American University Department of Language and Foreign Studies Syllabus Spring 2013 Elementary Russian II Russian 145-003

M TH 1:10 p.m. 2:25 p.m., W 1:10 2:50 p.m., Room: ASB 226
Instructor: Dr. Marina V. Richaud, PhD ( , ) Professorial Lecturer, Department of World Languages and Cultures Office: Hamilton 203 Office hours: M 2:35 4:35 p.m. E-mail: richaud@american.edu

Course Description
Elementary Russian I and II (taught in the fall and spring semesters, respectively) introduce students to the basics of the Russian language and culture. Students will comprehensively develop all four essential language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) through various exercises and communicative activities. The course also provides the students with essential grammar structures, vocabulary, and phonetics necessary for effective communication.

Course Philosophy
The instructor strongly believes in communicative/cognitive approach to language learning. In the communicative method, the primary goal of learning is developing language skills required for effective communication (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) rather than acquiring grammar or vocabulary as such. Cognitive approach implies that students take responsibility for their learning and consciously develop new cognitive structures necessary for effective communication. The instructor will act as a Learning Coach/Consultant and help students achieve their learning and developmental goals.

Course Goals
On completing the course, the students will be able to achieve the following goals: 1. Effectively communicate in Russian (both orally and in writing) on basic everyday topics (such as , , , , ) and successfully achieve their objectives in real life communication.

2. Improve Russian writing skills (specific goals: learn how to write a comprehensive, coherent essay on the topics studied in class; learn to type in Russian). 3. Extract important or necessary information from simple Russian written texts or audio materials (such as personal e-mails, simple newspaper articles, printed or audio ads, etc.) . 4. Apply the grammar structures and the vocabulary studied in class to real-life communication situations. 5. Develop knowledge on important aspects of Russian culture and life in Russia (such as living conditions and family life in Russia, Russian food, shopping in Russia, Russian holidays etc.) 6. Enhance communication, public speaking, and teamwork skills through presentations, projects, and team activities).

Course Materials
The main textbook used in this class is the following: Robin, R. : a basic course in Russian / Richard Robin, Karen Evans-Romaine, Galina Shatalina. 5th ed. In the spring semester, Units 6-10 of Book 1 will be covered. The textbook is accompanied by a Student Activities Manual (SAM), audio and video recordings, and a companion web site at http://www.gwu.edu/~slavic/golosa/ The site has all the audio and video recordings for the course, including textbook glossaries and SAM oral drills. In addition to the main textbook, the students are required to have at least one good bilingual English-Russian and Russian-English dictionary. Recommended dictionaries Coulson, J. The pocket Oxford Russian dictionary / Jessie Coulson, Nigel Rankin, Della Thompson. Katzner, K. English-Russian, Russian-English dictionary / Kenneth Katzner. Thompson, D. Oxford Russian dictionary / Della Thompson, Marcus Wheeler, Boris Unbegaun, and Paul Falla. Online dictionary: http://lingvo.abbyyonline.com/ru Blackboard The instructor will use the course Blackboard site to communicate with students, make important announcements and syllabus / assignments adjustments, post grades, and answer the students questions. Students are strongly encouraged to communicate with the instructor and other students via Blackboard.

Grading and Course Requirements

Your grade in this class will be made up of the following components: Attendance (e ) Homework ( ) Essays () Quizzes ( ) Midterm Test ( ) Team Presentation ( ) Final Oral Exam ( ) Final Written Exam ( ) Attendance ( ) 10 % Since this is an elementary language course, attendance is vital. Your progress in learning Russian largely depends on your presence and participation in this class. You should come to class on time and be ready to start the class on time. Each student is allowed one grace absence during the semester for which s/he will not be penalized. Please save this absence for a possible illness or an important family commitment. If and when absence is unavoidable (observing religious holidays, dire family emergencies, or serious documented illnesses), notify the instructor at least 24 hrs before the class and make arrangements for missed work. Being late (or leaving the class early) three times is equivalent to one absence. Homework ( ) 10% In addition to lesson preparation, there will be written home assignments due at almost every class. The assignments are listed at the calendar section of this syllabus. If there are changes in written homework assignments due to uneven learning pace of various student groups/ weather-related class cancellations, or other circumstances, the instructor will notify the students of the changes via Blackboard. The assignments will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Student Activities Manual (SAM) assignments may be done on the book worksheets themselves, on photocopied pages, or on lined paper (in cursive). You may also type your homework. Please staple all the pages you are submitting together, and write your name on the first page. When doing written assignments on lined notebook paper (in cursive), please write on every other line. If you choose to type your homework assignments, please double-space the text. No late homework will be accepted under any circumstances. Please check the following before submitting the homework: 3 10 % 10 % 10 % 10 % 15 % 15 % 10 % 20 %

