Nowadays the process of globalization is characterized by the tendencies of intercultural mixing and student exchange. The number of students coming from neighbouring countries to attend Russian universities is growing year by year. They subsequently face the problem of a language barrier in their new environments. The current study presents a research on language difficulties experienced by international students of Elabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University and their possible impact on their academic performance. The study aims at determining the most problematic areas of Russian language proficiency. The results of the paper show that the majority of students have to cope with the problem of language adaptation during their first year of study. The current study discusses the significant role of the University administration and teaching staffin elaboration of effective techniques of coping with language difficulties during their study. © 2017.

Intercultural education Russian proficiency Foreign students Language barrier

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