Diplomatic Service Russian Language Course

This course is designed for:

• Ambassadors, diplomats and other embassy officials;
• Individual civil servants who are not part of a department-wide language programme;
• Government officials or any employee of a government department or agency who has the desire to maintain and develop Russian language skills, for future career progression.

The course includes preparation for all Diplomatic Core Skills Modules:

• Oral Module: Social Introductions, Presentation and Interaction, Liaison Interpreting and Negotiation;
• Listening Comprehension Module: Listening for Gist and Listening In-Depth with Analysis;
• Reading Comprehension Module: Reading for Gist and Reading In-Depth with Analysis.

• Full time, intensive training;
• Flexible, individual courses to fit in with learners’ busy schedules;
• Instructor-led online lessons using virtual classroom technology.

Courses are offered entirely online, using Live Online or other platforms, as required. NovaMova has invested in the latest technology to enable students to access materials, take part in individual lessons and undertake online exercises.

All our course trainers are native speakers with at least 10 years’ professional Russian training experience. Our 30+ qualified and highly experienced teachers are familiar with civil servants’ language requirements. In addition to relevant academic and linguistic qualifications and experience, many of our trainers also possess considerable professional expertise and experience, as translators, interpreters or special advisers.

All courses start with a needs analysis, level assessment and the development of a tailored course plan. Selected published materials, as well as online learning resources, are used throughout the course. You will be given recommendations of self-study material, extra reading and listening.

Typically, a course will take up 15 hours a week and there will be around 15 hours of homework every week. However, the course can be adapted to your needs, providing a more or less intensive programme.

Lessons are varied, including hosted study activities, learning pathways, assessments and curated resources. These all help our students and teachers to follow a modern approach to learning a language. Our teachers use radio, TV, newspapers and social media to expand students’ knowledge and to help bring the language to life. We teach students to operate in a range of contexts: social chit-chat alongside political discussion, day-to-day practicalities alongside ecology. We know it is important to be able to discuss climate change as effectively as to have the ability to call a taxi. Students take regular tests, assessing their progress.