University of Pittsburgh

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

Summer Russian Language Institute 2005

Superior Russian

Course Description

Morning session (9:00-12:00)               Cathedral of Learning 226

 Valery Belyanin Ph.D.

 Валерий Павлович Белянин – доктор филологических наук, профессор МГУ и МГЛУ

 Email:   val.belianine@utoronto.ca         russianforyou@gmail.com

URL :    http://www.russianforyou.com

Office:   (412) 624-5906                          Home (in Pittsburgh): (412) 648-4700

                                                                                                (from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

Office hours: by appointment. Please feel free to ask for a consultation from me.

Afternoon session (1:00-3:00)                Cathedral of Learning 227    Julia Houkom        

1.    Required Texts

·     Let’s Talk About Life. (An Integrated Approach to Russian Conversation). Emily Tall, Valentina Vlasikova. John Willey & Sons, Inc. N.Y,, etc. 1996. 275 pp.

Ø      (in short: LTAL)

·        A Handbook of Russian Verbs. Frank J.Miller. Ardis, 1989.- 316 pp.

Ø      (in short: HRV)

·        A Handbook of Russian Prepositions. Frank J.Miller. Focus Texts, 1991.- 224 pp.

Ø      (in short HRP)

2.                           Recommended Texts

·         Wade, Terence. A Comprehensive Russian Grammar. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1992.

·         Any good or/and big Russian-English, English-Russian dictionary.

·         Rifkin, Benjamin. Grammatika v kontekste. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

·         S.K.Khavronina, A.Shirochenskaya Russian in Exercises. Moscow, 1989.  

3.                         Additional Materials to be used on your own risk

·     Focus on Russian (An Interactive approach to communication). 2nd ed. Sandra F. Rosenbrant, Elena D. Lifschitz. John Willey & Sons, Inc. N.Y,, etc. 1996. 370 pp.

4.                               Course Content and Methodology

Russian 0240 / 0241 is an eight-credit course that meets five hours per day, five times a week. The course has several interrelated goals:

a.             To further develop the five language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking and singing)

b.            To review and advance students’ knowledge of advanced Russian grammar (aspect, verb government, verbs of motions, verbs of state, prepositions, participles, indirect speech, etc.)

c.             To expand students’ vocabulary by approximately 1000 words

         i.      The main emphasis of the course will be on the development of speaking and writing skills at the advanced level of proficiency (ACTR guidelines).  Students will be working to sustain paragraph-length narration and description in all time frames, using words and phrases of coherence and cohesion.

       ii.      Cultural aspects of the course include film clips, interviews, audio recordings, lectures, film screenings, advertisements, etc. Some attention will be given to Russian and Soviet poetry (classic and popular) and contemporary Russian humor.

      iii.       All this is intended to serve two functions: provide additional language practice in the target language and further students’ acquaintance with Russian culture, life, and values.

     iv.      To learn a language one must use it. When speaking a foreign language it is almost impossible not to make mistakes. That means: making mistakes is making progress in learning do not be afraid of your mistakes, and speak and write in Russian as much as you can.

5.                                 Policies

1.  Classroom and participation

All explanations and class work will be conducted in Russian. No English is allowed in addressing the instructor any time. Students are also encouraged to speak to each other in Russian.

Because of the course’s emphasis on communication, students are expected to come to class fully prepared, i.e., having read, listened to, memorized, etc. the assigned material. They should also be able to use this material for analysis and discussion. Students are responsible for all new vocabulary as assigned and specified by the instructor. In case of new verbs, students are responsible not just for their meaning but also for their conjugation (спряжение) and government (управление - i.e., cases most commonly used after them). Class participation will be graded according to the following formula:

5 points                        Present, Completely Prepared, and on time

4 points                        Presents and Partially Prepared

3 points                        Present but Completely Unprepared

0 points                        Absent

2. Homework

Students will spend about 4-5 hours daily on their homework. Homework will typically include reading for content and vocabulary, grammar drills, short essays, working on oral presentations, etc. Written homework must be submitted on the day it is due, at the beginning of each class. The instructor is not required to accept or grade late homework. Homework exercises will be graded according to the following scale:

