Adaptation of International Students: Challenges and Solutions

This study presents research on ways and means of adapting international students to higher education in a Russian university. These international students are mostly from CIS countries (former Soviet republics). As a background, the article outlines the role and place of the Russian language in these countries. It goes on to describe how Samara (a large industrial city with 1,200,000 population, formerly Kuibyshev, in the valley of the Volga river) and its environment are presented to newcomers from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizstan and Armenia and analyzes the respondents’ answers to the questions in an online anonymous questionnaire that shows the degree of adaptation of foreign students to education in the Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education (SSUSSE). The paper gives an overview of the activities held at SSUSSE aimed at international students’ efficient integration into Russian everyday life and culture. The paper ends with some conclusions.