Dear Steven Nishida,
I know that you are in involved in the foreign language teaching and I thought that you, your colleagues and students may be interested in the programmes that our Educational Centre "Cosmopolitan" runs in delightful countryside just outside Novosibirsk, the administrative capital of Siberia and the centre of Russia. At the 'Siberian Wonderland' Winter Session in January and at the International Language Summer Camps from June through to August children and students from all over Siberia are brought together to study English and other languages under the guidance of volunteer teachers from all over the world, and students from all the different countries come to learn Russian and get a first-hand experience of the Russian culture and lifestyle.
We have been running these programmes for fourteen years already. For the past years volunteer teachers from Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia,
Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, the United States of America, as well as university students and school children from the USA, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Sweden and Switzerland have participated in our summer and winter language camp programmes.
I am writing to invite you, your colleagues and students to participate in our winter and summer programmes as I believe this will be a unique language and cultural experience.
The major benefits to join our programme are as follows:
1) We organise an exciting cultural, social and excursion programme for international participants of the camp, which is a very enriching experience. You will be involved in interaction with the Russian children, youth and adults all the time. This is the kind of experience you will never get if you go as a tourist.
The camp lives a full cultural and social life. In addition to language and culture studies we also offer sports, intellectual games, quizzes, entertaining activities, shows, performances, presentations, parties, discos, etc.
2) You will gain a first-hand experience of the Russian culture and life style and particularly the Siberian one. They say if you want to know what real Russia is like you should go to Siberia.
3) This is a not-for-profit programme. Participation fee covers expenses on accommodation and ALL meals, and tuition fee for students as well. If you come to Russia (Siberia) on your own or through a travel agency you will spend much more money compared to what you would pay to participate in our programme. Participating in our programme you won't need much pocket money, you may only need some spending money to buy souvenirs and gifts to take back home.
All the local services (airport pick-up, local transportation, excursions) are provided by our school without any additional payment.
4) You don't have to be a professional teacher in order to volunteer for the programme. The most important aspect is your willingness to participate and share your knowledge and culture, as well as your enthusiasm and good will. Teaching at the camp is not like an academic teaching routine, it's more like fun where emphasis is
made on communication. Our school will provide you with the daily topical schedule for the classes and will be happy to assist with lesson planning and teaching materials. University students are eligible to apply as volunteer teachers. You will gain valuable practical experience, proven ability and contacts that you can use to get a future job. Teaching at the camp can also be considered as an INTERNSHIP with all necessary paperwork and an on-site internship supervision provided.
5) International participants have an opportunity to attend Russian languages classes every day. Russian classes are taught by well-educated native speakers trained to teach foreigners. Students are placed in a group according to their level of Russian. No previous knowledge of Russian is required.
We will also be happy to arrange courses on the Russian culture, history, music, etc., if required.
6) We are dedicated to providing a student with the most excellent supervision possible. All the students are supervised and each group has a group leader who is normally responsible for 10 students and stays with the group 24 hours a day. Everyone can expect a warm, supportive and friendly atmosphere along with professional service. Our goal is that a student has the most enjoyable and worthwhile experience possible during the stay with us. We are determined to ensure that everyone benefits fully from the interaction with other students and the staff. The Head of Studies, Psychologist, the Social Programme Coordinator and the Programme Director are constantly monitoring the programme to assure that everyone is enjoying the stay and taking advantage of the many activities offered by the school. Parents are allowed to the programme.
7) You will meet people from other countries who are going to participate in this programme and this is a unique experience. Many of our former
foreign participants keep in touch with each other after the programme and even visit each other in all the different countries.
We also offer excursion packages which include trips to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lake Baikal, the Altai Mountains, TransSiberian Railroad, 'Welcome to Siberia' programme. All the details and tour descriptions are available at request.
9) We provide all our foreign participants with an invitation to obtain a Russian visa and arrange their registration on arrival.
* Have you always wanted to add some meaning to an overseas adventure?
* Do you want a new, challenging experience?
* Do you like to meet people from other countries and get your energy from working towards a goal as part of a team?
* Are you willing to gain experience, improve communication abilities, and develop skills that will help in your future employment?
* Have you ever daydreamed about gaining insight into the Russian culture and life in a way no traveler could?
If ‘yes’ is the answer, our programme is the best way for you to spend your winter or summer vacation! For further details please email
cosmopolitan@rinet.su or
cosmoschool2@mail.ru Regards,
Natalia Bodrova,
Director of the Educational Centre "Cosmopolitan",
Novosibirsk, Russia
cosmopolitan@rinet.su
