Course syllabus

Instructor:  Dr Ksenia Bogomolets

Office hours: Thursday, 12-1pm, Arts 2, Rm 313B

Email: Ksenia.bogomolets@auckland.ac.nz

Short Course Description

Russian 101 Beginners’ Russian 2 builds upon Russian 100 Beginner’s Russian 1. The course devotes attention to the essential grammar of Russian and to a range of language skills: reading, listening comprehension, speaking and writing, and vocabulary building.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of Russian 101 the student should . . .

* possess “survival skills”—listening comprehension and speaking skills sufficient to “get by” in Russian in some real-life situations;

*  know the essential grammar and vocabulary of Russian: forms and meanings of the six cases (the declensions of nouns and their modifiers and their uses); verb conjugation–the forms of most types of verbs and their government (use); a core vocabulary of approximately 1,600 words;

* be able to recognize parts of speech in texts and read simple texts without a dictionary and more advanced texts with the aid of a dictionary;

* possess the requisite foundation for further study of Russian.

Required Course Materials

Textbook: Golosa Book 1, Richard Robin (and others); 5^th (2014) edition. This is the same textbook used in RUSSIAN 100 in Semester 1. The paperback “international edition” is available at UBS. Additional supporting materials (audio and video files, grammar supplements, etc) are available on Canvas and also on the author’s site (Google “Golosa”).

In Russian 101 we’ll cover Units 5–9 of the Golosa textbook (and by popular demand, can aim to do Unit 10 as well).  

Meeting times and venues

Four hours per week in two two-hour sessions, Tuesday and Thursday 2.00–4.00. Both sessions are in Arts 1 (bld 206) Room 213.

Assessment:   40% two-hour final written exam; 

                               10% oral test the end of semester.        

50% coursework:

• 10% - Midterm test in class in week 6 of the semester;
• 20% - Canvas Quizzes (on-line assessments): 10 x 2% each.
• 20% - written assignments: 4 x 5% each.

• Successful language learning requires regular study and this is reflected in the assessment scheme with frequent on-line and written assignments and a mark for participation. The mid-term test in class is the only assessment in exam-type conditions; material from the second half of the semester will figure prominently in the exam.
• Written homework can be submitted in class on the due date without a Cover Sheet.
• Penalty for late written work: Written assignments will not be accepted late.

What to Expect

Most native speakers of English require more time and effort to master Russian than a Romance or Germanic Language. In keeping with the usual expectations of workload for a University course, you should plan to spend nine or ten hours per week on Russian–our four contact hours in class, plus another five or six hours of independent and / or group study.

Class time consists of practice in pronunciation and intonation; “mini-lectures” on grammar; drills, dialogues and reading. Our smaller class size in Semester 2 should enable everyone to have in-class practice and individualized attention. While the focus of the course is language, relevant cultural information is also incorporated in the textbook and in class.

Your independent study should be analogously varied: studying the dialogues, texts, grammar and vocabulary in the Textbook; working with the audio, video, and on-line materials.