Much of the focus of language education in Russian higher education falls on training highly capable language specialists able to interact successfully in multicultural and intercultural environments. These processes are particularly relevant for Russia as a multinational state where multiculturalism is the norm rather than the exception. However, with the impact of accelerated globalization and work-related/ education-related mobility, linguistic and intercultural capability has become even more important. Part of the political response to this was to establish a series of centres of Research Excellence throughout the Federation that investigate and advance language education and practices – both theoretical and applied. The Institute of International Relations, History and Oriental Studies (IIRHOS) at Kazan Federal University is one of these. The institute which was established on November 1, 2013, continues a language education tradition with links back to 1804 - the year of foundation of Imperial Kazan University. There are currently two thousand five hundred students studying here; 129 from abroad. A dedicated staff of 29 language academics (about half of whom are from abroad) lead and conduct research and also teach in excess of 80 doctoral students. The Institute’s Research achievements are widely recognized in Russia and it has a growing reputation, internationally.

One area of specialist language capability that is of particular interest and concern to us at the Institute is that of subjectivity and the utility of subjective language in framing and developing interculturality, values, beliefs and understandings (Valeev et al., 2015; Sabirova, 2015). We are strongly attracted to the idea that learning a foreign language in close association with its cultural context has a significant effect on the subjective mind, ranging from the unsettling to the inspirational (Witte and Harden, 2015). Consequently, for the last number of years IIRHOS has been investigating the possibilities of language subjectivity by working systematically with a cohort of language specialists studying on our bachelor’s (Linguistics) and master’s programmes (Theory of translation, Intercultural and interlingual communication; Theory and methods of teaching foreign languages and cultures. Intercultural communication). This involves offering opportunities for linguistic sociality and a richer interculturality of the learning environment. By designing, realising and documenting a series of structured interventions into Kazan Federal University’s programme process and course content we are learning to shift our students’ learning beyond the merely technical and cognitive to involve more complex habits, values and understandings. These habits, values and understandings connect with subjective experiences and feelings. By carefully restructuring this aspect of their learning opportunities, we are seeking also to anchor linguistic capability in socio-cultural network of concepts and norms, so that they are characterised both by subjectivity and by the sociality of the environment.  This has proved challenging but rewarding for quality of advanced language learning that it allows and supports. The process of researching the realignment of the programmes has also raised its own challenges.

The proposed paper addresses both the theoretical work informing the change process and also the approach we are taking to researching and developing the learning architecture of language specialist programmes in and through the Institute of International Relations, History and Oriental Studies (IIRHOS) at Kazan Federal University.

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