Nicholas Gossett

Course Content: This course is the third semester of Russian language instruction developing functional proficiency in listening, speaking, and reading.  Writing will be developed primarily through workbook home assignments.

Welcome to Russian 412! You are entering the intermediate level of language instruction in one of the world’s most spoken and influential languages. Russian is spoken by 150 million people in the former Soviet Union and by another 50 million Russians living all over the world – including New York, Los Angeles, and Houston. This is the year of Russian study that will best prepare you to read brilliant works of Russian literature, undertake a longer term of study abroad, watch Russian films and television in the original language, and of course major in Slavic Studies here at UT! Russian is not only one of the official languages of diplomacy at the U.N. and a member language of the G-8, it is a language for which your prospects in business, engineering, teaching, law, and medicine are greatly enhanced with a reasonable functional proficiency. So whatever your goal, we hope that your second year of Russian-language studies will rewarding and memorable! А сейчас, давайте начнём!  

Required Textbook: • Irina Dolgova and Cynthia Martin.  Russian: Stage Two: Welcome Back!,  (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. 2009).  This packaged set comprises one basic textbook, two workbooks, two audio CDs, and one DVD.  Available at the University Co-op.

Recommended:  All available at the University Co-op:

 • Wade, Terrence. A Comprehensive Russian Grammar (Oxford: Blackwell, 1994).

 • Gerhart, Genevra. The Russian's World.  (Bloomington: Slavica Publishers, 2000).

• Katzner, Kenneth, ed. English Russian/Russian English Dictionary, (New York: Wiley Publishers, 1994).

Required Textbook: • Davidson, Gor, and Lekic.  Russian: Stage One: Live from Russia! vol. 1,  (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. 2008).  This packaged set comprises one basic textbook, one workbook, one audio CD, and one DVD.  Available at the University Co-op.

Recommended:

• Cruise, Edwina. English Grammar for Students of Russian, (Ann Arbor, MI: Olivia and Hill Press, 1993).

• Garza, Thomas. Fundamentals of Russian Verbal Conjugation for Teachers and Students, (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt and ACTR Publications), 1993.

• Katzner, Kenneth, ed. English Russian/Russian English Dictionary, (New York: Wiley Publishers, 1994).

Welcome to Russian 506! This course is designed to introduce you to the language and culture of one of the most influential and important regions of the world – today and over a millennium of history. Russian is spoken by more than 200 million people in the former Soviet Union, and an additional 150 million throughout the world. It is the language of some of the world’s greatest literature: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pasternak, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Gorky, and Solzhenitsyn. It is the culture of some of the greatest scientists and innovators in the West: Lomonosov, Mendeleev, Pavlov, and Gagarin. And it is the country of some of most influential politicians of the Twentieth Century: Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, Putin – and Medvedev! The major cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg attract thousands of tourists, businesspeople, and students every year, while in Siberia and the Caspian, oil and petroleum products are produced at a rate that rivals that of the Middle East. As a Member of the Group of Eight, Russia has become in the 21st century a power player in global policy from economics to terrorism to the environment. And, as events last year in North Ossetia and Georgia indicate, Russia remains as unpredictable in the shaping of world affairs as it was during Soviet times. As such, a command of the Russian language is a powerful (and lucrative!) facility in virtually any area of employment, be it government service, business, law, medicine, teaching, engineering, or the military. As you begin your adventure in learning Russian, use the resources of the Slavic Department and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies to further your knowledge of this fascinating region, people, and culture. And most of all, use your instructor as a live source of information, advice, and support! Удачи Вам! Good luck! 

Course Content: This course is the first semester of Russian language instruction developing functional proficiency in listening, speaking, and reading.  Writing will be developed primarily through workbook home assignments.  

This course is the second semester of intensive Russian language instruction developing functional proficiency in listening, speaking, and reading. Writing will be developed both through workbook home assignments and brief reviews and summaries of your reading material.  We will cover all of the basic textbook, Units One through Unit Ten, plus an introductory unit, in the textbook, spending about seven class days on each unit. In addition, this course aims to develop your reading skills through both in-class reading assignments, and individual “free reading” based on a text of your choosing. Portfolio exercises will continue to develop your computer literacy skills – in Russian – for you to be truly functionally proficient and competitive in the language, as well as chronicle your progress in your independent reading project throughout the course. 

