Russian language requirements

All applicants are required to pass Russian language examination.
First year Graduate course applicants must have knowledge of the Russian language at Level one (TORFL-1) or above.
Second/third year Graduate course applicants must have knowledge of the Russian language at Level one (TORFL-1) and have grade A or B at the entrance examination.
Post graduate course applicants must have knowledge of the Russian language at Level two (TORFL-2) or above.
Knowledge of Russian at Basic level or above is recommended for Special training course participants.

Basic Level

At this level candidates acquire a basic ability to communicate in a limited number of the most familiar and everyday situations in a Russian-speaking environment. The Test consists of five parts (subtests).

Reading Candidates are expected to be able to read and extract the gist of main points of short simple authentic texts such as titles of newspapers and magazines, public notices, guides and signs, ads etc.

Writing Candidates are expected to be able to reproduce in written form the gist of a cultural or general interest text guided by questions or to write a short letter, notice, greeting card, etc.

Listening Candidates are expected to be able to follow short oral dialogues and monologues on everyday topics and to extract specific information (topic, place, time, reason) without necessarily understanding every word.

Speaking Candidates are expected to be able to participate in simple conversations, to respond appropriately to questions of conversational nature based on a limited number of everyday situations, to start a conversation and express themselves in simple (standard) situations. Candidates are also expected to carry on a conversation about themselves and express their own opinion of the read text.

Structural competence Candidates must be able to demonstrate their knowledge of grammar and lexical systems and to express their communicative intentions in the limited range of situations. They should be able to operate the required minimum vocabulary.

Level one (TORFL-1)

Intermediate level of communicative competence enabling an applicant to communicate on social, cultural, academic and professional matters. Test includes five components (subtests).

Reading Candidates are expected to be able to read small authentic texts (newspapers, magazines, books, etc.) both informative (factual) and descriptive with the elements of discussion and to show understanding of the main points as well as specific details.

Writing Candidates are expected to reproduce the gist of the heard or read text (reproduction) and write their own guided composition, such as a letter, a card, etc. (a productive type task). The written text should contain no less than 20 sentences (110 words).

Listening Candidates are expected to be able to understand short oral dialogues and extract factual information (topic, time, relations, characteristics, purposes, causes, etc.) from them. They are also expected to make sense of longer dialogues and to show appreciation of the attitudes of speakers. Listening texts (announcements, news items, etc.) are also included in the test.

Speaking Candidates are expected to be able to participate in a dialogue, respond appropriately to questions of a conversational nature, start and finish a conversation. Candidates are also expected to be able to converse on various topics (to speak about themselves, their work, profession, interests, about their country, their city, etc.).

Structural competence Candidates must be able to demonstrate their knowledge of grammar and lexical systems, making simple statements in standard situations. They should be able to operate with a vocabulary of 2300 words.

Level two (TORFL-2)

Advanced level of communicative competence enabling an applicant to satisfy communicative needs in all areas of communication and carry his professional activity in Russian. Test includes five components (subtests).

Reading Candidates are expected to be able to read various intermediate level texts of informative, general interest and of descriptive, narrative and discursive nature as well as texts of mixed type with explicitly expressed the author's attitude (fiction features corresponding to intermediate level). Candidates must show an understanding of the main points as well as of specific details, understand the author's viewpoint and retell the given text logically.

Writing Candidates are expected to write their own versions of texts they have read or read, to show the ability to summarize the text (plans, notes) and to write their own informative texts in the form of personal or business letter, inquiry, application, etc.

Listening Candidates are expected to be able to understand everyday life conversations (announcements, news, TV features, etc. which explicitly express speakers' attitudes). Candidates must extract factual information, speakers' intentions, their aims and motives, opinions and relations from the text.

Speaking Candidates are expected to be able to participate in a guided conversation, initiate a dialogue asking questions on the topic of the conversation, describe something they have seen, express their opinion, and achieve their communicative intentions in a conversation.

Structural competence Candidates must be able to demonstrate their ability to use appropriate lexical and grammatical means of the Russian language.