Beginning Russian Through FilmMaterials
Interactive video:
Beginning Russian Through Film, a series of digital
movies on CD-ROMs and our Web site. Lessons based on the movies
were created by Slava Paperno
and Viktoria Tsimberov,
with editorial assistance from Matthew Huss.
Books:
Beginning Russian, Second revised
edition by Leed, Nakhimovsky, and Nakhimovsky,
Slavica Publishers 1991
5000 Russian Words by Leed and S. Paperno, Slavica Publishers 1987
What I Saw by Boris Zhitkov, annotated by Leed and L. Paperno, Slavica Publishers 1988
Note: These books and videos cover Russian 121 and Russian 122
Audio tapes:
The RLL series in the language lab;
each student must rent tapes from the department.
Recording one of these tapes in the language lab in Noyes Lodge
each week is an important part of the course.
Computer exercises:
Beginning Russian Quizzes in the language lab in Noyes Lodge.
Work with these Quizzes is optional, but it will
help you prepare for the weekly quizzes in class.
Grading
50% of your grade comes from your performance in
class, 25% from your in-class quiz results, and 25% from
the final exam.
Note that Russian 104 may be taken simultaneously with this course for additional credit.
Homework
All homework assignments are shown in the syllabus;
doing them should take about one
and a half hours each day. Four days a week, most of the homework must be
done in the language lab (you may be able to do three of these assignments
at home or in the dorm, if you have a multimedia computer).
Weekly written work includes two or three short exercises from the book
and two short summaries (in English) of the video clips.
Homework is indicated in
the syllabus and explained below:
Read in Beginning Russian (Monday and Tuesday)
Read the assigned Lessons carefully and analyse any new concepts.
Make sure you know the meaning of all Russian words and sentences.
Practice (Monday)
Practice saying or acting out the conversations in the assigned exercises
from the book. It may be very helpful to do this with a friend.
Write (Monday and Tuesday)
Do the written exercise(s) after reading all the grammar explanations.
Write in cursive and leave room for the teacher's comments.
Record on tape (Tuesday)
Record a complete two-Lesson tape from the RLL series and hand it in
at the beginning of the class.
Review in Beginning Russian (Wednesday)
Reread the grammar portions of the Lessons and practice
saying or acting out the conversations in the assigned exercises
from the book. It may be very helpful to do this with a friend.
Record your version(s) (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
Use Eudora Pro 3 in the language lab to record and send by e-mail to your
teacher two or more versions of the assigned exercise(s) from the
book or film. Feel free to modify the vocabulary and some of the structure
of the conversation, but make sure you practice the
patterns on which the exercises are based.
See Eudora Instructions for help with using the program. You may be able to do this from your home or dorm, if you have Eudora Pro version 3 or 4 with the PureVoice Plug-In and a computer that can run it. (You can buy it on-line from http://www.eudora.com for $29, but you may also be able to get it free from Cornell's CIT; make sure you get the PureVoice Plug-In).
Your teacher will respond by e-mail with comments and, sometimes, audio recordings. The computers in the language lab are set up so that you can send and receive your e-mail there.
Beginning Russian Quizzes (Wednesday)
Note that you'll have a written fill-in-the-blank quiz each Wednesday.
The quiz will be exactly as in the computer program called
Beginning Russian Quizzes that is installed in the language lab.
The quiz that will be given in class may be on any of the three or four
Lessons covered that week. Doing all these Quizzes
on the computer will help you prepare for the in-class quizzes,
but this work is not required. Do it only if it helps you learn better.
Watch and understand (Thursday, Friday)
Check out the correct CD-ROM at the counter in the language
lab and use a Windows computer to log on to the Russian Web site.
Consult the "About this film" section in the film lesson for comments,
explanations, or relevant historical and cultural information.
As you watch the clips, read the dialog transcripts, and consult the on-screen glosses. Make sure you understand the dialog and the events. Do not try to memorize the vocabulary, but do try to imitate the actors' speech. It is a very good idea to try and repeat after the actors. You may be able to do this work from home or dorm, if you have a computer that runs Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer version 3 or higher. "Small-size" video will be available on-line.
Write an English summary (Thursday, Friday)
Write or type an English summary of the main events in the assigned episode(s).
Hand it in at the beginning of the class.
Attendance
Mandatory and crucial. Missing more than three classes without a
good reason may affect your grade. If you do have to miss a class for a
reason, give your teacher a note, preferably before the class that you have to miss.
Tests
One five-minute quiz each week and a final exam.
Beginning Russian Through Film
The
Russian Language Program
e-mail
box for the Russian Language ProgramRussian Language Program
Department of Modern Languages
Cornell University
Morrill Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-4701, USA
tel. 607/255-4087
fax 607/255-7491