Steps toward confidence: students of the School of Young Tour Guides practiced public speaking

The latest session of the School of Young Tour Guides at the National Centre RUSSIA took place on 6 April and was titled "Parental Support During the Tour: First Steps Toward Confidence". This time, the students moved from theory to practice: they worked on their public speaking skills and learned how to interact with guests. Their loved ones — parents, brothers, and sisters — came to support them.

"This is the students’ first step into the world of guided tours. During the session, the children learned to communicate with guests and respond to questions. It is important for parents to support their children’s efforts, and, if necessary, to assist them in working on the texts. Parents act as our partners, helping us as teachers. Until now, we have had several theoretical lessons, and now we are moving into practice. We will invite everyone — families, friends of our students — to the final tour, which will be conducted by the children themselves," said Yevgenia Sirota, Head of the Excursion Department at the National Centre RUSSIA and of the "School of Young Tour Guides" project.

One of the students, Arina Valeyeva, shared that the classes teach them how to speak correctly — so they can present information to tour participants clearly and engagingly.

"They gave us a detailed tour of the 'Journey Across Russia' exposition. Now we are preparing to become guides ourselves — we are reworking the tour text and adding some interesting facts of our own. We practiced our public speaking skills, and I believe this is very useful for us. Today, I prepared a story about Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, which I presented during the tour," said Arina.

Yevgenia Sirota added that in the upcoming sessions, the students will be introduced to acting techniques and video blogging. They will learn how to shoot their own mini-tours, and during the summer holidays, they will be able to create video stories about the most iconic places in our country.

The "School of Young Tour Guides" project launched at the National Centre RUSSIA on 1 February as a continuation of the tradition established at the International RUSSIA EXPO. The sessions are designed for schoolchildren from Moscow and the Moscow region aged 9 to 17. The project's educators immerse the students in the world of history, art, nature, and technology, introduce them to the cultural legacy of the country, and help them improve their speech technique and public speaking skills. Upon completion of the course, the young guides will lead tours for visitors of the National Centre RUSSIA.