After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• plan, prepare, give, and evaluate lessons in the Russian language in secondary schools.
• use the knowledge and competencies obtained in their study of theoretical and practically oriented disciplines which emphasize a broader basis of teaching theory, psychology, and social science, as well as the connections between the theories
• use a broad professional adaptability based on the study of pedagogical, psychological, philological, and historical-culturological disciplines
• search, critically assess, and adequately use various information sources, which helps them react flexibly to changing work requirements
• use existing methodical aids in education and create their own; use various teaching techniques with confidence
• analyse the needs of concrete groups of students and choose supplementary and motivational activities effectively

This study programme is designed so that the graduates could easily find employment in teaching the Russian language in secondary schools and universities, in language schools, at courses provided by employers for employees who are sent abroad (mainly the Russian Federation and the countries of the former Soviet Union), in self-employed teaching for individuals or groups; in preparing and organizing Russian language courses, and in creating textbooks, coursebooks and methodical materials for a broad range of Russian language teaching.

The regular length of study is four semesters. To be allowed to sit the final state examination, students in the single-subject study programme must earn at least 120 credits in type A/required, type B/selective, and type C/elective courses. Type A/required courses form the expert basis of the field and they amount to 78 credits – including the credits in courses aimed to help students write their Master’s thesis. Apart from type A/required courses of the given field, students also take type A/required courses in pedagogy and psychology, which are common to all students of Secondary School Teacher Training, and courses in Russian language teaching methodology (26 credits in total). Apart from these courses, students in the single-subject study programme have to earn at least 4 credits in elective courses in their study programme or in courses in pedagogy and psychology.

All students have to pass a foreign language exam (English, French, German, or Spanish) except for the students who have already passed the exam in their Bachelor’s degree studies.

The students in the double-subject study programme have to earn at least 120 credits in both their subjects together (70 credits in their primary, and 50 credits in their secondary study programme). In the double-subject study programme, type A/required courses form 48 credits (including credits for writing the Master’s thesis).

A teaching practice in a secondary school is an obligatory part of the study plan. The length of this teaching practice is four weeks (two weeks for each of the subjects in the double-subject study) and it is organized by a methodological expert of the given field in cooperation with methodological experts in the Russian language from corresponding secondary schools where the Russian language is taught. Students need to observe the teaching in a class for at least eight lessons and independently teach at least five lessons.

The Master’s degree study programme concludes with a thesis defence and passing the final state examination. The main body of the Master’s thesis has to contain at least 80 standard pages. The Master’s degree final state examination provides a comprehensive written and oral test of the knowledge obtained by completing obligatory linguistic and literary theoretical courses and by completing pedagogical, methodological, and psychological courses. The written exam consists of two parts: the translation of a short text (0.5 standard pages) from Czech into Russian an an essay on a chosen topic. It is obligatory to pass the written exam to be allowed to move on to the oral part of the exam. The topics of the questions in the oral part of the exam are based on set topics and literature: the Russian language and a broader Slavonic context, Russian literature, Russian studies literary theory and its international implications in a comparative perspective, and Russia and its cultural area. A written test of pedagogy and psychology, as well as an oral exam in Russian language teaching methodology is also a part of the final state examination.

For more information, please visit the department website: http://www.phil.muni.cz/wusl/home/studium/informace/statni-zaverecne-zkousky-a-zaverecne-prace

After completing the Master’s degree study programme, it is possible to continue further studies in a doctoral degree study programme in Russian Language, Russian Literature, or Philological Area Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University.