Current classes
On-line course materials
Faculty
Russian minor
Courses
Important Cornell links
Outside resources
Study in Russia
We are in the News!
|
Russian 3305: Syllabus
- Rooms and times (navigation bar on the left): when, where, and who
- Course Description: materials, homework guide, tests, grading
- Course evaluation form: online, any time, anonymous
- Fonts: if Russian accented vowels are not displayed correctly, see note at the bottom of the window.
- Homework: each row in this table shows the assignment for the day.
- Printable view of this syllabus
Early in the semester, you should learn basic Russian grammatical terms.
Throughout the semester use these Quick Links for review.
This
summary of deverbal forms
may be useful towards the end of the semester.
Each table row shows the work you should do in preparation for that class.
Week 1:
Sunday 08/25/24
-
Saturday 08/31/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
No homework. Come to the organizational meeting.
|
Wednesday
|
No homework
|
Thursday
|
Print this six-page handout in Acrobat (PDF) format:
Page 4;
Page 5;
Page 6;
Page 7;
Page 8;
Page 9.
These pages describe the Russian alphabet
and show samples of cursive writing. Learn the alphabet and copy the writing
on these pages.
This video is a good way to learn how to connect the letters.
This link may help you learn the alphabet.
In class: letters and sounds.
|
Week 2:
Sunday 09/01/24
-
Saturday 09/07/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Labor Day
|
Wednesday
|
Read Course Description (the link at the top of the Syllabus page) to find out how to get access to the Advanced Russian website and how to do each type of homework. On the Advanced Russian website, read Chapter 2. Stories. Story 2-1 (A or B). Pages 1-20.
(Михаил Мишин «История»).
|
Thursday
|
Consult Letters and Sounds. Part 1.
Write 30 Russian words that illustrate various points of this section.
Indicate what your words/letters are examples of.
You may pick those words from a book, newspaper, or Web site, or just
look around and write what you see.
|
Week 3:
Sunday 09/08/24
-
Saturday 09/14/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Read
Один за трех; Три за одного
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Find and copy (in longhand) 30 words from this story that illustrate some of the points made in Letters and Sounds. Part 2.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian:Chapter 1. Stories. Story 1-1 (A or B). Pages 1-24.
(Михаил Мишин «Счастливый»)
|
Thursday
|
Read
Самая удивительная буква русской азбуки
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Find and copy (in longhand) 30 words from this story that illustrate some of the points made in
Letters and Sounds. Part 2.
|
Week 4:
Sunday 09/15/24
-
Saturday 09/21/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Make up and write 10 short Russian sentences to illustrate some of the points made in Letters and Sounds. Part 3
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 4. Stories. Story 4-1. Pages 1-12.
(Андрей Геласимов «Нежный возраст»).
Remember to bring to class your four questions (in writing).
|
Thursday
|
Read
Еще одна «редкостная» буква
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Find and copy (in longhand) 30 words from this story that illustrate some of the points made in Letters and Sounds. Part 3.
|
Week 5:
Sunday 09/22/24
-
Saturday 09/28/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Read
Било и крыло; За что бьют рынду?
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Write 10 short Russian sentences with words from this story that illustrate some of the points made in
Letters and Sounds. Part 4.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 4. Stories. Story 4-1. Pages 13-26.
(Андрей Геласимов «Нежный возраст»).
Remember to bring your four questions (in writing).
(These reminders will not be repeated in the subsequent syllabus pages.)
|
Thursday
|
Consult again Letters and Sounds. Part 4.
Write 10 short Russian sentences with words that illustrate various points of this section.
|
Week 6:
Sunday 09/29/24
-
Saturday 10/05/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Consult Letters and Sounds. Part 5.
Write 10 short Russian sentences with words that illustrate various points of this section.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 3. Stories. Story 3-2 (A, or B), Story 3-3 (A or B).
(Сергей Довлатов «Предисловие», aka «Холодильник» и «Остров»)
|
Thursday
|
Read section Suffixes in Letters and Sounds. Part 5,
then take as much of this online Self-Test 1
as you have time for. If your computer doesn't play the
sound correctly, use any PC in the language lab.