Are you submitting the correct assignment? Check the syllabus and the instructors Blackboard reminder before submitting homework!!! All answers should be in Russian unless otherwise specified. If you are submitting homework on SAM pages, consider whether you will need the other side of the last page for the next assignment. If so, make a photocopy of the last page of your work. You will also get oral homework. You should always be prepared to answer the questions from the oral assignments in class. Essays () - 10% There will be four essays during the semester. (Five essays be assigned during the semester, one per each book unit, but the student may choose any four of them. The fifth essay may be completed for extra credit). The instructor will specify the essay topics approximately one week before the essay is due. The due dates for the essays are listed in the Class Schedule section of this syllabus. The essays should be submitted electronically to the instructors e-mail address before 11:00 p.m. on the due date. No late essays will be accepted. All essays should be typed (font Times New Roman, size 12), double-spaced, have the students name on top, title, introduction, body, and conclusion. To complete the essay assignments, you will need the Russian keyboard drivers and Russian keyboard stickers on your computer. Please install the drivers and purchase the stickers if you haven't yet done so (see the Russification section of this syllabus). Quizzes ( ) 10% There will be four quizzes during the semester, one after each book unit (except after Unit 8, when there will be a midterm test.) There might be occasional unannounced quizzes. Make sure to review the material after every class and do all the homework assignments in order to be prepared for any scheduled or pop-up quiz. Midterm Test ( ) 15 % There will be a comprehensive test in the middle of the semester. The test will include both a written part (reading, writing, listening, vocabulary and grammar tasks) and a short oral interview. All the material covered in class and/or in the textbooks may appear on the test. Team Presentation ( ) 15 %

Students are expected to prepare an oral team presentation and deliver it in front of the whole class at the end of the semester. The following are the basic requirements for the presentation: The topic of the presentation is selected by the students, but it should in some ways involve the material studied in class The presentations should be done in groups of two to four persons The presentations should be 7-10 minutes long Students should only speak Russian No reading aloud is allowed Be creative in the format of the presentation. The presentation must be accompanied by some audio-visual aides (video, music recording, slide show, printed materials, posters, songs etc.) You will be graded on the clarity of your presentation, fluency, originality, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation, and the quality of your audio-visual aides Students should submit a half-page proposal for the presentation outlining the topic and the format of your work. (See Class Schedule section of the syllabus for the due date). Presentations will take place during class on April 17. Possible presentation formats: Radio or TV show (recorded or live) Documentary or feature film (recorded) Newspaper /newsletter/magazine/brochure Concert/recital Web page Live skit (accompanied by some audio-visual aids) Collection of posters You are not limited to these formats. Please be creative and original! Oral Interview ( ) 10 % There will be a comprehensive oral interview at the end of the semester. The interviews will take place during the last week of class. During the interview the instructor will ask the students questions related to any topic covered in class. Final Exam ( ) 20 % There will be a comprehensive exam at the end of the semester. The exam will take place on Thursday, May 2 from 11:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. in our regular classroom. Note that the exam starts earlier than a regular class. All the material covered in class and/or in the textbooks may appear on the exam. The final exam must be taken on that date. Do not make travel or other arrangements that conflict with the exam time.

Extra Credit
There will be opportunities to earn extra credit for the course. The instructor will notify you of various events related to Russian culture happening in the area (lectures, seminars, theater performances, conferences, film screenings etc.) For extra credit, you can attend one (or more) of these events and write a one to two page report, (in English) focusing on the content of the event and your personal impressions. These short papers are not a required assignment; they will be used as extra credit for your grade.