Course Description:

This course is the first semester of intensive Russian language instruction developing functional proficiency in listening, speaking, and reading. Writing will be developed primarily through workbook and computer-based home assignments.  We will cover all of Volumes One and Two of the textbooks, Units One through Unit Fourteen in the textbooks, spending about one week on each unit. In addition, this course aims to develop computer literacy skills – in Russian – for you to be truly functional and competitive in the language.

Readings:

Textbook: • Davidson, Gor, and Lekic.  Russian: Stage One: Live from Russia! 2^nd ed., vols. 1 and 2, (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. 2008 and 2009). These packaged sets comprise two basic textbooks, two workbooks, two audio CDs, and two DVDs. Available at the University Co-op.

Recommended:            • Russian/English Dictionary

• Gerhart, G., The Russian’s World, Orlando: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.

• Garza, T., Fundamentals of Russian Verbal Conjugation for Teachers
  and Students, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt and ACTR Publications, 1993. 

Grading:

There are five components of your final course grade.  These components and their relative weights are:

1.  Testing:  35%

Unit tests: 15%

Final exam: 20%

2.  Homework:  15%

3.  Participation:  15%

4.  Portfolio:  15%

5.  Oral Presentation:  20%

Required Textbook: • Davidson, Gor, and Lekic.  Russian: Stage One: Live from Russia! vol. 2,  (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. 2009).  This packaged set comprises one basic textbook, one workbook, one audio CD, and one DVD.  Available at the University Co-op.

Recommended Texts: • Cruise, Edwina. English Grammar for Students of Russian, (Ann Arbor,

MI: Olivia and Hill Press, 1993).

• Garza, Thomas. Fundamentals of Russian Verbal Conjugation for

Teachers and Students, (Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt and ACTR Publications), 1993.

• Katzner, Kenneth, ed. English Russian/Russian English Dictionary,

(New York: Wiley Publishers, 1994).

All Required and Recommended Texts are available at the University Co-op.

***

Welcome back to UT and to Russian 507! This course is the continuation of your introduction to the language and culture of one of the most influential and important regions of the world. Russian is spoken by more that 200 million people in the former Soviet Union, and an additional 150 million throughout the world. It is the language of some of the world’s greatest literature: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Pasternak, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Gorky, and Solzhenitsyn. It is the culture of some of the greatest scientists and innovators in the West: Lomonosov, Mendeleev, Pavlov, and Gagarin. And it is the country of some of most influential politicians of the Twentieth Century: Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, and Putin. The major cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg attract thousands of tourists, businesspeople, and students each year, while in Siberia and the Caspian, oil and petroleum products are produced at a rate that rivals that of the Middle East. As a member of the Group of Eight, Russia has become in the 21st century a power player in global policy from economics to terrorism to the environment. And, as recent events indicate, such as those in North Ossetia and Georgia – or even this winter’s incident with the Russia-Ukraine oil pipeline, Russia remains as unpredictable in the shaping of world affairs as it was during Soviet times. As such, a command of the Russian language is a powerful (and lucrative!) facility in virtually any area of employment, be it government service, business, law, medicine, teaching, engineering, or the military. As you begin your adventure in learning Russian, use the resources of the Slavic Department and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies to further your knowledge of this fascinating region, people, and culture. And most of all, use your instructor as a live source of information, advice, and support! Удачи Вам! Good luck!

I. General

Course Content: This course is the second semester of Russian language instruction developing functional proficiency in listening, speaking, and reading.  Writing will be developed primarily through workbook home assignments.  We will cover Unit Seven through Unit Thirteen in the textbook (Vol. 2), spending about two weeks on each unit. In addition, we will cover Unit Fourteen, a review unit, in the final three days of the semester. 

