METHODS OF LEARNING AND TEACHING INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM

Rapid changes in mass communication mean that we have to look for new effective ways of studying and teaching international journalism. There are many questions as, for instance: Should we abandon the classical methods of education, for example, lectures? What does interdisciplinary approach mean for learning and teaching modern journalism? What kind of methods should we use in studying and teaching? We are trying to answer these questions using a case-study: our own experience in creating and teaching a course for foreign Russia-learners whose fields are mass communication (mainly Journalism and Public Relations), international business, political science, as well as other liberal arts and humanities. Since 2010, at the Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Philology at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow, we have been teaching different courses in the framework of Master's degree programme on Applied International Journalism. Modern trends in the development of convergent journalism require new approaches in teaching students. One of them is an interdisciplinary approach. Using and applying an interdisciplinary approach, which is based on the theoretical and practical knowledge of different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, linguistics, cultural studies and others, to teaching and learning International Journalism allows to enrich critical thinking and cognitive abilities of the students and provide them with a holistic view of the subjects they are studying and moreover, to the problems existing in the modern world. Methodology and results. We used different methods from general scientific ones, such as analysis and synthesis, and special methods of humanities and social research. Firstly, the method of descriptive analysis to present brief contents and main ideas of the courses mentioned. Secondly, a typological method that allowed us to compare different scientific opinions of the lecturers reading the courses presented. Thirdly, methods of generalization to reveal common issues in learning and teaching International Journalism. Findings show, that professional university education implies its fundamental nature, serious study of a number of general theoretical disciplines, humanitarian and social training. At the same time, it is very important along with basic and specialized courses on theory and practice on journalism to include in the programme on media education such important applied disciplines and courses as 'Stereotypes in Mass Communications', 'Intercultural Communication', 'Image of Country', and others. In English, working with mostly non-English speakers who have completely different educational background, we have drawn a conclusion that traditional methods of education, for example, long academic lectures are not always effective. Our main conclusion is for effective ways of studying and teaching International Journalism, as well as other areas of mass communication, there is a need to use a complex of interactive, entertaining, as well as thought-provoking methods. Not only a university venue, but also the Internet, museums, theaters, cinemas, as well as other places and channels have become the modern platforms for effective university education.