THE INTERVIEW OF ANNA RADISHEVSKAIA IN JANG’S CITY MAGAZINE LUXEMBOURG
Anna Radishevskaia runs the Kalinka Saturday Russian school, which has just celebrated its fifth anniversary. Having come to Luxembourg in 1992 to work for the European Parliament, she now works in the East West United Bank (which also partly finances the school), while spending a large proportion of her free time managing this school co-founded by the Russian Club of Luxembourg for the local Russian community. “At the beginning, we created this little school so that children who had one Russian parent might learn about the Russian language, culture, literature, history and geography. From the very first lessons, we placed particular emphasis on music, which is so important to our culture,” says Anna. Whereas in 2012, the school only had 12 pupils, there are now 168 children on its rolls, aged 4 to 14, who attend lessons every Saturday at the school’s premises at Luxembourg’s Lycee des Arts et Metiers. “We want to motivate the pupils not to neglect their mother tongue,” says Anna Radishevskaia. “There is a great culture behind this language, but we do not push the pupils. Our method consists primarily of letting them practice the language in a fun atmosphere, with lots of singing and games. Our school also acts as a medium for strengthening the cohesion of the Russian community in Luxembourg and facilitates the integration of these children in their host country.”
Read this article in French page 19