Grading Scale
The instructor will use the same grading scale (recommended by the World Languages and Cultures Department) for all class assignments. The grading scale for the course is as follows: A AB+ 93-100 90-92 88-89 B BC+ 83-87 80-82 78-79 C CD 72-77 67-71 60-66

Academic Integrity
All courses at the Department of Language and Foreign Studies adhere strictly to the Academic Integrity Code of American University. You will find it at the following web site: https://my.american.edu/gateway.cfm?group=life Make sure that any work you submit to the instructor is your own. This especially concerns written essays.

Russification
You should russify your computer in order to be able to type in Russian and successfully complete your essays and other assignments. Russification includes installing Russian keyboard drivers on your computer. If Russian keyboard is not part of your computer language package, you can download them online, or get help at the Center for Language Learning (Asbury Hall basement). You will also need Russian stickers for your keyboard. They can be purchased online on www.datacal.com, www.latkey.com or similar sites.

How to get an A for the class

Here are some study tips that will help you get an A for this class: 6

Study every day. Learning languages is a cumulative process; you cannot learn it just by cramming before tests. Look up new vocabulary in the dictionary, write it down in your vocabulary book, and spend at least 30 minutes a day memorizing and revising new words. Remember, if you dont learn the new words when they are introduced, you will have trouble in future classes. Use flash cards and other memory techniques to learn the vocabulary. Find a partner in class and practice together before or after class. Dont miss classes; come to class on time; use class time effectively; answer silently every question asked in class even if it is not addressed to you. Do homework every day and turn it in promptly. Consult your instructor about any problems or difficulties you may have. Come to office hours even if you dont have problems; use them as an opportunity to practice your Russian or ask questions about Russian culture.

Class Schedule
During the Spring semester we will cover Units 6-10 ( 6-10) of Golosa. Book 1 (pp. 189 -386). Please note that due to differences in learning styles and study paces of different student groups the homework assignments might change. The instructor will notify the students of the changes via Blackboard. It is of vital importance that you watch Blackboard announcements and check your e-mail every day! Class Topic and Outline Month Date Day Important Information/ Homework due

14

16

January

TH

17

M W TH

21 23 24

Introductory class 6 , , (Vocabulary pp. 190-192) 6 , , (Listening pp. 193-194; Grammar p. 203; Numbers Review) 6 , , (Dialogs 1, 2 p. 195; Grammar pp. 204205); Adjective endings review Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; no class! 6 , , (Dialog 3 p. 196; Grammar pp. 205-208) 6 , , (Dialogs 4, 5 p. 196-197; Grammar pp. 209-210)

Study the syllabus thoroughly! Learn vocabulary pp. 190192 H/W due: ex. 06-01, 06-07 pp. 130-133 (SAM)

H/W due: ex. 06-03, 06-08, 06-10 pp. 134-135 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 06-11, 06-12, 06-13 pp. 142-143 (SAM)

28

30

6 , , (Dialog review; Grammar pp. 199-201; Reading p. 204) 6 , , (Grammar p. 211-213; Reading pp. 209211; Vocabulary review) 6 , , (Grammar review p. 215, Listening pp. 224-225; Conversation practice; Unit 6 review) 7 (Vocabulary pp. 230-231; Russian culture: Family structure in Russia) 7 (Vocabulary pp. 232-235; Grammar p. 243; Listening p. 235) 7 (Grammar p. 244; Dialogs 1, 2 p. 236) 7 (Dialog 3 p. 236; Grammar pp. 245-250) 7 (Dialogs 4, 5 p. 237; Grammar pp. 251-252) 7 (Grammar pp. 253-254; Listening p. 264) 7 (Reading pp. 261-263; Conversation practice; Unit 7 review) 8 (Vocabulary pp. 270-271) 8 (Listening 1,2,3 p. 272; Grammar p. 283; Dialog 1 p. 274; Russian culture: February 23) 8 (Listening 4,5,6 p. 273; Grammar p. 284285; Dialogs 2,3 p. 274) 8 (Grammar p. 287289; Dialogs 4,5 pp. 276-277)

H/W due: ex. 06-15, 06-18 pp. 136-138 (SAM) Memorize one dialog (pp. 195-197) Revise vocabulary for Unit 6 (pp. 226-228) Quiz 1!

TH

31

Essay 1 due!

