The use of English in Russia today is highly manifested in such contexts as tourism, employability and international and internet communication, but it is also functional in such spheres as media and education. As Lazaretnaya (2012) notes “the thirst for learning English in Russia continues unquenched as Russians travel more, use English on the world-wide web, seek international business partners or simply wish to increase their career opportunities”(p. 16).
1. Tourism:
1. Tourism:
- During most of the Soviet history, Russia was very closed on the outside world. Russian citizens had always had the desire to visit other parts of the world, but could not.
- After the dissolution of soviet Russia, Russians rushed in all directions, while the country received people from all over the globe.
- But the number of visits to Anglophone countries, such us the USA and the UK remained low (c.f. table1).
- This may be attributable to language problems, the English language not being accessible to many.
- As for inbound tourism, Russia still attracts very low numbers of tourists and most of these visits are centered in the two big cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
- A major problem that foreign tourists coming to Russia face is linguistic. The poor level of English makes it very difficult to inform about anything in the country.
- But recently Russia has taken the effort to advertise in English and “improve its visibility to the world” (Lazaretnaya, 2012: 19).
- Another step that the Russian government took is to translate all signs in the big cities into English.
- In preparation of the 2014 Olympic Games, in Sochi, the target-program of the campaign “Sochi – a hospitable city” included learning English as an obligatory precondition for city residents and employees free of charge.
- All the attempts taken to promote Russia as a tourist friendly destination for foreign visitors invariably involve the use of English as the default language of communication.
Employability:
- Mastery of English has become a must especially in business that’s targeting an international market.
- In 80 out of 100 vacancies for the position of a secretary or a personal assistant, knowledge of English is a must (Poletaeva, 2008).
- More people now are learning English as a way of increasing their chances to a better job opportunity and a better lifestyle and career and income.
- This requirement does not always signify that the language will be actively used in the workplace (c.f. the interview section).
- According to Lazaretnaya (2012: 20), Knowledge of English can raise the salary by 20-30 per cent.
- Jobs that in which English is most required are:
- Secretaries, office managers, personal assistants
- Accountants
- Lawyers
- Auditors
Internet communication :
- Though the dominance of English in internet communication dropped significantly by the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, English is still widely considered a lingua franca in internet communication and content.
- Russian authorities are making efforts to promote the use of the national language and to decrease the use of English.
- People however are well aware of the importance of English in international contexts. Though this is seen just as a plus factor.
- Russians use social media, including Facebook, Tweeter and a Russian social platform called Vkontakte to practice their English.
International Communication:
English is used by Russian government as a vihecle for international communication with both English-speaking countries and non-English speaking countries.
English is used by Russian government as a vihecle for international communication with both English-speaking countries and non-English speaking countries.
Mass media:
English has now become the language used by a number of government TV channels, as well as a number of newspapers and radio stations in Russia. The Moscow Times and the St. Petersburg Times are two widely known newspapers issued in Russia. Russia Today, a Russian international television network funded by the Russian government, was founded in 2005. This was the first English television network founded by the Russian Government |
Scholarly writings:
English being today the language of technology and science, a number of Russian scholars do issue their articles and dessertations in English. This is mainly done to attract international recognition.
English being today the language of technology and science, a number of Russian scholars do issue their articles and dessertations in English. This is mainly done to attract international recognition.