Faculty Syllabus

Your grade will be based on the following:

**Students must receive a grade of C or better in order to continue with Russian 1412**

30% - Vista Supersite Plus Six Chapter Exams (at 5% each) 

10% - Vista Supersite Plus Comprehensive Final Exam

40% - Vista Assigned Activities

10% - Discussion Boards

5% -  Movie discussion

10% - Final Oral Interview

FINAL GRADE:

90-100%    = A

80-89         = B

70-79         = C

60-69         = D

Below 60   = F

Course Description  

Credit Hours: 4

Study of fundamentals of Russian: conversation, basic writing, listening and reading comprehension, vocabulary building, grammar, and culture. This course fosters understanding of Russian-speaking people through cultural comparison and development of written and spoken communication. No prerequisites.

Course Learning Outcomes 

At the end of Russian 1411, students should be able to do the following:

CRITICAL THINKING:

-    utilize context, cognates, and related familiar words to understand written passages.

-    determine what information is important when reading or listening for the gist or for specific information to answer questions and draw inferences about passages.

-    synopsize and synthesize information from authentic sources, such as film clips, songs, and poems.

-    utilize language creatively to talk about their possessions, friends and families, home life, features of their city, professions, and their daily schedule.

-    compare and contrast aspects of Russian society, such as familial roles, housing, urban and rural life, professions, and daily schedules.

-    identify various cultural practices common in Russia and compare them with those of the U.S., providing specific examples of what cultural misunderstandings are common and why they might occur.

-    identify countries where the Russian language is widely spoken and explain the reason behind the rise of dominance of the Russian language in the region.

-    identify professions that are popular in Russia, explain why they are popular, compare with their own.

TEAMWORK (Interpersonal Skills):

-     interview and present to classmates to exchange information about themselves.

-    create dialogues with partners talking about their daily lives and other related topics.

-    help one another with areas of difficulty.

-     brainstorm in groups to organize tasks.

-  discuss perspectives on cultural differences with partners or groups.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (Civic and Cultural Awareness):

-     compare customs when meeting and greeting people and explain how differences can lead to misunderstandings.

-     utilize formal and informal speech, changing registers as needed, and using gestures.

-     identify how the rise and fall of the Soviet Union impacted the role of the Russian language in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

-    compare familial roles in Russia with those of their own culture.

-    compare values related to daily life such as family and traditions.

-    identify differences among the Russian-speaking regions. 

-    develop awareness of current events in Russian-speaking regions and analyze their implications on the region, on the U.S. and in the world.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY:

-   show time management skills by successfully completing tasks on time.

-   acquire effective study habits for language learning.

-  state how learning Russian will be useful to them and improve their lives.

-  name aspects of Russian language and culture of personal interest.

COMMUNICATION (Written, Oral and Visual Communication):

-    utilize context, cognates, and related familiar words to understand unfamiliar material in written passages.

-    determine what information is important when reading or listening for the gist or for specific information

-     utilize brainstorming, appropriate sequencing, and visualization techniques to organize their writing.

-     exhibit conceptual understanding and control of courtesy expressions and appropriate kinesics when speaking in Russian

-     in both presentational and interactive speech, use the rules of Russian phonetics (vowel reduction, devoicing, voicing and devoicing assimilation, palatalization of consonants) and intonation.  

-   interpret and express ideas in the present tense on topics such as family, studies, university life, home life, and Russian geography through written, oral, and visual communication.