Compare your results to the provided answers and
analyze your errors, if any (click the links in the answer page). Take the test again if you feel you can do
better the second time. Bring your first version to class.
We will use this dictation to review everything that has been covered this semester so far. Nothing to submit for this day.
|
Week 7:
Sunday 10/06/24
-
Saturday 10/12/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Take the rest of the online Self-Test 1.
Compare your results to the provided answers and
analyze your errors, if any, using the answer page with its links in every answer. Consult also Quick Links
to review everything that has been covered this semester so far.
In class, you will write a dictation that is similar
to Self-Test 1. Nothing to submit for this day.
|
Wednesday
|
Chapter 3. Interviews. Interview 3-8. S. Dovlatov’s interview 3-8 “Злоключения искусствоведа”. 3:42min.
|
Thursday
|
Read
Анатомия слова
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Summarize it in 10 short Russian sentences.
Bring 5000 Russian Words to class.
|
Week 8:
Sunday 10/13/24
-
Saturday 10/19/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Осенние каникулы
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 3. Stories. Story 3-1 (A or B). Pages 1-31.
(«Сергей Довлатов о времени и о себе»)
|
Thursday
|
Read
Глокая куздра
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Summarize it in 10 short Russian sentences. As you read,
note the case forms of nouns. Bring 5000 Russian Words to class.
|
Week 9:
Sunday 10/20/24
-
Saturday 10/26/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Read
Два слова о суффиксах
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Summarize it in 10 short Russian sentences. In each sentence, mark the case, number, and declension class
of every noun. Use the terms in grammatical terms
and on pp. 310, 311, 312, and 317 of 5000 Russian Words. You should read the above pages carefully
and also consult these Web pages:
The four declension classes of nouns,
Gender classes,
Case of nouns: form and function.
Bring 5000 Russian Words to every class.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 2. Stories. Story 2-2 (A or B). Pages 1-25.
(Михаил Веллер «Тест»)
|
Thursday
|
Write 10 Russian sentences to show the use of various case, gender, and number forms of nouns.
In each sentence, mark the case, number, and declension class
of every noun. Use the terms in grammatical terms
and on pp. 310, 311, 312, and 317 of 5000 Russian Words. You should read the above pages carefully
and also consult these Web pages (some of them are a review from the previous class):
The four declension classes of nouns,
Gender classes,
Case of nouns: form and function.
The chart from p. 317 of the dictionary is also shown at
this Web page,
where you may find the format easier to use.
Don't miss the
variants for the Genitive plural endings,
the special spelling of -ия and -ие nouns
in the Dative and Prepositional cases, and the
animacy rule.
Bring 5000 Russian Words to every class.
|
Week 10:
Sunday 10/27/24
-
Saturday 11/02/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Read
Слова и словари
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Summarize it in 10 short Russian sentences.
In all sentences, mark the case, number, and gender of all
pronouns and adjectives.
For reference, use pp. 313, 314, and 315 in the dictionary. If you want an introduction to these classes of words,
read these Web pages:
Adjective-noun agreement,
Ordinary and Special adjectives.
If you need a reminder of the effect of spelling rules (p. 309 in the dictionary) on endings, read
The effect of spelling rules and
The effect of stress in Nom. Sg.: adjectives in -ой, -ий, and -ый.
Read also about comparisons so you know
that a comparative form never ends in -и even though many sound as if they do.
Bring 5000 Russian Words to every class.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 2. Stories. Story 2-2 (A or B). Pages 26-51.
(Михаил Веллер «Тест»).
|
Thursday
|
Read
Словaрь Пушкина
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Summarize it in 10 short Russian sentences.
In all sentences, mark the tense and conjugation type of all
verbs.
For reference, use pp. 318 in the dictionary. You'll also find these Web pages useful:
The two verb stems
(including the links to irregular verbs and consonant alternation),
Past tense endings,
Non-past tense endings and
The two conjugations.
If you need a reminder of the effect of spelling rules (p. 309 in the dictionary) on verb endings, read
Spelling rules for verbs.
|
Week 11:
Sunday 11/03/24
-
Saturday 11/09/24
[show/hide]
Сегћдня пїтница, восьмће ноябрї.
|
Monday
|
Read
Лазея в прошлое
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского.
