Russian 122How is 122 different from 121?
Materials
Note: These materials cover Russian 121 and Russian 122
Books:
Beginning Russian, Second revised
edition by Leed, Nakhimovsky, and Nakhimovsky,
Slavica Publishers 1991
5000 Russian Words by Leed and S. Paperno, Slavica Publishers 1987
What I Saw by Boris Zhitkov, annotated by Leed and L. Paperno, Slavica Publishers 1988
Interactive video:
Beginning Russian Through Film, on our Web site. These Lessons, based on authentic Russian movies,
were created by Slava Paperno
and Viktoria Tsimberov,
with editorial assistance from Matthew Huss.
Online dictionary:
The Russian Dictionary Tree, a greatly expanded online version of 5000 Russian Words
Online Grammar:
Beginning Russian Grammar, grammar and vocabulary sections from Beginning Russian in online hypertext format.
Computer exercises:
Beginning Russian Quizzes in the language lab in Noyes Lodge.
Work with these Quizzes is optional, but it will
help you prepare for the weekly quiz in class. You can use the program on your own computer as well:
borrow the installation CD-ROM from your teacher.
Web Audio Lab in the language lab in Noyes Lodge. Also available on CD-ROM from the language lab for a modest fee for those students who prefer using it on their own computers (Windows or Mac OS X). See WAL for important details.
Vocabulary Review program:
BRTF Vocabualry Review on the Web site (accessible from
any week's Syllabus and also from the Beginning Russian
Through Film page). Use the program to review the film
vocabulary and to practice for the weekly Friday quizzes.
Grading
Based on your performance in class (active participation, linguistic accuracy and, to a large extent, the results of the quizzes and dictations)
(75%) and the final exam (25%).
Note that Russian 104 may be taken simultaneously with this course for additional credit.
Homework
All homework assignments are shown in the Syllabus.
Homework should take about an hour and a half each day. Four days a week, most of the homework must be
done in the language lab (you may be able to do these assignments
at home or in the dorm, if you have a suitable computer; see system requirements for WAL, BRQuiz, and BRTF, above).
Weekly written work includes two short exercises from the book
and two short summaries (in English) of the video clips.
Homework is indicated in
the syllabus and explained below:
Read in Beginning Russian (for Monday and Tuesday)
Read the assigned Lessons carefully and analyse any new concepts.
Make sure you know the meaning of all Russian words and sentences.
Write (for Monday and Tuesday)
Do the written exercise after reading all the grammar explanations.
Write in cursive and leave room for the teacher's comments.
Write complete sentences or phrases, even when the
exercise requires you merely to fill in the blanks.
Record using Web Audio Lab and submit your recordings to our FTP server (for Monday and Wednesday)
Record and submit all exercises in the assigned Lesson. Don't strive for perfection;
spend a reasonable amount of time doing this work (twenty to thirty minutes per Lesson).
Study for the Quiz (for Tuesday)
To prepare for the one weekly quiz in class on Tuesday, use the program called Beginning Russian Quizzes in the lab or on your own computer. Although the quiz in class will be based on only one of the two Lessons assigned for Tuesday, you should practice the quizzes for both Lessons. Doing the quizzes on the computer will help you prepare for the in-class quizzes, but this work is not required. Do it only if it helps you learn better.Review in Beginning Russian (for Wednesday)
Reread the grammar portions of the Lessons and practice
saying or acting out the conversations in the assigned exercises
from the book. It may be very helpful to do this with a friend.
Memorize (for Wednesday and, starting with Week 6, for Thursday and/or Friday)
We think that memorization is very important in language learning.
You must memorize the short dialogs assigned for Wednesday
as well as the short scenes from the film clips assigned for
many of the film classes. When the scenes are longer than a few sentences,
the syllabus says "try to memorize." Do your best!
Watch and understand (for Thursday and Friday)
Use a Windows computer in the lab or at home to log on to the Russian Web site.
At home/dorm, you can also use a Macintosh, but the Macs in the lab are not set up for this work.
If you're on a fast Internet connection (ResNet, cable modem, or DSL),
select "large video" in the left-hand panel of the screen that is displayed after
you have chosen the film. "Small-size" video should be used for slow
connections or if the network seems to be clogged.
Consult the "About this film" section in the film lesson for comments,
explanations, or relevant historical and cultural information.
As you watch the clips, read the dialog transcripts and consult the on-screen glosses. Make sure you understand the dialog and the events. Do not try to memorize the vocabulary, but do try to imitate the actors' speech. It is a very good idea to try and repeat after the actors. When the syllabus says "memorize," memorice the entire dialog or exercise.
For Friday, use the "Vocabulary Review: Films" button in each week's syllabus to review the film vocabulary using the on-line program. This work should prepare you for the weekly film vocabulary quiz on Friday. Ten randomly selected Russian phrases from the current week's film(s) will be included in each quiz, so when you use the on-line program. When using the program, select the range of films for the current week, e.g., "Start: Week 1 (Spring), End: Week 1 (Spring)".
Practice (for Thursday and Friday)
The exercises that are assigned for practice on film days
are displayed on the Web page when you click the Assignment
radio button below the Transcript window. They replace
the transcript in the window. Listen to the audio recordings of
the assigned exercises (click the green speaker icon
to start the RealAudio player). Read the text of the
exercises, look up the words you don't know in the glossary
window, and practice using the substitutions in a conversation
of your own. Be prepared to do them in class, more or less the way
the substitution exercises from Beginning Russian are done.
Write an English summary (for Thursday and Friday)
Write or type an English summary of the main events in the assigned episode(s).
Hand it in at the beginning of the class.
Attendance
Attendance is mandatory and crucial. Missing more than four classes without a
good reason may affect your grade. If you do have to miss a class for a
reason, send your teacher an email, preferably before the class that you have to miss.
If you have symptoms of a contagious
illness, please be kind to your classmates and don't attend the meeting.
If you feel up to it, do the work that can be done on your computer, and when you
recover be sure to ask your teachers for help catching up. We'll always be happy to help.
The most productive way to catch up with the class is to use WAL to record and
submit all exercises from the missed Lessons.
Tests
One five-minute grammar quiz each week (Tuesday),
one dictation (Wednesday; the short dialog asigned for memorization for that day),
one film vocabulary quiz
each week (Friday), and a final exam.
Russian 122
The
Russian Language Program
|
Russian Language Program Department of Russian 226 Morrill Hall, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-4701, USA tel. 607/255-8350, fax 607/255-2044 email russlang@cornell.edu |
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Web site by Slava Paperno |