Accelerated Elementary Russian

Catalog description

This is an intensive two-credit course for graduate students covering two semesters of the first-year Russian language sequence ( RUSS 5100 and RUSS 5200 ). The course is designed for students with no background in Russian and develops competence in listening, reading, speaking, and writing in Russian. It will also introduce you to Russian culture and Russian-speaking communities around the world through exciting authentic materials, including internet sites and cultural artifacts, songs, videos, short stories, as well as conversations with speakers of Russian. Class work emphasizes real-life situations, spontaneous interactions, and collaborative pair and group work. By the end of the course, you will be able to engage in simple conversations and write short messages on many topics concerning your daily life. You will know greetings and everyday expressions, be able to talk about people and objects in your life, your hobbies and interests, likes and dislikes, past activities and future plans, place of residence, food preferences, and health. You will also examine how your own habits and perspectives on these topics compare with those common across Russian-speaking communities.