Olga Barabash, assistants Ksenia Mityurnikova, Anna Khabibulina, Natalia Zagumennikova).

The event is dedicated to the 210th anniversary of Pyotr Yershov, the author of the famous fairy tale “Konyok-Gorbunok” ("The Little Humpbacked Horse"). This work was highly praised by Aleksandr Pushkin. It has been translated into various languages of the world, and films and cartoons have been created based on its plot. And the Soviet composer Rodion Shchedrin wrote the music for the ballet of the same name.

The goal of the quiz is to develop a respectful attitude towards Russian culture, interest in studying the Russian language and Russian literature, and to help develop the cognitive and creative potential of students. 

Six student teams from the Institute of International Cooperation, studying in the fields of linguistics, philology, and teacher education (Russian as a foreign language), competed for victory. The participants included students from China, Lebanon, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The quiz included four rounds and one special competition for the title of the best expert on Russian literary fairy tales.

The students were asked to answer questions about the Russian fairy tale, the biography of Pyotr Yershov, the genre, plot and characters of the work "The Little Humpbacked Horse". They also solved linguistic problems with old measures of length, demonstrated acting skills and explained the meaning of some words and expressions.

"For us, teachers of Russian as a foreign language, the fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse" by Pyotr Yershov is unique in that it can be used to study Russian non-equivalent vocabulary, obsolete words, phraseology. Students are attracted by the poetic form of the tale, humor, magic. They begin to feel the living folk speech more subtly, to understand the Russian character, analyzing the actions of the heroes. This is very valuable for future specialists in intercultural communication, translators, teachers," said Olga Barabash, Head of the department of Russian as a foreign language. 

All participants received certificates, and the winners received diplomas and prizes. The title of the best expert was awarded to the student of 23ИЛК1 group Gulshat Khemraeva.