Course Requirements: You are expected to attend daily classes regularly, participate actively in class, do all assigned coursework, and take all exams.  You will be allowed a maximum of five (5) unexcused absences during the semester.  More than five (5) unexcused absences will result in the lowering of your final course grade by a diacritical (a B+ goes to a B, a B to a B-, etc.); more than 8 (eight) absences will result in a grade lowered by a letter.  Also, chronic tardiness will be treated as absences, as determined by your instructor. A Course Syllabus for the entire semester, briefly describing goals and in-class activities, is found on pp. xiii - xx in your Textbook. Corresponding homework assignments for each daily class meeting are found in the Workbook. PREPARING AND HANDING IN DAILY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS IS ESSENTIAL TO PASS THE COURSE!  This means that you should go over and be familiar with this material (or prepare relevant questions) in advance of class.  You are also responsible for learning all of the words and expressions contained in the texts and exercises covered in the Course Syllabus which appear in non-italic type in the vocabulary lists at the end of each unit.  You should plan to spend about two hours of preparation for each hour in the classroom.  If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact your instructor or another student and find out what was covered and make up the missed work. 

Special Accommodations: If you have extenuating physical circumstances, all instructors in the Slavic Department will make themselves available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Before course accommodations will be made, students may be required to provide documentation to the Office of the Dean of Students -- Services for Students with Disabilities.

Testing:  There will be six in-class one-hour tests and a final examination for this course.  The in-class tests, each covering one unit, will be given on February 2, February 16, March 2, March 23, April 6, April 20 and May 4.  A comprehensive final exam will be given during the University's exam period between May 12 and 18, 2010.  The final exam for this section of RUS 507 will be posted later in the semester. 

II. Grading

There are three components of your final course grade.  These components and their relative weights are: 

1.  Testing:  55%

In-class tests: 25%

Final exam: 30%

Because of the time constraints and pace of this course, make-ups on any of the tests will be given only in unusual cases with extenuating circumstances.

2.  Homework:  30%

Written homework or in-class quizzes (e.g., vocabulary, grammar checks, etc.) will be graded on a credit (4) / no credit (7) basis.  All assignments from the Workbook must be turned in on the class day after being assigned; a "no credit" assignment may be resubmitted for credit on the following day after being returned to the student.  Your homework grade will be the percentage of "credit" assignments you submit during the term.

3.  Participation:  15%

Your instructor determines this component as a reflection of your overall preparedness and performance in class; it is NOT merely an attendance grade.  You are expected to a) attend class daily and on time, b) prepare assigned material in advance for each class, and c) respond in class with reasonable accuracy and, of course, enthusiasm!

The result of these calculations will be a number on a scale of 0-100.  This numerical grade will be converted to a letter grade as follows:

94 – 100 = A

90 – 93 = A-

88 – 89 = B+

84 – 87 = B

80 – 83 = B-

78 – 79 = C+

74 – 77 = C

70 – 73 = C-

68 – 69 = D+

64 – 67 = D

60 – 63 = D-

59 and below = F

III. Supplementary Materials

Your Textbook comes with an audio CD and a DVD that correspond to many of the exercises in

each unit, indicated by a "cassette" and "camera" symbol, respectively. You will greatly enhance

your own listening comprehension of Russian by downloading and using these media in your

iPod or home/car stereo as often as possible. If you prefer to use the media on campus, there are facilities available in several locations, such as the Perry Castañeda Library and Flawn Academic

Center. In addition, the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies has in Calhoun 422 a collection of both classic and very recent DVDs with movies, music, speeches and documentaries from and about Russia and the former Soviet states. These DVDs are interesting from both a cultural and purely entertainment point of view. Many of the DVDs have English subtitles (which can help you build your confidence and facility in hearing spoken Russian and deriving meaning), and some also have Russian subtitles, which are a real benefit to building listening comprehension as you gain a larger vocabulary and fluency. These may be checked out for home viewing; see your instructor for suggestions.

Course Description

Taught with interactive and student focused methods, this first semester of the traditional four semester sequence in Russian language, students will engage in a variety of activities to develop all-around skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.  The first semester provides a solid foundation for further language study. Students will become familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet, Russian grammar basics, useful daily vocabulary, and Russian culture.  With several years of established success, our traditional four semester sequence in Russian language has established links to summer programs and study abroad opportunities.  It is designed to provide students time to absorb and master the Russian language in two five-credit courses in the first year, and two four-credit courses in the second year. It is rigorous, but also respects students' needs to simultaneously pursue their non-language course work.  Upon completion of this sequence, students will possess intermediate language ability and be well prepared for advanced study of the Russian language abroad or at UT.
Text
Live From Russia Volume 1 (2008)
Requirements and Grading
In-class tests 25%
Homework 30%  
Final exam 30%
Attendance and participation 15%,
 
Prerequisites- NONE