Universiade Drivers learn English for Summer Universiade

KAZAN – On Friday, October 19th, a group of Universiade drivers who had completed the Kazan 2013 transportation training programme took a test on English, one of the most important subjects of the course. The drivers whose driving experience already approaches 30 years are back to classrooms to study English.

It’s already the third group of 25 drivers which undergoes a week-long training course at Kazan Technical School of Above-Ground and Underground Electric Transport. All of them are employees of the transport companies of Tatarstan and take in-service training ahead of the Games. Their curriculum also includes such subjects as ethics and etiquette, first aid basics and even introduction to tourist attractions of the host city for the 27th Summer Universiade. The English course – the Beginner Level – was prepared especially for them by teaching staff of the technical school. 

Natalia Alkaeva, Deputy Director for Innovative and Teaching Work of Kazan Technical School of Above-Ground and Underground Electric Transport, informed that the English language course features teaching basic speaking skills – expressions for saying hello and goodbye, self-introduction phrases, some topics on the city and its tourist destinations. She admitted that most drivers have made significant progress; most of them did not know English at all but within five days they have learned must-know phrases by heart.

The trainees themselves are happy. “I have a very positive impression of the course,” said Nikolay Lazarev, a driver of a Kazan-Zelenodolsk shuttle bus. Together with his colleague Artur Andrashitov he had to communicate with foreign visitors on more than one occasion. There are many tourists coming to Kazan and visiting the Raifa Monastery of the Mother of God and most of them often chat with shuttle bus drivers. According to Kamil Salimgareev, Head of the Transport Staff Training and Management Unit of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate, the drivers’ academic progress is rather satisfactory. In his opinion, the main thing is not only English proficiency, but also friendliness and teamwork which are taught during the classes to future Universiade drivers. A total of 803 drivers will be used during the Summer Universiade; the Kazan 2013 Fleet will include 525 buses. 

(Source: Kazan 2013 Media Dept.)