On December 4, 2023, I took part in a round table “Friends of France”, organized for students and teachers of the Faculty of foreign languages the Ural State Pedagogical University in Yekaterinburg, Russia. I graduated from this university many years ago and worked there as a French teacher for several years. I kept professional contacts with my colleagues, and I regularly take part in their scientific events and student competitions.

The round table was organized by the chair of Romance and Germanic languages. The topic of my online report is: “Individual student`s work in learning French language”. Listeners of the online report in French and discussion participants are students of 1-4 years of study, future teachers of the French language.

I drew the audience’s attention to the key and central role of the student in the educational process. Unfortunately, some students take a passive position and place responsibility for their success on teachers and tutors, but not on themselves. These students, as a rule, quickly lose linguistic competencies during the holidays and in the first years after graduation.
I called them to be curious, to be interested in things beyond the textbooks and curriculum, to regularly read the press, to compile glossaries, to listen and watch programs in a foreign language, to participate in forums, etc. It is important “not to be silent inside”, to pay attention to what classmates are saying, to come up with new phrases and contexts to use new words and expressions.

I also advised the students to regularly engage in a kind of inner dialogue, think about controversial subjects, find relevant arguments and examples. In this way, when there is a need to speak and present a constructed and coherent reasoning, it is easier to do so with the elements already done.

Unfortunately, many authentic sources in French are not currently available in my country. Sometimes obstacles in learning foreign languages arise just like that, completely unexpectedly. I showed the students what resources they could use without breaking the law.

I also introduced the Ozyegin University to the audience, spoke about the principles of organizing students’ independent work: extensive reading, audio and video recording, written work, grammatical and lexical work.

Students and teachers were interested in life and study at Ozyegin University. Students asked whether there were students and teachers from Russia at the university. It was a great honor for me to represent Ozyegin University, and I was once again convinced that young people in different countries strive for contacts, cooperation, and exchange of experience. Students and teachers from the Urals, a region located on the border of Europe and Asia, as well as the city of Istanbul, convey a kind greeting to their colleagues from Ozyegin University.