Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communications

The Olympiad competition “Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication” is held for grade 10/11 learners in a remote format for an 80-minute period and includes four assignments under the sections “Language and Culture” and “Analytical Writing”. In your preparations for the Olympiad, we recommend studying a wide range of materials in the selected foreign language, as well as materials, which are not included in the regular school curriculum but nevertheless encourage a deeper understanding of socio-cultural issues and linguistic wordplay. Furthermore, you should carefully read actual assignments and assessment criteria. In addition to checking your fluency in a foreign language (English), Olympiad assignments assess your analytical skills and sociocultural knowledge. Participants cannot use a dictionary or other informational material during the Olympiad competition.

Olympiad competitions consist of four types of assignments:

• analytical reading of a text describing a sociocultural phenomenon (multiple choice, filling in the blanks, matching, etc.);
• filling-in-the-blanks assignment for sayings, idioms and colloquialisms, reflecting a given socio-cultural phenomenon and how it is perceived around the world;
• matching sociocultural facts with respective country and/or culture;
• a written essay, which should include an analytical consideration of a sociological phenomenon (Assignment No. 1) and how it compares/contrasts with one’s own country and culture.

The level of difficulty of a given assignment shall be determined by the complexity of the linguistic and socio-cultural material, as well as the necessary cognitive skills for the execution for assignments. In turn, the level of difficulty shall correlate to the one’s proficiency in a language, as determined as per Council of Europe documents (B2-C1 levels), and Bloom’s Taxonomy levels for educational purpose.

Rules of Participation in Online Competitions (PDF, 420 Кб)

Before the Competitions:

1. Sign in to your Personal Account and check date and time of participation (Moscow time) in the Competitions you have chosen (Date and Time of Participation in the menu). 

2. To participate, you will need a PC or a laptop connected to the Internet and meeting the minimum technical requirements, and also a smartphone with a front camera. Minimum requirements and links for system and equipment testing are in the Instruction for Participants.

3. If you meet any problems during testing, please send a message to WhatsApp or Telegram (+7 909 628 44 25) with a screenshot and description of the error.

During the Competitions:

4. Make sure your laptop and smartphone are fully charged; they better are connected to the charger beforehand.

5. On chosen date and time (pt. 1) go to https://go.startexam.com/hsetest and sign in to the Testing Center with the email that you used for registration to HSE GSC 2022.

6. For authorization, take a photo of your face and upload your passport or ID copy (it must contain your photo and personal data)

7. Join the Competition and complete it.

Attention! Participants who are late to the beginning of the online Competition in the proctoring system (according to Schedule), but no more than 20 minutes, are still able to participate; Competition duration is not changing in this case.

• Instruction for Participants (short version)
• Frequently Asked Questions: Proctoring System (extended version)
• Video Instruction