Astro AWANI news is a reference in Russia
MOSCOW: The news content broadcast on the Astro AWANI channel and the astroawani.com portal is an important reference for students in the Department of Philology, Southeast Asian Countries, Korea and Mongolia, the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State University, Russia to study the Malay language.
This is because, according to the Head of the Department, Associate Prof Dr Kukushkina Evgeniya Sergeevna, the news content on Astro AWANI meets the characteristics of a good reference material to be shared as language teaching and speaking material.
She said, when given a themed assignment that required the students to make references, she made the news on Astro AWANI one of the materials and asked the students to see the news content on the platform for themselves before completing their respective assignments.
“To me, this is very important, because if the reference material does not broadcast news that uses a good, neat and correct sentence structure, it can give a wrong perception to those who are learning, especially those who are new to the Malay language .
“They need to know the correct sentence structure and the correct use of terms when producing, for example, current affairs or economic news. Although they are not journalists, the production of current news remains a teaching theme for students taking Malay in Russia. It is an exercise to build correct, orderly and neat Malay sentences.
“Because of that, Astro AWANI is the reference choice when thematic assignments are given to my students,” said Kukushkina .
Kukushkina said that the study of the Malay language is gaining more and more attention among Russian students when, for example, at the Bachelor’s level, the number of those who register for the language is increasing.
She took an example, in the study semester that will open in September, there are between four and 10 students who register and choose Malay as their subject.
“They are taught not only the Malay language as a spoken language, but also Malay culture. They are inculcated with knowledge about Malay fashion, Malay traditional tools and Malay customs such as marriage and so on.
“This is important because in the end they will not only be able to speak Malay, but they will know when they are among the Malays in Malaysia, customs and culture are also part of the knowledge they learn and can practice,” he said.
Kukushkina said, she is proud when most of her students who speak fluent Malay get job opportunities in fields related to the Malay language, either in Malaysia or in Russia.
“For example, my student, Pavel Naydenov, is now a special assistant to the Russian Ambassador in Malaysia. Similarly, other students, who participated in speeches in Malay also got good jobs on the diplomatic stage,” added Kukushkina. Regarding the initiative to internationalize the Malay language by Perdana Minister, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, he said, what is important is that the good effort needs to get the support of the Malaysians themselves, in addition to the constant reminder that the government is serious about moving in that direction.
“I previously admitted that I was a bit worried about the development of the Malay language among the multiracial people in Malaysia, because many materials were previously made in Malay, converted into English, for example, websites at universities, to a certain extent there was no option in Malay , all in English. To me, this is a bit alarming.
“However, I began to believe in the future of this language when efforts to internationalize the Malay language were re-initiated to refresh the use of the language. So, I can assure the students that there is nothing to worry about because the Malay language will continue to be used as a language of knowledge, diplomacy and international language,” she said again.
source – Azlinaria Abdullah
