RUSSIAN 190 (ONLINE COURSE)
CONVERSATIONAL RUSSIAN
DEPARTMENT OF EUROPEAN STUDIES SDSU
Fall 2014
Schedule Number: 22860
Professor: Dr. Daria Shembel
Office hours: SH 228A; M, W 1 – 2 p.m., and by appt.
E-mail: dshembel@yahoo.com
COURSE OVERVIEW
Description from the Official Course Catalog
RUSSN 190. Conversation Practice 1 (2) Conversation skills through
active participation in discussions, debates, and oral presentations.
Prerequisites: Russian 100B
Course Description and Content
THIS IS AN ONLINE COURSE BASED ON WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS AND
ASYNCHRONOUS CONVERSATION AND OCCASIONAL
VIDEOCONFERENCING. EVERY WEEK YOU’LL SUBMIT ME YOUR
AUDIO RECORDINGS AND OTHER ASSIGNMENTS VIA EMAIL:
dshembel@yahoo.com
This course is part of ROTC intensive training in conversational Russian,
which aims to give students thorough conversation practice in Russian. We
will focus on conversational and idiomatic as opposed to formal language
training. We will work through intermediate-level textbook Zhili-byli to cover
various thematic fields such as describing oneself and others, family,
housing, shopping, transportations etc, as well as to continue the acquisition
of basic grammar structures. This is an online course. Online sessions of the
course will be based, among other sources, on the materials of the Russian
Through Film Online Course that is being currently developed at LARC.
Students will be working with media materials on a variety of topics
(introductions, family, education, etc). Video segments will be supplemented
by transcripts and glossary lists, as well as additional materials on the
subject derived from authentic social media sources.
Student Learning Outcomes
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1) Students will develop skills in oral interview and oral presentation
techniques, and skills in conversational interaction
2) Students will be able to understand the difference between oral and
written discourse
3) Students will be able to work with authentic videos and texts in Russian,
summarize and analyze them
4) Students will demonstrate knowledge of Russian-American intercultural
communication patterns and will be able to talk about the world of leisure
and work in Russian-speaking countries
Required readings
Miller, L V. Politiva, L V
Zhili - byli....12 urokov russkogo tiazyka. Bazovyi uroven. Uchebnik. ISBN:
978-5-86547-144-8; Zlatoust: 2007
COURSE FORMAT AND REQUIREMENTS
Blackboard
Consult the Blackboard website for this course before every class. You are
responsible for accessing materials available there, as well as for checking
your homework assignments.
Grading
There will be no exams in this class. Grades will be calculated on the basis of
weekly assignments that will be graded every week. Your weekly
assignments will include audio recordings, watching and summarizing
videos, completing assignments in video courses, internet research, reading
and summaries of authentic Russian texts. In addition to that, sometimes I’ll
ask you to leave a post in blackboard discussion forum on the topic that I’ll
provide for you. You’ll also have to respond to 2 other posts written by your
classmates.
Proficiency levels
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Students enrolled in this course possess a wide range of proficiency levels,
therefore your language development will be assessed on an individual
basis.
Course Outline
Неделя 1 (Week 1)
Знакомство. Расскажи мне о себе! Getting acquainted.
Неделя 2 (Week 2) Семья. Family.
Неделя 3 (Week 3) Дом. Квартира. Housing.
Неделя 4 (Week 4) Мой день. My day.
Неделя 5 (Week 5) Город. City life.
Неделя 6 (Week 6) В магазине. Shopping.
Неделя 7 (Week 7) Транспорт. Transportation.
Неделя 8 (Week 8) В ресторане. Food. In the restaurant.
Неделя 9
(Week 9) Портрет. Portrait
Неделя 10 (Week 10) Театр. Кино. Theater. Cinema
Недели 11-12 (Weeks 11, 12) Профессия. Образаование. Education.
Profession.
Неделя 13-14 (Weeks 13, 14) Tрадиции. Обычаи. Праздники. Traditions.
Customs. Holidays.
Please let your instructor know of any special interests you may have
concerning Russia or Russian. If you have any problems during the
semester, please consult me or Professor Shapovalov, the director of
Russian Program.
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