Russian Language Courses and the Language Requirement

The College of Arts and Sciences foreign language requirement is explained in the printed Courses of Study and also in a number of Web pages of the College, e.g. http://www.arts.cornell.edu/faq.php (See section How do I fulfill the Language Requirement?).

The Russian Language Program offers these courses for satisfying the A & S language requirement:

Under Option 1a:

• any 3-credit/unit (or more) RussA course numbered 2203 (RussA 2203) and above, but not RussA 3300 (Directed Study)

Under Option 2:

• in two semesters: 1103 + 1121 in the Fall, 1104 + 1122 in the Spring
• in three semesters: 1121 in the Fall, 1122 in the Spring, 2203 the following Fall
• in four semesters: 1121 in the Fall, 1122 in the Spring, 1125 the following Fall, 1126 the following Spring

Note that some Russian Literature courses (the RussL series) may also be used to satisfy the foreign language requirement under Option 1b.

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

If you studied Russian at high school, you may be "placed" in a 2200- or 3300-level course in our Russian Language Program. Come to the Placement Test (also called CASE--Cornell Advanced Standing Examination) that we administer a few days before the beginning of each semester. The time and place for this test are posted for a few weeks before each new semester at http://russian.cornell.edu. The test is informal and is not designed to evaluate your knowledge of any specific points of Russian grammar or vocabulary. Instead, it is intended to find an appropriate Russian language course for you, that is to "place" you in our course structure. There are no numerical qualifications for this process. Every high school Russian program is different. We've had many students with three to five years of high school study start in our Russian 2203, but other options also exist.

Foreign Language requirement at Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences changed in the summer of 2003. According to the new policy, stated in the April 30, 2003 document entitled Advanced Placement Credit from the Educational Policy Committee, advanced placement credit may not be used to exempt students from distribution, language, or breadth requirements (section Policies). The same document states that students will continue to earn advanced placement credit in foreign languages if they are placed out of (not into) the first course at Cornell's 2200-level (section "Foreign Languages"). If you're qualified to start your Cornell Russian studies in our Russian 2204, you receive 3 credit hours/units towards graduation.

Students who transfer from other colleges, where they studied Russian, should speak to our faculty regarding the transfer of credit and the fulfillment of the Arts College foreign language requirement.

Note course Russian 3308, below. It is open both for heritage speakers of Russian and for students who learned Russian as a foreign language.

Russian for Russians

If you have learned Russian at home or in a Russian community, you may continue studying Russian in academic setting at Cornell. You may also be exempt from the foreign language requirement at Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences and other schools at Cornell.

Exemption

The Arts College foreign (i.e., non-English) language requirement changed in the summer of 2003, so if you enrolled at Cornell in an earlier year, your situation may be different. The description below applies to students who became freshmen in the fall of 2003 or later.

All students who completed their high school education in Russia have thus met the Arts College foreign language requirement and do not need to take any tests or obtain any documents from the Russian Language Program. See your advising dean if appropriate documentation is not already included in your Cornell dossier. All other students need to demonstrate language ability in Russian equivalent to that of a high school graduate in Russia. This is done at the Russian Placement Test (also called CASE or Cornell Advanced Standing Examination), see below.

Placement Test

The Russian Placement Test (also called CASE or Cornell Advanced Standing Examination) is scheduled a few days before the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. The time and place for this test are posted for a few weeks before each new semester at http://russian.cornell.edu. The test may be taken by non-native speakers as well, in which case it varies depending on the student's background in Russian studies. The test also varies for students from Russian families who take it in order to find an appropriate course for continuing their study of Russian. All students from Russian families who want to be expempt from language study at Cornell are asked to read a one-page (single-spaced) newspaper article in Russian and to write a one-page (single-spaced, handwritten) essay about it. The essay must restate the basic facts or ideas described in the article and discuss them in a style appropriate to an academic discussion among high school seniors. Use of reference materials (dictionaries, notes, etc.) is not permitted. The examiner will read your essay while you wait and if you pass this stage, will discuss the article with you. You will have one hour to read the article and write about it. You will then wait for your turn to speak to the examiner. This conversation will be no longer than ten minutes. Depending on the number of students taking the examination, you may have to spend up to three hours at this test. Plan your day accordingly. There are no numerical evaluations for the results of this test. Your ability to write and speak at the appropriate level of fluency and stylistic and grammatical accuracy will be evaluated by a qualified examiner. Please do not take the test if you do not think you're qualified.

