Congratulations to Dr. Pastushenkov and Dr. Zalaltdinova on their new open-access article in Russian Language Journal!

We congratulate Dr. Dmitrii Pastushenkov and Dr. Liya Zalaltdinova, Preceptors in the Russian Language Program, as well as their co-author Dr. Jason Merrill (Michigan State University) on their new open-access article, “What do learners do with a foreign language after their studies? A survey of alumni of a Russian summer immersion program,” published in Russian Language Journal. The article is part of the special issue “Career readiness in learning and teaching Slavic languages.”

The findings of the article were instructive: of the 321 alumni of a Russian summer immersion program who were surveyed, about 60% continued using Russian at least occasionally. Among those employed full-time, 24% used it frequently, primarily in academia. The findings also highlight limited opportunities for conversational practice and the need for media literacy and continued support after formal language study.

We are very proud of Dr. Pastushenkov and Dr. Zalaltdinova for this contribution and for their sustained engagement in and beyond the classroom!