Russian Conversation & Composition

Russian: www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/forlang/new_llc/russian/program/program.html RUS301-00: RUSSIAN CONVERSATION & COMPOSITION FALL 2004 Meeting Times: Instructor: Dr. Luba Iskold M/T/R 12:30-1:20 p.m. Office: Ettinger 102-A Phone: X 3516 Room: Taylor 07 Office Hours: T/R 3:00-4:00 p.m. email: [email protected] F 10:30 –11:30 a.m. & by appointment Language Learning Center (LLC): Ettinger 103

Course Goals: The primary goal of this course is to prepare students to converse on topics that engage their minds and emotions and that are of concern to them and to young people in Russia. The course is based on the premise that comprehension is essential to the development of conversation. It is designed to bridge the gap in intermediate and advanced level language study by integrating authentic reading and listening with extensive practice in the development of vocabulary and conversational skills. We will discuss four broad topics: personal life, university life, rock music and alcohol and narcotics. Students will have a reading assignment for every class, thus they will expand their vocabulary dramatically. They will also be using more sophisticated grammatical structures both in writing assignments and in discourse. The course will provide a foundation for students’ future advanced study of Russian.

What will we do in Class? For each of the four themes, first you will engage in an in-depth study of the vocabulary pertinent to each of the topics. Next, you will scrutinize a variety of contemporary readings, including short stories, essays, news, feature articles, and letters to the editor. To assist you with comprehension of longer journalistic text, I will teach you some of the effective learning strategies, including skimming and scanning for information, looking for a topic sentence, and using guessing strategies. Then, you will listen to taped interviews with native speakers, which will provide you with 10-15 minutes of unrehearsed conversation. In addition, you will hear valuable insights on each topic. To assist you with comprehension of the audiotext, I will ask you to perform pre- and post- listening tasks. Finally, you will be asked to review and integrate the material and write a brief paper. In contrast to your previous classes, you will be asked to analyze and synthesize information from two different sources that address either the same or very similar concerns. I expect you to be challenged by this course, but at the same time I am confident that you will gain a significant advantage from exposure to thought provoking authentic materials. Fun: included in the audio supplement are five rock songs by famous Russian groups! Required texts: Dabars, Zita et al. Russian Faces and Voices. Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 1995. ISBN 0-7872-0504-4 Emily Tall, Vlasikova Valentina. Let’s Talk about Life (with student tapes). John Willey & Sons, 1996.\ Recommended: Russian Verbs. Thomas Beyer. ISBN 0-47130939-7 (available at the bookstore) Kenneth Katzner English-Russian/Russian-English Dictionary George P. Patrick. Roots of the Russian Language (a dictionary of roots) Blackboard: We’ll continue using Blackboard-- get a password ASAP and don’t forget to check your mail frequently !!! Russian Conversation and Composition Dr. Luba Iskold

Grading: Your grade in this course will be determined as follows: Homework assignments 15% Conversation 15% Compositions 30% Class Participation 25% Team Project: videotaped interviews 15% Extra credit: Projects/independent work based on individual student needs

Attendance and participation: Please come prepared to class. Regular class attendance is required in this course. Your active participation in class and outside the classroom is vital for your further study of Russian. If you are absent for more than three times during the semester without justification, you will be penalized on the final course grade, since I shall not be able to give you credit for class work. In the event of absence, please inform me before the class that you will not be there; the use of email or telephone is greatly encourages. Please arrive on time and avoid actions that may disrupt the class.

Russian Table: I will meet you at the G.Q. (in the back area facing Chew Str.) every M 10:30-11:15 a.m. Don’t miss the opportunity to speak Russian with your peers and with me!

Academic Behavior Code: You must comply with Muhlenberg’s Academic Behavior Code in all work for this course. Consult the Student Handbook for details. All work submitted for a grade needs to have the complete Academic Behavior Code Statement and your signature attesting to compliance with it: Я выполнил Академический Код + ваша фамилия.

Learning Disabilities: If you have a learning disability documented by the Office of Academic Support at Muhlenberg College, you are entitled to certain accommodations. Please see me early in the semester so I can make special arrangements according to your individual needs.

Activities & Assignments: Conversation: My goal is to build up a warm and supportive atmosphere in class and to encourage your self expression. From my experience, students enjoy talking about themselves. However, if you consider any question intrusive, you will never be asked to answer it. In such case, you will always have an opportunity to participate in the discussion by talking about people you know or people in general. Writing/Compositions: The goal for writing is for you to be able to express your views as if you were writing a letter. This means that we will focus on informal, conversational style. To review and summarize each of the four broad topics of the course, you will be working on four compositions throughout the semester. I will also grade some exercises that we will together select for homework. Vocabulary: In addition to an in-depth vocabulary study that we will conduct as a group, you will be encouraged to develop your personalized vocabulary. For example, when a large number of descriptive adjectives is presented, you will be advised to concentrate on those you need to describe yourself, your friends, or anything that YOU choose to write or talk about. Reading/Listening Comprehension: All texts that you will study this semester are written/spoken by native speakers of Russian and are taken from authentic Russian sources. Some selections are shortened. Team Project: you will work on a project entitled “My First Interview in Russian.” Based on your interests, we’ll finalize in class the guidelines for this project. I am planning on asking you to prepare interesting/meaningful questions; then interview a native speaker of Russian;

2 videotape the interview, digitize/edit (should you need help, I’ll assist you), show in class, discuss. Based on what you’ve learnt via the interview and in class, write your final composition. Russian Conversation & Composition Dr. Luba Iskold Class Schedule/ Расписание: Август Неделя 1 Понедельник 30 LT: Введение. How to take part in conversation.

