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Topic 1. MyAcademy

The Academy of Public Administration under the Aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus serves to advance knowledge and to prepare its students to meet challenges of the 21st century.

The Academy was founded in 1991 and obtained its presidential status in 1995. Each year more than 8,000 undergraduates and postgraduates study here. All our courses are challenging and guided and inspired by highly qualified academic staff.

The Academy encompasses numerous academic departments, divisions, subdivisions and degree granting programs, as well as interdisciplinary centers and well-equipped laboratories. The two main educational divisions are the Institute of Civil Service offering refresher courses to those who already work in the system of Public Administration as civil servants and the Institute of Managerial Personnel for school-leavers and graduates from other higher educational establishments.

There are 3 main specializations in the Institute of Managerial Personnel:

Public Administration and Law

Public Administration and Economics

Management of Information Resources.

The curriculum is diversified and includes a wide range of subjects, varying from Public Affairs to Applied Mathematics.

Academy’s structure is hierarchical and centralized.

The Rector is appointed by the President and is the senior officer of the Academy. He runs the most important affairs of the establishment, while day-to-day activities are carried out by the First Pro-Rector (Vice-Rector) and five Pro-Rectors (Vice-Rectors).

The Institute of Managerial Personnel has different organizational sub-structures which help students not only to obtain knowledge but develop their personality and individuality. Besides lectures, seminars and tutorials students are offered to participate in social life of the Academy. They may join student societies and organizations such as ‘Logos’, ‘Civilist’, ‘SCOFL’, etc.

Acquiring a good command of a foreign language is a must for the students of the Academy. The Foreign Languages Department provides the undergraduates with a possibility to improve their speaking skills in foreign languages. They have an opportunity to participate in different projects and conferences held by the Department.

The Academy’s library is equipped with a computerized system of e-catalogues and the latest information technologies that help to enrich its cultural climate.

Students at the Academy are also provided with modern training facilities where they are coached in up to 10 different sports.

Today, the Academy of Public Administration under the Aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus has matured into one of the country’s greatest educational institutions. It is well-reputed not only for its high level of education and professionalism, but also for its deep and lasting traditions of fostering a strong sense of pride in their country and an appreciation of its graduates’ obligations to the public.

Topic 2. English as an International Language. Mastering English.

1. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England.

Now English is one of the most common languages in the world which is spoken by perhaps 400 million people. It is a very widespread language, thanks to the former British Empire.

English is the almost universal language of science, business, and international politics. Many higher academic institutions require a working command of English.

2. It might be thought that English will become ever more dominant and will, in effect, become the global language. But turning English into the global language would cause damage and disasters.

The English language heritage in culture and in literature would cast all others into the shade, and the humanity would lose their humanistic ideals and values it has worked on and cherished for hundreds of centuries.

The people would also lose that rich variety of ways in which they are able to express their concepts today.

Those who speak English as a native language would have an advantage over those for whom it is a learned language, and it could cause strong national reactions against the global English.

3. What’s the alternative? Translation and interpretation?

One of the main arguments against translation is that it is too expensive.

And then could we trust interpretation, whether it is human or computerized?

Another way out is an artificial language. The best known is Esperanto, invented in 1887. It is sensible and easy to learn, but it is based on European languages and might therefore rouse non-European hostility.

4. The problem of world communication, however, may take care of itself. A solution may arise with no one’s purposeful interference. In the Mediterranean world in late medieval times, a lingua franka (language of the Franks,” i.e., Europeans) developed among the merchants of the area to handle necessary communication. It was a mixture of Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, and Arabic. Similarly, in eastern Asia, various mixtures, called “pidgin English,” were developed to break the language barrier.

As communication around the world improves, lingua terra, “a language of the Earth,” may slowly arise. None of the languages would take an advantage over others, as every language will add vocabulary, idiom and grammar. That language could develop a mighty literature of its own and would emphasize the familyhood of humanity.