Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU) is the first university in Russia. It was established on January 22, 1724 by the decree of Emperor Peter I. Today more than 30 thousand students and postgraduates are studying at 23 educational and scientific departments of the university. Since 2018 St Petersburg State University has consistently remained the most attractive institution of higher education for foreign citizens coming to Russia to study.
The University provides a wide range of opportunities for foreigners who would like to get acquainted with Russian language and Russian culture and history. You can take online courses at St. Petersburg State University, take a virtual tour of St Petersburg State University, have a live tour of the university museums, read publications written by scientists of St. Petersburg State University, and enroll in the additional educational program “Russian as a Foreign Language”.
The Language Testing Center of St Petersburg State University was established on August 22, 1997 with the aim to organize and conduct state testing in Russian as a foreign language (TRKI/TORFL). For more than 20 years St Petersburg State University has been one of the leaders in the field of testing foreign citizens, providing its services both to individuals and organizations.
By Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation No. 471 from July 06, 2019, Saint Petersburg State University was included in the list of educational organizations which are authorized to conduct testing in Russian as a foreign language and to hand out a state-issued certificate.
The certificate issued by St Petersburg State University is the only official document confirming the level of proficiency in Russian as a foreign language in accordance with the Common European Framework of References (CEFR), both in Russia and abroad.
What is TRKI/TORFL?
This is a modern Russian language test for foreign citizens, which meets the best international quality standards. The TRKI/TORFL consists of 6 different examinations, from elementary (A1) to the fourth certification (C2) level.
These are 5 subtests or papers that test language competencies in various areas of language usage: “Writing”, ” Vocabulary and Grammar”, “Reading”, “Listening” and “Speaking”.
Elementary level test (ELT)/A1. Successful completion of the test means that the candidate has a minimum level of knowledge of the Russian language, sufficient for a limited number of situations in everyday communication. The Elementary level certificate also suggests that the candidate has both sufficient and necessary knowledge to further study the language and achieve the next (Basic) level of general knowledge of the Russian language.
Basic level test (BLT)/A2. Successful completion of the test implies that the candidate has an initial level of knowledge of the Russian language, sufficient for basic communication needed in a limited number of situations in everyday and cultural spheres of communication. The basic level is the minimum base for engaging in any professional activity to a limited extent. BLT is the minimum level of knowledge of the Russian language which is required for entry into the citizenship of the Russian Federation.
First Level Test (TRKI-I)/B1. Successful completion of the test demonstrates that the candidate has an average level of Russian language proficiency, which allows the candidate to meet basic communication needs in everyday life, educational and professional spheres of communication in accordance with the state standard of Russian as a foreign language. The certificate of this level is required for admission to Russian higher education institutions. It also provides additional points for admission to St Petersburg State University for Bachelor Degree programs.
Second Level Test (TRKI-II)/B2. Successful completion of the test denotes that the candidate has sufficiently high level of proficiency in Russian, which allows the candidate to meet communicative needs in all areas of communication. The language competence of this level allows a person conducting professional activities in Russian as a specialist in engineering, humanitarian and natural science fields. This certificate is required for obtaining Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. It also gives additional points for admission to St Petersburg State University Master’s programs.
Third Level Test (TRKI-III)/C1. Successful completion of the test indicates that the candidate can conduct professional activities in Russian as a philologist, translator, editor, journalist, diplomat, manager, working in a Russian-speaking team.
Fourth level Test (TRKI-IV)/C2. Successful completion of the test signifies that the candidate has high level of proficiency in Russian comparable to the level of a native speaker. The availability of this certificate is necessary for obtaining Master’s degree in philology, which entitles you to all types of teaching and research work in the field of the Russian language.
The test of each level includes 5 subtests or papers: “Grammar and Vocabulary”, “Reading”, “Writing”, “Listening”, “Speaking”.
The most commonly taken test is the First Level Test(TRKI-I)/B1, so I will briefly describe each subtest using the example of the TRKI-I/B1 level.
The Subtest “Vocabulary and Grammar” is mainly aimed at checking the lexical minimum. The main part of the active vocabulary at this level cares for everyday life and socio-cultural areas of communication.
The “Reading” subtest is aimed at testing the skills of understanding of the text with complex grammar structures, various expressive means of the language, as well as the ability to work with the text.
The “Writing” subtest is aimed at testing the skills and abilities in expressing your communication goals in writing using a wide variety of communicative forms and tools.
The “Listening” subtest is aimed at testing the ability to understand the information contained in the utterance and dialogue: the topic, the main idea, the main and additional information of each semantic part of the message with sufficient completeness, depth and accuracy.
The subtest “Speaking” is aimed at testing the skills and abilities to independently produce coherent statements corresponding to the proposed topic; to build statements based on the read or listened text of different semantic structure and orientation; to convey the content, the main idea of the read or listened text.
SPbU Testing Centers abroad
The exam is conducted in 100 centers in more than 40 countries from Argentina to Japan.
Now you can test your level of language proficiency by taking the state examination in Russian as a foreign language (TRKI) at St Petersburg University without leaving your home!
Index of influence
The certificate is recognized by more than 1000 organizations (including the UN), in the UK, Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, Korea, Poland, Turkey, Switzerland and other countries.
St. Petersburg State University is an affiliated member of ALTE.
Cost of Testing
Upcoming test sessions
Procedure for testing persons with disabilities
Candidates with disabilities, taking the Russian Language Test, are tested individually.
Materials for preparation
Training tests for preparation for the state test in Russian as a foreign language are available on the website of St Petersburg State University https://testingcenter.spbu.ru/materials.html.
Sign up for the exam
To register for testing you must:
* contact Russificate School by email russificateschool@gmail.com or personally to the address: Spain, Benalmadena (Malaga), C/Ronda del Golf Oeste, 54, Urb. Playa Golf, 29630. In case of personal appeal, have an identity document or other official documents containing information on the correct spelling of the surname, first name in Russian and in Latin transcription.
Contacts
Language Testing Center of St Petersburg State University:
Address: Nab. Lieutenant Schmidt, 11/2
Saint-Petersburg, 199034, Russia
Opening hours: weekdays, 09: 00-18: 00
Phone: (812) 325 11 24
E-mail: test.language@spbu.ru
Web site: http://testingcenter.spbu.ru/
Instagram: torfl_spbu
St Petersburg State University Publishing House (https://publishing.spbu.ru/catalog/periodicheskie_izdaniya/),
Virtual tour of the University (https://spbu.ru/virtual_tour),
Online courses at St. Petersburg State University (https://online.spbu.ru),
Additional Russian as a foreign language courses (https://russian4foreigners.spbu.ru/ru/)
St Petersburg State University Admission Committee (https://abiturient.spbu.ru)
Expositions and collections of St Petersburg State University (https://spbu.ru/universitet/ekspozicii-i-kollekcii-spbgu)
Contacts of the organization
Address: C/Ronda del Golf Oeste, 54, Urb. Playa Golf. Benalmadena (Malaga), 29630, Spain.
Working hours: Mon.-Sat., 09.00-19.00
Phone: +34662098915
E-mail: russificateschool@gmail.com