25 May 2023

From April 17 to April 21, MSLU hosted the Spanish Language Week, organized by the Faculty of Romance Languages jointly with the Embassy of the Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Belarus, the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in the Republic of Belarus and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the Russian Federation.
Monday, April 17, was in the rhythm of the Venezuelan carnival and with the taste of the national cuisine of Venezuela. Our guest, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Belarus Mairena Nieves spoke about the history of Venezuelan holidays and held a master class on cooking national dishes and drinks.
The event was also attended by Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Belarus Henry Moyetones and First Secretary of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Belarus Andrea Salazar.
The second day of the Spanish Week was very informational for our students. First, they had to test their knowledge of the Spanish language in the linguistic quiz "Spanish Studies and I", prepared by the Department of Phonetics and Grammar of the Spanish Language. Then students went to a lecture presented by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to the Republic of Belarus Santiago Perez Benitez “Latin American Vector of International Cooperation”. During the lecture, Mr. Ambassador touched upon important aspects of cooperation between our countries in the field of education, tourism, medicine, etc. The students present at the lecture were interested in the prospects for cooperation with Cuban universities, including internships and travel opportunities.
On April 19, an intellectual game "What? Where? When?" was held, prepared under the guidance of Associate Professor of the Department of Spanish Lexicology Natalya Mikhailovna Grishchenko. Three teams of students from the Faculty of Romance Languages and the Faculty of Translation had to work hard and be smart, answering difficult questions prepared by our teachers and graduates of the faculty. The team of 5th year students of the Faculty of Romance Languages “Las Quijotas y Sancho Panza” won the game.
On April 20, the Faculty of Romance Languages hosted the Phonetic Competition, an annual project led by Irina Valerievna Tribul, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Phonetics and Grammar of the Spanish Language. Traditionally, first-year students take part in the competition, and senior students, winners of previous years, are happy to share the secrets of their success and act as an invited guests.
The last day of the Spanish Language Week at MSLU was very eventful.
The weekly meeting of the conversation club "Habla con soltura" was dedicated to linguistic diversity and variability. Nelson Ortega, Counselor of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the Russian Federation, became the honored guest of the club. He told the audience about the linguistic features of the national variant of the Spanish language in the Dominican Republic. Then the students and teachers went to a fascinating lecture-presentation by Nelson Ortega "The Dominican Republic: richness of tastes". All those present were able to enjoy the taste of Dominican chocolate and coffee prepared by our honored guest.
In addition to the above events, within the framework of the Spanish Language Week, the Faculty of Romance Languages, together with the Embassy of the Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Belarus, organized a competition for audiovisual translation of a tourist video about Venezuela. During the closing ceremony of the Spanish Language Week, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Belarus Henry Moietones personally presented diplomas and prizes from the Embassy to the winner of the translation contest Alexandra Dostanko (Department of Translation), and to the laureates of the competition Antonina Komyakova (Department of Translation) and Yulia Sinyavskaya (Secondary School No. 91 in Minsk), as well. Mr. Henry Moyetones presented gratitude to the Faculty of Romance Languages for their cooperation in organizing the audiovisual translation competition.
The winners of all competitions also received memorable gifts from MSLU.