Вторник 31 LT: Новые слова. Автобиография. LT, 7-8 Сентябрь Четверг 2 Класс в лаборатории (Ettinger 103)

Неделя 2 Понедельник 6 LT: Сочиниение/writing sample, ст. 8. Акронимы, стр. 15-18

Вторник 7 LT: Чтение: Памяти матери, 9-11

Четверг 9 LT: Чтение: Памяти матери, 11-15

Неделя 3 Понедельник 13 LT: Вопросы и дискуссия, стр.15

Вторник 14 LT: Давайте поговорим, стр. 20. Чтение, стр.19 RFV: Ищу друга. Сочинение N1 (черновик) Четверг 16 RFV: Думаем, спорим, обсуждаем, стр 21 Неделя 4 Понедельник 20 LT: Пословицы. Чтение, стр. 22 Вторник 21 LT: Конфликты с родителями. Что такое счастье?, 26 Четверг 23 Новые слова, 28-29. Интервью, 29-33 Сочинение N (чистовик) 25 Yom Kippur Неделя 5 Понедельник 27 RFV: Наташа, 2-4 и 12-15. Хобби. Вторник 28 Сочинение N 2 (черновик) Четверг 30 LT: Итоги, 33 Октябрь Homecoming: октябрь, 1-3 Неделя 6 Понедельник 4 Устный экзамен в парах. (Конференция, Ett.104) Вторник 5 RFV: Илюша Протопопов, 30-26 Четверг 7 Сочинение N 2 (чистовик) Неделя 7 Понедельник 11 LT: Сочинение, 36-38 Вторник 12 LT: O преподавателях, 40-44 Четверг 14 LT: Сколько человек на место? 45-47 RFV: как стать журналистом в России?

3 Mid-semester grades are due Friday, Oct. 15 Каникулы! Каникулы! пятница, 15 октября- --среда, 20 октября

Russian Conversation & Composition Dr. Luba Iskold

Вторая половина семестра: Неделя 8 Четверг 21 LT: Какие бакалавры? стр. 48-53 Planning for team project: Interview Неделя 9 Понедельник 27 LT: Сочинение N 3 (черновик), об университиете, стр.53 Вторник 28 LT: Слова: корни, этимология, 54-56 Четверг 30 LT: Интервью с аспирантами, 60-64 Family Weekend. Встреча с семьей. Окт. 29-31 Ноябрь Неделя 10 Понедельник 1 RFV: Рок музыка, 50 Вторник 2 RFV: Слова 54-56 Четверг 4 Сочинение N 3 (чистовик) Неделя 11 Понедельник 8 LT: Какую музыку вы любите? 66-68 Вторник 9 LT: Западный рок в России, 70-73 Четверг 11 LT: Диалоги. Project outline due Неделя 12 Понедельник 15 LT: Слова, Джон Леннон, 73-75

Вторник 16 LT: Пинк Флоид в Москве Четверг 18 LT: группа года «ДДТ» Неделя 13 Понедельник 22 LT: Песни (conduct your interviews this week) Вторник 23 LT: Песни Четверг 25 LT: Песни, Интервью, 88 (edit) Неделя 14 Понедельник 29 LT: Алкоголь и наркотики, 91-93 Вторник 30 Фильм Шукшина show in class in class/ discuss Декабрь Четверг 2 Белая магия русского мужика, 96-97 Неделя 15 Понедельник 6 Письмо: вопросы, стр.99 Вторник 7 Работа в группах Четверг 9 Сочинение: Что я узнал(а) о России Final Examination 15 Экзамен (сочинение N 4) ______Study Days Dec. 11 & 12 Final Exams Dec. 13-17 Final Grades Due Dec. 17 Зимние каникулы! С Новым Годом! ______

4 Russian Conversation & Composition Dr. Luba Iskold

Useful Tips on How to Succeed in this Class:

Think about your background knowledge. What have you learnt and are able to do? Since you’ve made your way through Intermediate Russian, you’re already able to • perform basic conversation tasks, •you have some experience reading and listening, • you may have socialized with Russians, or • you may have been to Russia

What would you like to be able to do?

• you still need to learn how to express you thoughts and discuss serious topics • learn more vocabulary

So, how’s best to bridge that gap?

• don’t try to learn every word. In carrying a conversation try to understand the gist • show your interest and ask questions • ask for explanations, clarifications • try not to translate, but rather think in Russian and keep it simple. • don’t be discouraged if you find the material difficult, with time you will master it • read the text several times (‘play the scales’) • listen to the tapes as often as you can (‘play the scales’) • do home assignments with care. You know a lot, but you cannot access it quickly yet Homework assignments give you time to think and look up what you need • take advantage of a personalized approach, focus on learning to say what you need to express yourself

Note: As in previous semesters, we will continue using Blackboard. Detailed guidelines for specific assignments will be discussed/finalized in class an posted in Blackboard well ahead of the due date.