ACTR - Promote Russian Secondary

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How to Promote Russian
Promote Russian Secondary

How to Promote Russian at Our Secondary Institutions?

Consider ACTR’s Why Study Russian? page and create a personalized “Why study Russian?” list at your institution. Consider the audience and program strengths in creating it. Here are some successful “Why Study Russian?” websites and fliers.

Figure out who the “gatekeepers” (admissions officers, advisors for course selection, college guidance officers, principals, school board, etc.) are and give them the “Why Study Russian?” information so they can promote Russian.

Identify “influencers” in your institution (admissions officers, course advisors, principals, PR and/or web content creators, etc.) with whom you can build stronger professional relationships.

Here are some stories on how some teachers have successfully partnered with “gatekeepers” and “influencers” to increase enrollment.

Provide information on the importance of studying Russian as a critical needs language (option 1) (option 2) (option 3) and information about the benefits of learning less commonly taught languages.

Participate in ACTR contests and recognition programs (National Russian Essay Contest (NREC), Olympiada of Spoken Russian, Russian Scholar Laureate Award) and publicize student success broadly.

Mentor students by providing vision, information, and support relevant to career paths, study abroad, internships, and funding opportunities.

Here are funding opportunities for students (Virtual NSLI-Y, NSLI-Y, STARTALK, FLEX). Emphasize that these funding options are not restricted to those with past knowledge of Russian. Some programs even prioritize admission for those beginning their study of Russian.

Create an “exploratory Russian” feeder program.

Here are some suggestions/models for enrollment feeder initiatives.

Here are some structural program principles that have supported increased enrollment at some institutions.

Here are some specific ideas for how to create positive PR media for Russian.

Here are specific ideas on how Russian Clubs could lead promotional initiatives as their leadership responsibilities.

To encourage students to stay in Russian to the highest level and potentially continue study into college, help students understand the benefits of continued study: show the interviews on the Choose to Study Russian for Professional Needs website and the ACTR alumni videos (coming soon).

Participate in AATSEEL Virtual Open Houses program (where students and parents can meet college representatives and learn about scholarships and other college opportunities) in order to help students see a vision for continuing Russian at high school to the highest level and into college.

Represent your program on the ASU Slavic Map (so that colleges can find your program and engage in direct recruitment of your students).

Have you colleagues or principal promote your candidacy for a Russian teacher award (ACTR Pre-College Awards for Excellence in Teaching Russian, AATSEEL Excellence in Teaching Award (Secondary).

Promote proficiency testing and nationally-recognized certifications that students can put on their college resumes (NEWL exam, Global Seal of Biliteracy, Avant STAMP 4S and 3S, ALTA Language Assessment, AAPPL exam, OPI post-NSLI-Y program, International Baccalaureate Lanuage B exam, etc.) and encourage your students to see the developing language proficiency as a useful and marketable skill.