Integration of international students into the Russian linguistic and cultural space through distance learning

Importance. In the context of higher education globalization, Russia is actively attracting international students, whose successful adaptation impacts university reputation and the country's global standing. The purpose of the research is to analyze the potential of distance learning for integrating international students into the Russian linguistic and cultural space and to develop corresponding practical recommendations.

Materials and Methods. The study involved 67 international students from Botswana, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, China, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, who were enrolled at the following Russian universities: Stroganov Russian State University of Design and Applied Arts (Moscow), Derzhavin State University (Tambov), ITMO University (Saint-Petersburg), Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University (Magnitogorsk), Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI”, Tambov State Technical University (Tambov). The sample is of particular interest as it includes both representatives from CIS countries (Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan), known for their closer historical and cultural ties with Russia, and China, whose educational connections with Russia are strengthening, as well as students from Maghreb countries, North (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt) and Southern Africa (Botswana), who experience a greater linguistic and cultural distance. The objects of analysis were the key advantages and barriers to academic and sociocultural integration. The analysis of the results was based on methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of empirical data. The goal of the analysis was to identify the key advantages and barriers and, based on the empirical data, to propose specific mechanisms for successful integration.

Results and Discussion. The analysis of the empirical data revealed not only varying levels but also a differing structure of difficulties in academic and sociocultural integration, which directly correlates with the students' initial linguacultural preparation. Statistically significant differences in the structure of difficulties proved to be dependent on the region of origin: for the vast majority (95 %) of non-CIS students, the key problems were listening comprehension and speaking practice (t = 2.81 at p ≤ 0.05), indicating difficulties in overcoming the initial communication barrier. At the same time, students from Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan reported difficulties with academic writing and mastering specialized vocabulary significantly more often (t = 2.14 at p ≤ 0.05), which signifies their transition to the next stage – mastering the cognitive-academic language proficiency. The analysis of specific integration barriers showed a statistically significant prevalence of the following difficulties: In the sphere of academic communication: understanding lectures (41.7 %;
t = 1.81 at p ≤ 0.05) and, particularly, communication with instructors (58.3 %; t = 2.46 at
p ≤ 0.05); In the sphere of social interaction: communication with Russian students (50.0 %; t = 2.14 at p ≤ 0.05); In the sphere of academic skills: reading academic literature (58.3 %; t = 2.46 at
p ≤ 0.05) and writing academic papers (58.3 %; t = 2.46 at p ≤ 0.05). The study did not reveal statistically significant difficulties in the area of everyday communication (33.3 %) or for the group of students reporting no problems (16.7 %). This is explained by the successful completion of this integration stage by the time of the survey, as well as by the formation of close-knit ethnic communities that minimize the need for daily interaction with the host environment.

Conclusion. The study proves that distance learning is a promising tool for integrating international students, provided all adaptation aspects are digitalized. The findings are useful for creating educational programs that facilitate socio-cultural adaptation and strengthen international academic cooperation.