Summarize it in 10 short Russian sentences.
In all sentences, mark the aspect, tense and conjugation type of all
verbs.
For reference on aspect, use these Web pages:
Aspect: Perfective and Imperfective verbs
(including the links to взять/брать and пойти/ходить),
How to express past, present, and future,
Prefixed and unprexifed verbs, and
Aspect partners with different roots.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 6. Stories. Story 6-1 (A or B), Pages 1-30.
(Людмила Улицкая "Явление природы")
|
Thursday
|
Read One-Way and Non-One-Way verbs of motion
on the Web and write 10 short Russian sentences using various verbs of motion in various situations that
illustrate the difference in their meaning:
Round trip vs. one direction
and other similar distinctions. You will find these Web pages useful for reference:
Six sample verbs of motion,
Expressing "go",
Пойти vs. ходить,
Prefixes,
More prefixes, and
More examples.
Use the dictionary to verify spelling and conjugation.
In class, we'll also talk about deverbal and imperative forms.
|
Week 12:
Sunday 11/10/24
-
Saturday 11/16/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
By now, you should be able to spell all forms for pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and verbs
without consulting any tables.
(This does not include deverbal forms--participles and deverbal adverbs in the last two columns of the dictionary entries.)
Take as much of this online Self-Test 2
as you have time for. If your computer doesn't play the
sound correctly, use any PC in the language lab.
Compare your results to the provided answers and
analyze your errors, if any. Take the test again if you feel you can do
better the second time. Bring your first version to class.
We will use this dictation to review everything you have learned
about pronouns, nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the recent weeks as well as the earlier
material.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 6. Stories. Story 6-1 (A or B), Pages 31-53.
(Людмила Улицкая "Явление природы")
|
Thursday
|
Use your corrected homework and answers to Self-Test 2 again to review.
In class, you'll write a dictation similar to the one in Self-Test 2.
|
Week 13:
Sunday 11/17/24
-
Saturday 11/23/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Read about Prepositions, Particles, and Conjunctions. Write a short letter
to a friend or family member using as many of these rules as you can.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 6. Stories. Story 6-1 (A or B), Pages 54-77.
(Людмила Улицкая "Явление природы")
|
Thursday
|
Read Место вашего рождения
from «Слово о словах» Льва Успенского. Write a short essay about your family:
where did you come from, what language(s) did you, your parents, and your grandparents
speak before coming to the US, how did you all learn English, how English
and your earlier languages co-exist in your family, and anything else that might occur to you
in this respect.
|
Week 14:
Sunday 11/24/24
-
Saturday 11/30/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Use this Review Guide in Acrobat (PDF) format
as you review the material of the entire semester. In class, you will write a practice exam
that is similar to the final exam.
|
Wednesday
|
Каникулы -День Благодарения
|
Thursday
|
Каникулы - День Благодарения
|
Week 15:
Sunday 12/01/24
-
Saturday 12/07/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Review everything, come to class with questions.
If you like, use this online Self-Test 3 to identify
your weak spots. If your computer doesn't play the
sound correctly, use any PC in the language lab.
Compare your results to the provided answers and
analyze your errors, if any.
|
Wednesday
|
Advanced Russian: Chapter 1. Stories. Story 1-2 (A or B).
(Михаил Веллер «Мимоходом»).
|
Thursday
|
Click the link for "summary of deverbal forms" at the top of this syllabus for a complete set of participles and deverbal adverbs, with examples. We generated other examples of these on two occasions, but never really practiced using them. Write a few sentences, preferably in the form of a coherent story, using every form at least once. E.g., Люди, курящие сигареты, тратят на них много денег. Выкурив одну сигарету, человек часто хочет закурить следующую. Курильщик, выкуривший десять сигарет, чувствует себя больным, а окурки выкуренных им сигарет засоряют природу. Пожилые люди, курившие в молодости, беспокоятся о своем здоровье... и так далее.
|
Week 16:
Sunday 12/08/24
-
Saturday 12/14/24
[show/hide]
|
Monday
|
Any remaining questions and concerns.
|
Week 17:
Sunday 12/15/24
-
Saturday 12/21/24
[show/hide]
|
|