5 points                        Submitted on time, over 80 % correct

4 points                        Submitted on time, 50%-80% correct

3 points                        Submitted on time, less than 50% correct

0 points                        Not submitted

Students are encouraged to give the teacher typed versions of their home assignments. For typing in Russian please go to Start – Control Panel – Regional and Language Options – Regional Options – chose Russian – Apply – OK – use assigned key settings (usually ALT + SHIFT).

Students in this course will make some presentations in Russian. Presentations may be up to 10 minutes long. Topics and dates of the presentations are to be specified. Students are not allowed to use any written text during their talks. They may, however, use an outline and a list of new words. Students are encouraged to use audio-, video-, and print materials to illustrate their points (PowerPoint is great way of illustration).

4. Films

Scheduled Russian films are screened during regular class hours and are part of the course. Students are required to attend all films. Each week students will discuss and write essays based on the “movie-of-the-week.” Students can write on any aspect of the film. The basic requirements to the essays are:

         i.            Each essay should have an interesting title

        ii.            Film essays should be at least 1 page (letter-size) long (250 words)

      iii.            Students should learn and use words and expressions from the films

      iv.            Students should use means of coherence and cohesion in their essays.

5. Guest Speaker

Every week a guest speaker will lecture for the students. The topics will cover political and cultural life in Russia and linguistic topics. The discussion of the lectures is supposed to be held in the classroom the next day. You will also be asked to write your impression after the discussion as a home task.

6. Attendance

Students are expected to attend all classes and to arrive on time. No make-ups for missed quizzes are allowed. More than five (5) hours (one full day) of unexcused absences will affect the grade. Absent students are responsible for acquiring relevant class notes and handouts from their classmates. (Please refer to the policy of the Summer Language Institute)

7. Quizzes

The quiz grade will consist of the average of all the vocabulary, grammar, and other quizzes given by both instructors. Quizzes may be announced and unannounced, and administered at any time during classes.

8. Tests and Exams

Each lesson of the textbook will conclude with a test (written, oral, or both). The test will cover topics, vocabulary, and grammar covered in the last unit(s). Written tests will consist of fill-in-the-blanks and multiply choice, and translation passages, listening and reading comprehension tasks, and short essays. More specific information will be provided in advance of each test.

The Midterm and the Final exam will be similar in format to the unit tests. They will mostly contain the old material. Both exams will be comprehensive: the Midterm will cover the material of the first half of the textbook, the Final Exam will cover the second one.

6.          Course Grade

§         Class participation (incl. oral presentations)  20%

§         Homework (incl. essays)                                   20%

§         Unit tests and quizzes                                        20%

§         Midterm and Final Exams                                 20%

§         Quality of speech in general                               20%

7.    Course Outline (tentative and subject to change)

Dates valid in 2005 only

 Please refer to this schedule for general information only.
8.    Something Else

a)      The teacher will try to do everything possible to give you the schedule for the coming week. But language schedule is not a bus schedule. Besides the textbooks and the instructor there are also students who are the real subjects of the learning process. Some material may take more time than scheduled. Something may be omitted. Please be ready for some changes during the week.

b)      Doing home work ahead of time without getting necessary explanations in the class may result in numerous mistakes and loss of time. Please proceed to the home work after you fully understand what and how you are supposed to do.

c)      Please feel free to ask me for personal consultation on the material missed or misunderstood.

d)      You may be able to find some of the materials on the website http://www.russianforyou.com (which is under construction, though)

e)      Please do not be discouraged by the difficultness of the Russian language: any five year old child in Russia can speak it. J

f)        Let me wish you all the very best and express my sincere confidence that you will master the Russian language (some day).

 Ваш преподаватель: Валерий Павлович Белянин.