Russian language exam and education in China – a comparison with japanese

Abstract

Russian is the national language of the Russian Federation and it is widely spoken in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as well as multiple Eastern European countries. It is a language of international communication and one of the six working languages of the United Nations. In March 2010, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation established the China Russian Language Examination Center in Beijing. Twice a year, the Center holds the national Russian language proficiency exam known as the Russian Federation Foreign Language Ranking Test. China’s Professional Qualification (Level) Test for Translation (CATTI) is the most authoritative test for the national professional qualifications for translation. The CATTI exam is divided into translation and interpretation.27 Over the past few years, the rising popularity of Russian has led to a gradual increase in the number of schools offering Russian courses in middle schools. Currently, there are 120 schools in the country offering Russian courses in junior and senior high schools, with a total of 23,000 students. The number of Russians in the National Matriculation Examination (NME) has also increased yearly. In 2020, the number of Russians in the NME reached 10,000 (Hao Xin, 2020).