Course Goals

This course aims to develop speaking and writing discourse skills in Russian so that students can participate in both formal and informal discussions with substantial flow, encompassing the ability to include concrete details in the process of narration as well as the ability to maintain conversations on abstract topics. Readings from the popular press and literature assist in broadening lexicon and demonstrating Russian written discourse structures, while weekly grammar assignments pinpoint problematic areas for non-native speakers of Russian.

Grading

Attendance & participation	20%
Homework & dictionary	10%
Reading/listening assignments	10%
Writing assignments	20%
Discussions	20%
Final Project (oral and written)	20%

Attendance and participation: 3 or more unexcused absences from any class will result in the lowering of your final grade. It is essential that students come to class well prepared and participate fully in class discussions.

Homework: Your homework from Modern Russian will be graded on a 5 point system (5=отлично, 4=хорошо, и т.д.). For this course you will need to keep track of new words and phrases you have acquired from the readings and that you found useful for your own writing. At regular intervals throughout the semester you will bring this dictionary to our individual sessions for review.

Reading: Reading passages will be assigned twice a week throughout the semester. Longer reading assignments (and accompanying writing assignments) are due on Monday and will serve as the basis for Monday's class discussions. Shorter reading assignments will be assigned for Wednesday.

Writing assignments: Writing assignments will be assigned every week throughout the semester based on your interests and the topics we have covered in the reading texts. Each writing assignment is due first on Monday, and then will be returned to the student for corrections to be submitted the following week.

Discussions: Once a week one student is expected to prepare for leading the discussion on a designated topic. The student must present basic vocabulary one session in advance to the rest of the class, so preliminary inquiries and research into the topic is expected. Participation in discussions led by other students also counts towards your final grade.

Final Project, written and oral: Each student is expected to present a final project to the class on a subject matter of your choice, and submit an essay on the same topic. The presentation should include handouts for the audience summarizing the salient points of your project, and should include an audio and/or visual component as well. In order to ensure steady progress on this final project, specific tasks are required at regular intervals throughout the semester.

           

Final Project components:

--List of potential topics

--Preliminary search for materials relating to the topic (по-русски, конечно!)

--Draft of questions or ideas you intend to discuss during your talk

--Filling in the outline with more specifics for the project

--Final presentation in class; submission of essay on topic

Students should assemble a portfolio of their work for this course with separate sections for readings, writing assignments, discussion questions and points, and project notes. The dictionary you make for this course may be included, or stand alone in a separate notebook.

Homework (due on the day listed)

	понедельник	среда	пятница
1 (2-6 сен.)		Offord: Урок 14, читать стр. 69-73, упр. A, B	15 мин. интервью
2 (9-13 сен.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 30, упр.B; Урок 31, упр. B
3 (16-20сен.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 32, упр. B; Урок 34, упр. B, C (1-10)	* Возможные темы доклада
4 (23-27 сен.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 36, упр. D; Урок 40, упр. B-G (сделайте 5)
5 (30-4 октября)	чтение и сочинение	Глаголы движения	словарь
6 (7-11 окт.)	Чтение; нет сочинения!	Mid-term course suggestion form Глаголы движения	*Материалы к докладу
7	Каникулы	каникули	Каникулы
8 (21-25 окт.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 52, упр. C; Урок 53, упр. B
9 (28-1 окт.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 54, упр. B; Урок 55, упр. B	* Вопросы, темы доклада
10 (4-8 но.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 56, упр. B; Урок 57, упр. B, D	словарь
11 (11-15 но.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 58, Урок 59 Причастия	* Контретные детали, примеры
12 (18-22 но.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 52, упр. C; Урок 53, упр. B	словарь
13 (25-29 но.)	Чтение; нет сочинения!	Offord: Урок 60, упр. B (1-10); Урок 61, упр. A (1-10), B (1-10)	выходной день
14 (2-6 дек.)	чтение и сочинение	Offord: Урок 62, упр. B (1-10); Урок 63, упр. стр. 397	25-30 мин. интервью
15 (9-13 дек.)	Доклады	Offord: Урок 64, упр. стр. 402 (1-10) Доклады	Portfolio review

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