If the knowledge of Russian that you demonstrate at the Placement Test is roughly equivalent to that of Cornell students who complete our first Russian language course at the 2200 level (RussA 2203), that is if you "place" in our second 2200-level course, you will be granted 3 credit hours/units towards graduation.

Taking Russian Courses

Russian 1125 (RUSSA 1125, Fall only; the section for native speakers) and Russian 1126 (RUSSA 1126, Spring only; the section for native speakers) are for students who can read Russian and are interested in expanding their vocabulary. In these courses, current Web sites are read and translated into English. Completing these courses does not satisfy the Arts College foreign language requirement. These courses are further described in the Web pages for Russian 1125 and Russian 1126.

Russian 3305 (RUSSA 3305, Fall only) and Russian 3306 (RUSSA 3306, Spring only) are for students who speak gerammatically correct Russian and can understand informal spoken Russian without difficulty, but have not learned to write grammatically correct Russian, or have not learned to read or write at all. The course covers the basics of Russian grammar and also touches on issues of style. The exact nature and syllabus (including the meeting times) of the course may vary somewhat from one semester/year to another depending on the particular group of students who sign up for it. This is discussed at the organizational meeting at the beginning of each semester, usually on Day 2 or Day 3 of the semester. The time and place of the meeting are posted at http://russian.cornell.edu. Successful completion of one of these courses (when taken for 3 credit hours/units) satisfies the Arts College foreign language requirement (but not any of the other requirements). These courses are further described in the Web pages for Russian 3305 and Russian 3306.

Russian 3308 (RUSSA 3308, Spring only) is for students who can understand informal spoken Russian without difficulty and know how to speak, read and write in Russian. Advanced non-native speakers of Russian are also eligible. The course objective is to expand the students' vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing skills, as well as cultural competence, through study and discussion of a variety of sources (from film to poetry to prose to mass-media) that represent Russian popular culture from the 1970s to recent years. Among other tasks, the coursework includes reflective writing and individual oral presentations. The meeting times of the course may vary somewhat from one semester/year to another depending on the particular group of students who sign up for it. This is discussed at the organizational meeting at the beginning of each semester, usually on Day 2 or Day 3 of the semester. The current time and place of the meeting are posted at http://russian.cornell.edu. When taken for 3 credit hours/units, successful completion of this course satisfies the Arts College foreign language requirement (but not any of the other requirements). This course is further described in the Web pages for Russian 3308.

Russian 3309 (RUSSA 3309, Fall only, the section for native speakers) and Russian 3310 (RUSSA 3310, Spring only, the section for native speakers) are for students who can read Russian fluently and have no difficulty speaking about the books they read. The purpose of the course is to strengthen one's reading skills and to learn how to discuss facts, issues, theories, and opinions in a style appropriate for an educated adult. The reading assignments are up to 120 pages per week. They may combine fiction and non-fiction works from the 19th or 20th century and vary from one year/semester to another. Successful completion of one of these courses satisfies the Arts College foreign language requirement (but not any of the other requirements). The courses are further described in the Web pages for Russian 3309 and Russian 3310. Note that these are not courses in Russian Literature as they do not address issues of literary theory or many other aspects of Russian literature that are treated in Russian Literature courses.

Russian 6633 (RUSSA 6633, Fall only) and Russian 6634 (RUSSA 6634, Spring only) have been taught on several occasions to native speakers of Russian who are interested in finer points of grammar and style, mostly when writing in Russian and translating advanced texts from English to Russian. The course may or may not be taught like that in any given semester/year. Come to our organizational meeting (usually on Day 2 or Day 3 of the semester) to discuss this possibility. The time and place of the meeting are posted at http://russian.cornell.edu. Successful completion of the course satisfies the Arts College foreign language requirement (but not any of the other requirements). The courses may be further described in the Web pages for Russian 6633 and Russian 6634.

The Russian Language Program