RUSS 300: Readings in Russian
Prerequisite: Russian 210 or the equivalent (three years or more of high school Russian)
Credit Hours: (3-4)
Students will expand their knowledge and further develop skills in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture with an emphasis on reading. This course has been approved for Core Curriculum credit in Foreign Languages.
Detailed Description of Content of Course
Texts chosen will include short stories, descriptions of Russian traditions and customs,
and some readings about contemporary events. The following communicative tasks are
covered: expressing concern and reassurance, relating activities and impressions,
discussing frequency, duration, and simultaneity of actions, expressing refusal and
confirmation, discussing forthcoming events, talking about dates, asking about unfamiliar
things, expressing enthusiasm or regret, asking about and telling time, telling the
time officially and conversationally, discussing time available, talking about where
things are located, naming the recipient of a gift, making comparisons, asking to
see something, and identifying and indicating objects or people. Other cultural topics
include Russian film, history, and word-processing in
Russian.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Class instruction focuses on communication practice utilizing the situations, conversation
tasks, vocabulary, culture, and grammar introduced in the materials chosen. Other
activities include: the simulation of culturally relevant activities, grammar and
vocabulary explanations, pronunciation practice, listening comprehension exercises,
and discussion of readings. Class is conducted almost exclusively in the target language.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
Students will be able to analyze similarities and differences between their own and the target culture and to explain contemporary international issues from the perspectives of their own and the target culture. Students will demonstrate language skills appropriate to the level of study.
Speaking and listening goals (standardized ACTFL proficiency criteria): in speaking, students will be able to handle successfully a limited number of interactive, task-oriented and social situations. They can ask and answer questions, initiate and respond to a variety of statements, maintain face-to-face conversation, and communicate in a wider variety of situations such as are covered in the textual materials read and practiced. Students will develop listening skills that will enable them to understand learned utterances, some longer sentence-length utterances, and will begin to understand main ideas and some facts from interactive exchanges and connected aural texts.
Reading and writing goals (standardized ACTFL proficiency criteria): Students will develop reading skills that will enable them to read consistently with increased understanding simple connected texts dealing with a variety of basic and social needs. As regards writing, students will be able to meet a number of practical writing needs by communicating simple facts and ideas in a loose collection of sentences. There is growing evidence of control of the syntax of noncomplex sentences and basic inflectional morphology, such as declensions and conjugation.
Assessment Measures
Speaking progress will be evaluated in oral interviews. Written homework assignments
and test exercises provide a basis for the evaluation of writing progress. Listening
and reading comprehension, grammatical accuracy, and familiarity with the new culture
are tested in quizzes, chapter tests, and on the final exam.
Other Course Information
Russian 300 targets language learners with the equivalent of three semesters of college
Russian. Russian 300 completes the B.A. degree requirement for students who began
their college level study of Russian with the third semester / Russian 210.
Review and Approval
February 2011 Revised Philip Sweet and Yelena Kulagina
05/2011