Art Therapy as a Key to Learning Russian: Renewal Day with International Students.

As part of the Day of Renewal, the Department of Language and General Education for International Students held an unusual event. Students from China, just beginning their journey in learning Russian, participated in the art therapy workshop "Tree of Friendship," which combined linguistics and art therapy.

The success of this creative event was preceded by serious language training. In the previous lesson, the students read and analyzed the text "Colors of Summer," immersing themselves in the vocabulary of nature and the seasons. The students from China were particularly interested in the famous Russian mnemonic: "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant sits." Using this phrase, the students not only memorized the sequence of colors of the rainbow but also learned about the cultural code of the Russian language.

The art therapy workshop "Tree of Friendship" served as a practical reinforcement of their knowledge.  Using a handprint technique, the students transferred the colors they'd learned onto canvas. Knowing the phrase about "the hunter and the pheasant" helped them consciously choose the colors for their "leaves," transforming the learning process into an act of creation. This integrated approach—from text analysis to collective creativity—allows international students to quickly overcome the language barrier, making education truly high-quality, inclusive, and engaging.

For international students, adapting to a new country is a complex process, and such inclusive methods help make learning comfortable and psychologically safe. During their creative process, the students not only created a collective mural but also mastered new vocabulary: "spring," "renewal," "support," "roots," and "dream." This is a living example of how high-quality education combines the cultural code of Kazakhstan with the personal experiences of Chinese students, turning language learning into an engaging, creative endeavor.

Nurakhunova A.A.

Musabekova U.E.