Application of the CLIL approach in teaching ESP as part of the expansion of Russian education (MGIMO experience)

Abstract

The expansion of Russian education is now recognized as one of the newest challenges facing the modern system of Russian higher education in the framework of the implementation of the strategies “National Innovation System” and “Priority 2030”. In this regard, the experience of MGIMO, which established its first foreign branch in Tashkent, the Republic of Uzbekistan, in 2018, is interesting. The purpose of this research is to study the effectiveness of the introduction of CLIL elements in ESP training within the framework of spreading the influence of Russian education on the example of MGIMO-Tashkent. We consider the key requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education currently being implemented in domestic universities in the field of training 40.03.01 “Law”, furthermore, since we are dealing with an international education, we rely on the concept of European competencies, initially adopted in 2001 by the European Union (with subsequent amendments). We consider such concepts as: CLIL, ESP, EMI, cultural approach and conducted a brief analysis of their content. The accumulated experience of using CLIL and cultural approaches as the most progressive approaches to the implementation of education within the framework of the expansion of Russian higher education and the subsequent transition to EMI is analyzed. We present the English Language Department experience in the field of teaching ESP at MGIMO on the application of the CLIL approach as part of the expansion of Russian education (2nd semester of 2020/2021 of academic year).