Learn vocabulary pp. 230231 Learn vocabulary pp. 232235 H/W due: ex. 07-04, 07-05 p. 157 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 07-06 pp. 157-158 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 07-07, 07-08 p.158 (SAM) Revise vocabulary for Unit 7 (pp. 255-258) Memorize one dialog (pp. 236-237) H/W due: ex. 07-10, 07-11, 07-12 p. 159-160 (SAM) Quiz 2 H/W due: ex. 07-13 p.161 (SAM) Essay 2 due! H/W due: ex. 07-17, 07-18 pp. 163-164 (SAM) Learn vocabulary pp. 270271 H/W due: ex. 07-19 p.165 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 08-09 p. 183 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 08-11, 08-12 p. 184-185 (SAM) 8

TH

M W

11 13

February

TH

14

18

20

TH

21

25

27

TH

28

8 (Dialog review; Grammar pp. 291-293) 8 (Grammar pp. 294-297; Vocabulary review) Midterm Test! 8 (Grammar: pp. 298-299; Listening pp. 305-306; Reading pp. 300-301; Conversation practice; Russian culture: International Womens Day)

Revise vocabulary for Unit 8 (pp. 307-308) H/W due: ex. 08-13, 08-14 p. 185-186 (SAM) Memorize one dialog (pp. 274-277) H/W due: ex. 08-17 p. 189

W TH

6 7

Essay 3 due! Revise vocabulary for Unit 8 (pp. 308-310)

M W TH March M

11 13 14 18 9 ? (Vocabulary pp. 312-314; Russian culture: Russian food and meals) 9 ? (Listening p. 317; Vocabulary practice; Grammar p. 323) 9 ? (Dialog 1 p. 318; Grammar pp. 324-325) 9 ? (Dialogs 2,3 p. 319; Grammar p. 327) 9 ? (Dialogs 4,5 pp. 319-320; Grammar pp. 328 9 ? (Dialog review; Grammar pp. 329) 9 ? (Grammar p. 330-332; Vocabulary review; Reading pp. 335-336) 9 ? (Grammar pp. 333-334; Conversation practice; Listening p. 342-343; Unit 9 review) Spring Break! No classes!

20

TH M W TH

21 25 27 28

April

Learn vocabulary pp. 298300 H/W due: ex. 08-18, 08-21, 08-23 pp. 189-192 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 09-02, 09-05, 09-06 pp. 208-211 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 09-08 p. 213 (SAM) Team presentation proposals are due! Revise vocabulary for Unit 9 (pp. 344-346) H/W due: ex. 09-11 p. 214 (SAM) Revise vocabulary for Unit 9 (pp. 346-348) Memorize one dialog (pp. 304-306) Quiz 3

TH M

4 8

10 (Introduction pp. 350-351; Grammar pp. 360-361) 10 (Listening p. 351352; Dialog 1 p. 353; Grammar pp. 362363) 10 (Dialogs 2,3 p. 353; Grammar pp. 364-365

Essay 4 due! Learn vocabulary pp. 384386 (everything but the verbs) H/W due: ex. 10-04, 10-05, 10-07 pp. 240-241 (SAM) Learn vocabulary pp. 384386 (the verbs) H/W due: ex. 10-09, 10-12 pp. 242-243 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 10-13 p. 243244 (SAM) H/W due: ex. 10-16, 10-17 pp. 246-247 (SAM)

10

TH M

11 15

W TH

17 18

10 (Dialogs 4,5 p. 354; Grammar pp. 366-370) 10 (Grammar pp. 366-370 cont-d; Dialog review; Russian culture: Easter) Team Presentations 10 (Grammar pp. 371-373; Reading pp. 377380) 10 (Grammar pp. 371-373 cont-d; Listening pp. 382-383) 10 (Conversation practice; Unit 10 review) Final Oral Interviews

22

W TH

24 25

Memorize one dialog (pp. 353-354) H/W due: ex. 10-18 p. 248 (SAM) Quiz 4 Revise vocabulary for Unit 10 (pp. 384-386) Essay 5 due! All extra credit assignments due! H/W due: ex. 10-20 p. 249 (SAM)

M May Th

29 3

Course review Final Exam 11:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Please note that the assignments above are subject to change and adjustments due to differences in study paces and learning styles of different student groups. The instructor will notify the students on the changes and adjustments via Blackboard.

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