EF Education First and Moscow State University Announce Research Collaboration

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, August 07, 2012 (Press-News.org) EF Education First (EF) and Moscow State University (MSU) announced today plans to establish research collaboration in the field of English language learning, teaching, and assessment. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Dr. Christopher McCormick, EF's Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Svetlana Ter-Minasova, President of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies, at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU FFLAS).

The collaboration between EF and MSU FFLAS will focus on language-related research such as adult and younger learners' second language acquisition, language learning technology, teacher development, and classroom methodology.

To facilitate the research projects, EF will provide MSU FFLAS's faculty and students of foreign language studies access to EF's global network of students, schools, performance data, and relevant tools in order to facilitate the research agenda.

"EF is delighted to work with Moscow State University, who has long been at the forefront of education in Russia" said Dr. Christopher McCormick "Through our joint collaboration, we believe we can improve the way Russian students learn foreign languages, utilizing the best tools, techniques, and technologies. We also believe that by combining EF's 47 years of global academic expertise with the local knowledge of faculty of MSU, we can create a powerful center of expertise in language learning and teaching."

"I hope that our academic and research partnership with EF will be mutually beneficial. MSU FFLAS and EF both have highly valuable knowledge bank regarding foreign language learning, on one side, and unique experience of teaching students of different nationalities and backgrounds, on the other side. We believe that foreign languages teaching should be inseparable with the world and cultures of people who use these languages as means of communication.", said MSU FFLAS President Dr. Ter-Minasova.

EF Education First (EF) was established in 1965 with the mission to break down the barriers of language, culture and geography. With 400 schools and offices in 55 countries, EF specializes in language learning, educational travel, academic degrees, and cultural exchange programs. EF publishes the largest global ranking of English skills, the EF English Proficiency Index (www.ef.com/epi). EF is the Official Supplier of Language Programs of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and was the Official Language Training Supplier of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. http://www.ef.com

The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies of Moscow State University was founded in 1988 by Dr. Ter-Minasova in order to increase level of teaching foreign languages, which are means of communication for professional and scientific community. The faculty studies how languages are functioning in the real world, and what their role is in different countries and cultures.

Dr. Svetlana Ter-Minasova, President of MSU FFLAS, is also President of National Association for Applied Linguistics (NAAL), chairperson for Russia's Ministry of Education Foreign Language Research and Methodology Council, and President and founder of the National Society for English Language Teachers in Russia, and the National Association of Applied Linguistics. She holds the Lomonosov Award for teaching achievements, Fulbright's 50th Anniversary Award, and was named Doctor Honoris Causa by University of Birmingham and New York University.