Russian Independent Mid 3 Online (Tues., 6-7:30pm)
Class
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Lindsay Smith
About
Instructor: Lindsay Smith
Objective: In this class, students will build on skills developed during the Independent Mid 2. We will practice speaking in longer “bursts,” elaborating on statements, and asking follow-up questions: having real conversations. Students will round out Unit 1 and continue the theme of biography, building on last semester when we learned how to narrate important life events. We will review and expand knowledge of instrumental case (nouns, adjectives, personal pronouns, ordinal numbers), which we’ll use to describe who we were, who we want to become, and what we’re interested in, as well as phrases to say dating/breaking up with/divorcing someone. We’ll read the biographies and discuss the lives of a star tennis player, the two first men in space, and a successful author. We’ll also learn the important distinction the reflexive possessive pronoun “свой” makes: it’s the difference between Nastya kissing her (own) boyfriend and kissing her (Lena’s) boyfriend. We’ll finish with a function lesson on phone calls which will cover making social invitations and accepting/declining them, plus more and slang-ier ways to talk to friends.
Can-Do Statements: Upon successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
- Narrate the life story of a famous figure and tell their own life stories in a more developed manner than last term, focusing on changes in state from the past to the present and hopes for the future
- Understand and use свой to distinguish whose something is in the third person (his/her/their)
- Communicate over the phone
- Accept or decline politely an invitation
- Use a range of colloquial expressions to make speech more natural and informal
Use of the Language: This course has been designed in such a way that most of the class time will be devoted to communication and will be taught in the target language (i.e., the language that you are studying). As you already have some experience with the language, you are encouraged to use the target language as much as possible from Day 1. You are not expected to understand everything, and you can expect to be pushed beyond your comfort zone. However, your instructor is there to make sure you can succeed in meeting the goals of the activities and of the class in general. Our goal is for you to be able to communicate in the target language, and we cannot learn to speak a language without speaking it. Please remember that we learn best by making mistakes, and we encourage you to try to do your best. Don’t forget that your instructor is there to support you in class and is also available via the Matrix messaging system for assistance.
Expectations/Time Commitment: To succeed in learning Russian, plan to spend ~45 minutes on homework each week, plus additional time as needed to study/memorize new vocabulary.
Required Materials: (Note: the student book + workbook may be purchased from the vendor of your choice; two possible sources are linked below)
Tochka Ru Russian Course A2 – 2 Books: Student Book + Workbook, Olia Dolmatova, Ekaterina Novacac (NEW 2021 edition; ISBN: 9785001714859)
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