Students from the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology became prize-winners of the All-Russian phonetic competition “Reciting French poetry and prose” organised by the Moscow State Linguistic University. The competition was dedicated to the 190th anniversary of Jules Verne and 155th anniversary of the release of his novel “The Children of Captain Grant” (1868). The participants had to recite passages from Jules Verne’s book “The Children of Captain Grant”.
Over 70 students from various Russian universities took part in the contest. The jury consisted of Russian and international Francophonie experts, lecturers from leading Russian and international universities, as well as experts in the field of French phonetics.
The students from the VSU Department of French Philology were among the prize-winners of the competition: Valeria Mikhaleva (3rd year) took 1st place, Elizaveta Suslova (4th year) took 2nd place, and Anastasia Bocharova (1st year) won the audience’s choice award.
“Last year I participated in this contest and took second place, and this year I couldn’t even imagine that I would win this competition. I wasn’t thinking about winning, I just wanted to feel the excitement and satisfaction that the performance gives you. I’m so glad that the jury which included real experts in the field of phonetics and French language highly appreciated me. All my lecturers from the Department of French Philology helped me at each stage of preparation, and I’m especially grateful to Alexandra Chvirova, Elena Malakhova, and Elena Kashkina for their great training and support. I’m proud of our university and students who were not afraid of showing their talents at the competition and won prizes, it’s a great success!” said Valeria Mikhaleva.
“Another university, new faces, nice atmosphere, and, most importantly, a lot of people who are fascinated by the French language just like me. These were the main points of this competition for me. It was an interesting and exciting experience. The organisers gave us a chance to become story-tellers on the stage of a French theatre, to show our talents, watch the performances of our colleagues, and get new experience,” said Elizaveta Suslova.
“Being a first-year student, I didn’t feel confident enough about my knowledge of French to go to the Moscow State Linguistic University. But it was great! It was really nice to dive into the linguistic atmosphere, meet new people, and hear the opinions of experts in the French language. It also gave me more confidence, so sometimes it’s useful to step out of your comfort zone. I would like to thank Alexandra Chvirova, my lecturer from the Department of French Philology, who helped me to cultivate a love of French after just several months of studying it from scratch. While I was preparing for the contest, she supported and corrected me and made me feel more confident. It was a valuable experience that is definitely worth repeating,” said Anastasia Bocharova.
Students also noted that phonetic skills that involve clear and beautiful speech are highly important for future teachers of foreign languages and translators.
