M, T, W, Th, F 12-12:50 Vollum 234
Instructor: Evgenii (Zhenya) Bershtein
Instructor’s office: Vollum 128
Office Hours: M, W 2-3 p.m., and by appointment.
Full course for a year. Conducted in Russian. This intermediate-level Russian-language course focuses on grammar, reading, writing and conversational skills. Along with practicing the grammar, you will build vocabulary and improve your language competence by reading literary texts, discussing various topics, listening to songs, watching videos, etc. By the end of the year, students are expected to be comfortable with reading literary texts in the original Russian as well as with social interaction in Russian.
Workload and requirements. Class meets five times a week. One of these meetings is a grammar-focused drill section with Petr Leznikov, our Russian Language Scholar. The attendance of all classes (including the drill section) is required. Plan to spend at least an hour to prepare for each lesson. Written homework has to be turned in daily.
Audio and video. Both the textbook and the workbook come with audio files, they are available online: http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/russian/vputi. The same site features video clips which we will use in class. Most written homework comes from the Student Activities Manual, and some assignments require listening to recorded texts from the website.
Email. We will use email to correspond in Russian. Please make sure that your email can handle Cyrillic. I recommend Thunderbird as your email software and Cyrillic Phonetic (Cyrillic QWERTY) as a keyboard option. If your computer is not Cyrillic-ready, please get help from the CIS.
Evaluation. Your evaluation will be based on your participation in classes, your homework, chapter tests, quizzes, and final exam.
Resources. Please take full advantage of regular Russian-language events, such as movie nights, Russian dinners, activities at the Russian House, etc. Come see me or the language scholar when you have questions, problems with your homework, or when you just feel like chatting in Russian. Peer tutoring can also be easily arranged.
Prerequisites for this class: RUSS 120, or Russian language placement exam.
Textbooks to buy (available from Reed’s bookstore):