Moscow is more New York than Siberia!
“Moscow: more New York than Siberia!” Meet Varvara Shinkevich
Compare Moscow New York rather than Moscow Siberia! Prepare for the volume of everything Moscow has to offer! This is an interview with one of our teachers: Varvara Shinkevich.
An introduction
My name is Varvara Shinkevich and I have been teaching Russian to foreign students at Liden & Denz in Moscow since October 2008.
About me
I live in the Podmoscovie, a geographical area in the south outskirts of Moscow.
I decided to become a teacher because I have always enjoyed helping people, explaining to them the things they could not understand by themselves.
Besides Russian, I speak English and understand some German.
My food preferences are not very patriotic ones. I like Italian and Russian-adapted Japanese food. Partly because of this, I would like to visit Italy and Japan, countries whose culture [and cuisine] fascinates me. As the Russians say, “Поживём – увидим”.
My teaching methods
In my view, the best learning method for my students is for them to practice, both doing written and oral exercises. I do not think that on-line resources are really effective in the learning process. To speak well, you need to communicate in a real context, though the performance may depend to an important extent on the type of person you are. Some people are shy, others very outspoken.
In any case, it is at the first couple of levels that it is the hardest both for the teacher and for the students to make progress. There is too much information and very little actual knowledge.
My advice for you, students
Do watch Russian language movies, series and TV programmes. Also, writing essays is a very useful exercise. For those of you who are beginning to learn Russian, start with the alphabet 🙂
My Moscow
Think of Moscow as New York, not as Siberia! I would say that anyone visiting the capital of the Russian Federation should, at least, see the Kremlin and the Red Square, Tsaritsyno and the Tretyakov Gallery.
Below, for a first glimpse, you will find the websites of these incredibly beautiful places:
Garbis, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz Moscow
